Dardanelles Campaign: Strategies, Sacrifices, and the Turning Point of WWI

By Fouad Sabry

What is Dardanelles Campaign

The naval operations in the Dardanelles campaign took place against the Ottoman Empire during the First World War. Ships of the Royal Navy, French Marine nationale, Imperial Russian Navy and the Royal Australian Navy, attempted to force a passage through the Dardanelles Straits, a narrow, 41-mile-long (66-km) waterway connecting the Mediterranean Sea with the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea further north.

How you will benefit

(I) Insights, and validations about the following topics:

Chapter 1: Naval operations in the Dardanelles campaign

Chapter 2: Dardanelles

Chapter 3: Gallipoli campaign

Chapter 4: Landing at Cape Helles

Chapter 5: Timeline of the Gallipoli Campaign

Chapter 6: HMS Canopus (1897)

Chapter 7: HMS Ocean (1898)

Chapter 8: HMS Irresistible (1898)

Chapter 9: HMS Majestic (1895)

Chapter 10: French battleship Bouvet

(II) Answering the public top questions about dardanelles campaign.

Who this book is for

Professionals, undergraduate and graduate students, enthusiasts, hobbyists, and those who want to go beyond basic knowledge or information for any kind of Dardanelles Campaign.

• Language: English
• Publisher: One Billion Knowledgeable
• Release date: May 31, 2024

Book preview

Chapter 1: Naval operations in the Dardanelles campaign

During the First World War, naval actions in the Dardanelles campaign (17 February 1915 – 9 January 1916) were conducted against the Ottoman Empire.

Navy vessels of the Royal Navy, French National Navy, Imperial Russian Navy (Российский импераорский флот) and the Royal Australian Navy, attempted to forcibly penetrate the Dardanelles Strait, a narrow, 66-kilometer-long waterway linking the Mediterranean Sea to the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea to the north.

The naval expedition was foiled by the Ottoman defense, particularly their naval mines. The Allies invaded the Gallipoli peninsula in order to clear the region of Ottoman artillery before resuming naval operations. Additionally, the Allies attempted to smuggle subs through the Dardanelles to attack Ottoman commerce in the Sea of Marmara.

The mouth of the strait is 3.7 km wide and features a swift river that empties the Black Sea into the Aegean. The distance between Cape Helles and the Sea of Marmara is approximately 66 kilometers (41 miles), which is obscured by the heights of the Gallipoli peninsula and the lower hills on the Asiatic coast. The passage widens for 5 miles (8.0 kilometers) to Eren Keui Bay, the strait's widest point at 4.5 miles (7.2 kilometers), then narrows for 11 miles (18 kilometers) to Kephez Point, where the waterway is 1.75 miles (2.82 kilometers) wide, and then widens to Sari Sighlar Bay. The strait is at its narrowest 14 miles (23 kilometers) upstream, from Chanak to Kilid Bahr at 1,600 yards (1,500 meters), where the canal swings north and widens for 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) to Nagara Point. From that point, the channel bends north-northeast for the remaining 23 miles (37 kilometers) to the Sea of Marmara. The Ottomans referred to the sea defenses of the Dardanelles on both sides of the waterway, from the Aegean approaches to Chanak, as fortresses. Only the defenses from the mouth of the straits and 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) from the northern end of Kephez Bay to Chanak were constructed in 1914. The nature of the seaward defenses of the Dardanelles was known to the British and French until late October 1914, but after hostilities broke out, it became more difficult to receive information about Ottoman fortification upgrades.

At the turn of the twentieth century, the Ottoman Empire had a reputation as Europe's sick man.

In October 1914, following an incident on September 27 in which the British Dardanelles squadron captured an Ottoman torpedo boat, the German commander of the Dardanelles fortifications closed the entrance, bolstering the notion that the Ottomans were pro-German.

In 1914, Field Marshal Lord Kitchener planned an amphibious landing at the Syrian city of Alexandretta to separate the capital from Syria, Palestine, and Egypt.

In August 1914, the Outer Defences consisted of two fortifications at the extremity of the Gallipoli peninsula and two fortifications on the Asiatic coast. The forts possessed 19 guns, four with a range of 9 miles (14 kilometers) and the others with ranges ranging from 3.4 to 4.5 miles (5.5 to 7.2 kilometers). Four field howitzers were dug in at Tekke Burnu (Cape Tekke) on the European side, followed by a 10-mile (16-kilometer) gap until the Intermediate Defences at Kephez Point, which had five defensive works on the south shore and one on the north shore. The fortifications were constructed to protect a minefield, which in August 1914 consisted of a line of mines stretching from Kephez Point to the European shore. Fort Dardanos was the most important structure, with two modern 6-inch naval guns and ten tiny quick-firing guns with shields. At the Narrows, the Inner Defences were equipped with the heaviest cannons, as well as mobile light howitzers and field guns. Five forts were constructed on the European side and six on the Asian side, each with 72 heavy and medium-sized cannons. There were five long-range 14-inch (360 mm) guns with a range of 9.7 miles (15.6 kilometers) and three 9.4-inch (240 mm) guns with a range of 8.5 miles (13.7 kilometers). The majority of the remaining guns in the Inner Defences were antiquated and unable to fire beyond 9.3 kilometers (9.2 km). The official Ottoman historian wrote, Upon mobilization, the Dardanelles' fortifications and weapons were woefully inadequate. Not only did the majority of the guns have an antiquated design, a poor rate of fire, and a short range, but their ammunition supply was restricted as well.

— Ottoman Official History

Lieutenant-General Erich Weber was appointed as an advisor to the Ottoman GHQ, and at the end of August 1914, Vice-Admiral Guido von Usedom, several specialists, and 500 soldiers were dispatched to fortify the forts on the Dardanelles and Bosphorus. In September, Usedom was promoted to Inspector-General of Coast Defenses and Mines, and Vice-Admiral Johannes Merten replaced Weber at Chanak with a marine detachment to operate the new weapons. The German advisors claimed that the Narrows' weapons had been rebuilt and were operational by mid-September. By October, the majority of the guns in the primary batteries were manned by German personnel serving as training units but competent to operate the guns in an emergency. Plans were formulated to construct additional defensive works in the Intermediate Zone and to bring in mobile howitzers and quick-firing weapons dismounted from older Ottoman vessels. Several powerful howitzers arrived in October, but the inadequate training of Ottoman gunners, outmoded armaments, and chronic ammunition shortage, which Usedom said was sufficient to repel only one severe attack, prompted him to protect the straits with minefields.

On November 3rd, 1914, Following the outbreak of war between the Ottoman and