THE BATTLES OF GALLIPOLI FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE WARRING SIDES

Abstract

The Ottoman Empire declared its neutrality at the beginning of the First World War. However, the Ottoman Empire needed a powerful partner to save her future by getting rid of the capitulations. At the same period of time, for Germany, having a secondary battlefield was very important for the purpose of relieving the burden in Europe and to eliminate Russia from the war. The Dardanelles battlefield was the connection point to achieve the purposes of these two countries. The Dardanelles initiative was conceived first by the then First Lord of Admiralty, Winston Churchill. Unlike the Western Front in which neither side was able to obtain a definite result, Gallipoli was a sensitive spot for the Entente Powers. When the Ottoman Empire put pressure on the Russians in the Caucasus through the Sarıkamış Operation, Russia asked the British to make a demonstration to draw the attention of the Ottoman Empire away from the region, leading the Entente Powers to take action. The most important objectives of the Entente Powers in opening this frontline were to supply Russia with weapons and ammunition through the Bosphorus, to take the Ottoman State out of the war by capturing Istanbul and to enable countries such as Bulgaria, which had not yet entered the war, to participate in the war together with themselves. With the aim of performing these said objectives they planned to force their way through the Dardanelles by sea. The Naval Battles of Gallipoli began on 3 November 1914 when the British ships directed a cannonade on the straits and experienced its most fearful day on 18 March 1915. The Allied Navy not only suffered major losses when their ships hit the mines laid by the minelayer Nusret but also lost a considerable amount of prestige in their countries. Having failed to penetrate the Dardanelles, the Entente Powers launched a land operation from 25 April 1915 onward. The Ottoman State, headed by Liman Von Sanders, fought the enemy under the 5th Army in the Gallipoli Front. In the Gallipoli Peninsula under the 5th Army, the commander of the 3rd corps Esat Pasha served in Anafartalar and Conkbayırı region as Commander of the Northern Group. Firstly, Weber Pasha was in the Seddülbahir region as the Commander of the Southern Group. Then Vehip Pasha took the place of Weber Pasha. Under the command of Vehip Pasha, the 5th Corps Commander Esat Pasha and the 14th Corps Commander Trommer Pasha took office. Also, Fevzi Pasha took office as the Commander of the Anafartalar Group. Moreover, in the Seddülbahir Front under Weber Pasha in the Southern Group, the First Corps Commander Mehmet Ali Pasha and the Second Corps Commander Faik Pasha fought. The First Army Commander Von Der Goltz and, under his command, the 6th Corps Commander Hilmi Pasha took office in the Anatolian side in the Saros region. The Turkish defense during the land battles had been prepared by Turkish commanders. However, the German General Liman von Sanders, the Commander of the Turkish forces at the battles of Gallipoli, then revised the defense plan that was prepared by the Turkish commanders, and his strategy was based on defending coasts with weak forces, which naturally allowed the Allied forces to proceed to landing. The underlying aim of the German commanders was to hold up Allied forces as much as possible on the Gallipoli front in order to relieve Germany on the Western front. Despite the objections by the Turkish commanders that realized this truth, the battle practices of the German commanders in contradiction with principles of war both prolonged the battles and caused excessive numbers of casualties to be suffered. The Battles of Gallipoli lasted for 260 days on land and 287 days in total along with battles at sea. Because of its political, socio-cultural and economic results and its effect on world history, the Battles of Gallipoli bear great importance, not only for Turkey but also for the world, and they still retain their importance. In the first place, the fact that these operations were successfully carried out made a positive effect on the morale of the Turkish soldiers in the front and broke down the belief of the Allied troops that Gallipoli could be passed through, thereby changing the course of the land battles in favor of the Ottoman army. As a result of these developments, the war extended more than the duration planned by the Entente Army and eventually resulted against them. The Battles of Gallipoli were a real scene of honor for Turkish history. Many different nations came together to break through the Dardanelles, but Turks’ incredible patience, determination, perseverance and patriotism made the Dardanelles impassable. Despite all negative conditions, this victory erased the sad traces of defeats in the consciousness of the Turkish Nation, which had been made in the Balkan wars. Apart from this, another function of the Battles of Gallipoli was to bring up the leading commanders of the National Struggle and introduce them to the nation. These battles revealed such a genius as Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, allowing the Turkish nation to have this unique leader of the National Struggle which was to begin immediately after the end of World War I. This victory, which was won at Gallipoli, foiled the strategy of the Entente Powers who had aimed to besiege Germany from the southeast by eliminating Turkey right at the start of the war, and it caused the war to become prolonged for two more years. On the other hand, when the Dardanelles was blocked and Russia was not allowed a passage, this facilitated the German operations in the Eastern Front against the Russians, resulting in the downfall of the Russian Tsardom with the Bolshevik Revolution that took place soon after. Especially the victories won through the determined attitude and initiative of Mustafa Kemal in the Conkbayırı and Anafartalar battles within the Gallipoli land battles wrote down in history the achievements and the innumerable heroic epics of the Turkish

Özet

Osmanlı Devleti Marn Savaşı'nı kaybeden Almanya ile 2 Ağustos 1914'te önce bir ittifak anlaşması imzalamayı tercih etmek zorunda kalmıştır. Daha sonra İngiliz ve Fransız donanmalarından kaçan "Goben ve Breslav" isimli iki Alman gemisini satın aldığını belirterek teslim etmemiştir. Yavuz ve Midilli adı verilen bu gemilerin Alman Amiral Souchon komutasında 29-30 Ekim 1914 gecesi Kefe, Novorosisk, Odessa, Sivastopol'daki Rus liman ve şehirlerini bombalamasıyla Osmanlı Devleti savaşa resmen dâhil olmuştur. Osmanlı Devleti'ne önce 1 Kasım'da Rusya, daha sonra da 5 Kasım'da İngiltere ve Fransa savaş ilan etmişlerdir. Osmanlı Devleti'nin savaşa girmesiyle birlikte İttifak Devletleri rahatlamış ve savaş daha geniş bir coğrafyaya yayılmıştır. Bu savaşta Osmanlı ordusu yedi cephede mücadele etmiştir. Kafkas ve Galiçya cephesinde Ruslarla, Makedonya'da Yunan ve Fransızlarla, Çanakkale'de Fransız, İngiliz ve İtalyanlarla, Suriye, Hicaz-Yemen ve Irak cephelerinde İngiliz ordusu ile savaşılmıştır.Çanakkale Cephesi Osmanlı İmparatorluğu'nun I. Dünya Savaşı'nda İtilaf Devletleri ile çarpıştığı cephelerden biridir. Bu cephe Türk Ordusu'nun burada kazanmış olduğu büyük başarıdan dolayı çok önemlidir ve bu cephede kazanılan zafer I. Dünya Savaşı'nın seyrini değiştirmiştir. İtilaf Devletleri'nin bu cepheyi açma amacı, Rusya'ya Boğaz üzerinden silah ve cephane yardımı yapmak ve Balkan Devletleri'ni kendi yanlarında savaşa sokabilmekti. Osmanlı Devleti'nin amacı ise İstanbul'un ve Anadolu'nun İtilaf Devletleri tarafından işgal edilmesini önlemekti. Çanakkale Muharebeleri ile bir ölüm kalım savaşı yaşanacaktı. Çanakkale savaşlarını tarafların gözünden karşılaştırmalı olarak ele almaya çalışacak olan bu çalışmamızda özellikle savaşı yaşamış olan asker ve sivil kişilerin hatıraları ve değerlendirmeleri esas alınmıştır