Gallipoli campaign

The Gallipoli campaign, the Dardanelles campaign, the Defense of Gallipoli or the Battle of Gallipoli (Turkish: Gelibolu Muharebesi, Çanakkale Muharebeleri or Çanakkale Savaşı) was a military campaign in the First World War on the Gallipoli peninsula (now Gelibolu) from 19 February 1915 to 9 January 1916. The Entente powers, Britain, France and the Russian Empire, sought to weaken the Ottoman Empire, one of the Central Powers, by taking control of the Ottoman straits. This would expose the Ottoman capital at Constantinople to bombardment by Entente battleships and cut it off from the Asian part of the empire. With Turkey defeated, the Suez Canal would be safe and a year-round Entente supply route could be opened through the Black Sea to warm-water ports in Russia.

Gallipoli campaign
Part of the Middle Eastern theatre of the First World War
A collection of photographs from the campaign. From top and left to right: Ottoman commanders including Mustafa Kemal (fourth from left); Entente warships; V Beach from the deck of SS River Clyde; Ottoman soldiers in a trench; and Entente positions
Date 19 February 1915 – 9 January 1916 (10 months, 3 weeks and 2 days) Location Gallipoli Peninsula, Sanjak of Gelibolu, Adrianople Vilayet, Ottoman Empire 40°14′15″N 26°16′39″E Result Ottoman victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom Australia New Zealand India Newfoundland France Algeria Tunisia West Africa Naval support: Russian Empire	Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Ian Hamilton Herbert Kitchener John de Robeck William Birdwood Winston Churchill Henri Gouraud Maurice Bailloud	Enver Pasha Mustafa Kemal Pasha
Units involved
Mediterranean Expeditionary Force Egyptian Labour Corps Maltese Labour Corps Oriental Expeditionary Corps Russia Navy	5th Army German military mission
Strength
5 divisions (initial) 15 divisions (final) Total: 489,000 345,000 British (including Irish, Indians and Newfoundlanders) 79,000 French c.  50,000 Australians c.  15,000 New Zealanders Supported by: c.  2,000 civilian labourers	6 divisions (initial) 16 divisions (final) Total: 315,500 c.  700 Germans
Casualties and losses
British Empire: 198,340 (31,389 killed, 9,708 missing and POW, 78,749 wounded, 78,494 evacuated sick) France: 9,000 killed & missing 18,000 wounded 20,000 evacuated sick Australia: 8,709 killed 18,500 wounded New Zealand: 3,431 killed 4,140 wounded Total: 300,000 (56,707 killed)	Ottoman Empire: 255,268 (56,643 killed, 97,007 wounded or injured, 11,178 missing or POW, 69,440 evacuated sick, 21,000 died of disease) Total: 255,268 (56,643 killed)

Template:Campaignbox Gallipoli Template:WWITheatre

The attempt, in February 1915, by the Entente fleet to force a passage through the Dardanelles failed. The naval action was followed by an amphibious landing on the Gallipoli peninsula in April 1915. In January 1916, after eight months' fighting, with approximately 250,000 casualties on each side, the land campaign was abandoned and the invasion force withdrawn. It was a costly campaign for the Entente powers and the Ottoman Empire as well as for the sponsors of the expedition, especially the First Lord of the Admiralty (1911–1915), Winston Churchill. The campaign was considered a great Ottoman victory. In Turkey, it is regarded as a defining moment in the history of the state, a final surge in the defence of the motherland as the Ottoman Empire retreated. The struggle formed the basis for the Turkish War of Independence and the declaration of the Republic of Turkey eight years later, with Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who rose to prominence as a commander at Gallipoli, as founder and president.

The campaign is often considered to be the beginning of Australian and New Zealand national consciousness. The anniversary of the landings, 25 April, is known as Anzac Day, the most significant commemoration of military casualties and veterans in the two countries, surpassing Remembrance Day (Armistice Day).