War chronicle · February–May · Gabe Tepe, GallipoIi Peninsula
Invasion of Gallipoli
Thousands of Anzacs lose their lives as a shambolic campaign unfolds.
On 25 April some 4000 New Zealand soldiers and 20,000 Australian men land at Gabe Tepe ¬– later called Anzac Cove – on the Gallipoli Peninsula. They are grouped together as the Australia New Zealand Army Corps (Anzacs).
Since February, a squadron of warships has tried to bludgeon its way through the Dardanelles Strait, but the Ottoman coastal defences are much stronger than anyone expected. Now it is the turn of the Anzacs and other Allied troops to attack overland.
Their aim is to destroy the Ottoman guns and fortifications on the peninsula. Then the squadron can pass through the Dardanelles and take Constantinople, the Ottoman capital, forcing the Ottomans to surrender.
But the invasion – organised in just six weeks – is a shambles. The bravery of the ordinary soldiers does not make up for the mistakes of their generals. Thousands of soldiers lose their lives on the first day alone. The invasion quickly bogs down into the stalemate and trench warfare seen on the Western Front.
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