THE GALIPOLI CAMPAIGN
THE GALIPOLI CAMPAIGN
The Gallipoli campaign which took place from the 25th of April 1915 until the 20th of December 1915 was a horrific battle with huge bloodshed and a total death toll of over one hundred and thirty thousand. Over the nine month campaign, New Zealand men faced numerous successes and many failures which had an impact on the on the outcome of the campaign. A main success turned failure was the battle to gain the Chunuk Bair summit. Many New Zealand men were lost but the task at hand was achieved, Chunuk Bair was then lost by the British relief soldiers. The Gallipoli campaign affected New Zealand and the public of New Zealand in many negative and positive ways, both short and long term.
The Great War arose in August 1914 with Germany declaring war on Russia, and then on France. Huge trench lines were present from Switzerland to Belgium. With neither side making large advances, the war had reached a stand still. With British troops incredibly keen to break through the German lines, supreme sea power seemed to be the answer. Winston Churchill suggested numerous ways to use British naval resources to their advantage, one of those being an attack on the Dardanelles in aim of breaking through and reaching the Turkish capital Constantinople. As early as November 1914, Churchill suggested an attack on Gallipoli but the plan was turned down as members of the war council believed it was far too risky. Shortly after, the stalemate situation and the actions of the Ottoman Empire forced the war council to rethink their position. On January the 15th, 1915 the plan to attack Gallipoli was approved, this brought the New Zealand and Australian men into the frame, this excited the ANZAC men. Gallipoli was chosen as a point to attack because Churchill believed that if the ANZACs attacked Gallipoli then it would force the Germans to split their army still further as they would need to support the poorly rated Turkish army. Due to the fresh rumours of an attack on
The Gallipoli campaign which took place from the 25th of April 1915 until the 20th of December 1915 was a horrific battle with huge bloodshed and a total death toll of over one hundred and thirty thousand. Over the nine month campaign, New Zealand men faced numerous successes and many failures which had an impact on the on the outcome of the campaign. A main success turned failure was the battle to gain the Chunuk Bair summit. Many New Zealand men were lost but the task at hand was achieved, Chunuk Bair was then lost by the British relief soldiers. The Gallipoli campaign affected New Zealand and the public of New Zealand in many negative and positive ways, both short and long term.
The Great War arose in August 1914 with Germany declaring war on Russia, and then on France. Huge trench lines were present from Switzerland to Belgium. With neither side making large advances, the war had reached a stand still. With British troops incredibly keen to break through the German lines, supreme sea power seemed to be the answer. Winston Churchill suggested numerous ways to use British naval resources to their advantage, one of those being an attack on the Dardanelles in aim of breaking through and reaching the Turkish capital Constantinople. As early as November 1914, Churchill suggested an attack on Gallipoli but the plan was turned down as members of the war council believed it was far too risky. Shortly after, the stalemate situation and the actions of the Ottoman Empire forced the war council to rethink their position. On January the 15th, 1915 the plan to attack Gallipoli was approved, this brought the New Zealand and Australian men into the frame, this excited the ANZAC men. Gallipoli was chosen as a point to attack because Churchill believed that if the ANZACs attacked Gallipoli then it would force the Germans to split their army still further as they would need to support the poorly rated Turkish army. Due to the fresh rumours of an attack on