Download world war 1 - the battle of gallipoli: a milestone for next centuries

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WORLD WAR 1 - THE BATTLE OF GALLIPOLI:
A MILESTONE FOR NEXT CENTURIES
ISMS (INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF MILITARY SCIENCES) ANNUAL
CONFERENCE ON MILITARY DEVELOPMENTS 2015
National University of Defense, Helsinki, Finland
REPORT
Prepared by
Metin AKDENİZ
İSTANBUL-2015
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CONTENTS
Abstract.……………………………………………………………………………3
1. Introduction……………………………………………………………………..4
2. Redeployment of the Ottoman Army Prior to The Battle of Gallipoli………5
3. The Beginning of The Battle of Gallipoli………………………………………6
4. The Global Political Effects and Results of The Battle of Gallipoli…………….8
5. The Greatest Prize on the Political Stage of the Victory at Gallipoli:
Mustafa Kemal ATATURK and Leadership Qualities…………......………………11
6. Sources………………………………………………………………..………………14
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THE BATTLE OF GALLIPOLI:
A MILESTONE FOR NEXT CENTURIES
Metin AKDENİZ *
ABSTRACT
In World War I; the Ottoman Empire had been allied with Central Powers
which was led by Germany. Hence Allied Powers, mainly England and
France, thought that it was the high time to pass the Turkish straits
(Çanakkale-Dardanelles and Bosporus) in order to give a hand to Russia by
defeating the Ottomans, which was named as a “sick man”. They prepared a
comprehensive campaign plan, as did the Ottomans for defensive.
According to the allied plan, Allied Powers, the Royal Navy with substantial
support from the French and minor contributions from Russia and Australia,
would force through the Çanakkale Strait (Dardanelles) with a state of art
naval power and occupy İstanbul, the capital. Maritime operations were
launched in November, 1914.
Right after the last devastating and
destructive naval attacks and bombardments which happened on March 18,
1915, maritime operations were unsuccessful and a clear defeat. The
Ottoman minelayer Nusret played a key role at the naval defensive
operations of Ottomans by laying a line of mines in Erenköy Bay, just inside
the entrance to the straits.
Allied Powers figured out that a land operations had to be launched
against Ottoman troops in Gallipoli peninsula. With the hope of removing
despondency of failure they experienced in the sea, Allied Powers had set
out the assault on Gallipoli Peninsula. In accordance with the treaty signed
on August 1914, German generals and staff officers also served as advisers
and military commanders for the Ottoman army along with Turkish generals
and officers. Land Warfare had been tremendously bloody for both sides.
Allied Powers, English and French troops and colonial soldiers, having
landed in Gallipoli peninsula on April 25, 1915 could not make any progress.
At a critical stage of war, an Ottoman Officer, Mustafa Kemal’s influence on
his troops by saying “I am ordering you to die, not to fight” affected the
destiny of the war. Under his command and control the defensive had been
very vigorous and successful. As a military leader he set up example of
being on the spot, taking initiative and convincing his soldiers of the victory.
As a result, Allied Powers could not finish up the landing and suffered a lot
against the defensive. They retreated totally on January 9, 1916 with no
gain. D. Lloyd George, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, said later
about Mustafa Kemal Atatürk: “We meet a genius very rarely in centuries. “It
is so unlucky that, in this century, a great genius belongs to the Turkish
Nation. The centuries rarely produce a genius. Look at this bad luck of ours,
that great genius of our era was granted to the Turkish nation.”
* Instructor at Turkish War Colleges
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There have been vital lessons to be taken for the future of wars and
humanitarian point of view. Both sides had suffered heavy losses during the
warfare. This battle, which occurred in a narrow land, is one of the bloodiest
battles of history. This war influenced both Turkish and world history from
political, economic and educational aspects, as well as social and
psychological dimensions while the new adventures had been approaching.
Having been assigned from Sofia to the Çanakkale Front voluntarily, he, the
founder and the First President of the modern Turkish Republic, then an
Ottoman Officer, played a key role during the campaign as mentioned
above. On a memorial in Canberra, the capital of Australia, the inscription,
written by Atatürk, pays tribute to the Anzacs and reflects his understanding
about the war in an humanitarian point of view:
"Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives... you are now
lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no
difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side
by side here in this country of ours... You the mothers who sent their sons
from far away countries wipe away your tears. Your sons are now lying in our
bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have
become our sons as well."
Although, on one hand the fights between two sides were very fierce,
sometimes unbelievable, on the other hand the relations between the two
side’s soldiers were humanistic. Whatever soldiers managed there were the
basics for the future legal arrangements on war. Against all odds, they never
forgot that they were fighting as human beings, not the enemies. Besides,
this war, in a way, shaped the future alliances and wars. It particularly paved
the way for Russia’s future. It has been giving inspirations to the strategists
as to naval and land war strategies and tactics. In this study, it was
mentioned basically how the warfare was fought laying stress on the other
face of the war, what were the strategies and tactics behind and what
consequences appeared and which lessons were learnt after the war.
1. Introduction:
The struggle for control of Gallipoli (Çanakkale) and Istanbul’s Bosporus has an
important place in history. Having command over these two areas means dominance of
Russian waters and economy, along with control of the trade and troop movements of
nations with coastlines on the Black and Aegean sea, as well as in the area’s private
shipping industry. Dominance over the Straits is a controlling factor in the indirect influencing
of the trading activities of the nations in the area. The Straits, which are both a waterway
between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, as well as between Europe and Asia, are of
strategic importance. These strategic sea routes have had an important position in the
customary implementation of policies related to Germany’s “Eastern Policy”, Russia’s longstanding ambitions, and Britain’s interests in providing a safe passage to India in the last
quarter of the 19th Century. It can therefore be seen that Europe’s struggle to come to the
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fore in the Straits, or rather gain influence, was a weakening of the Ottoman State that
continued to the end of the 18th Century. Hence, the 1798 Ottoman-Russian, 1799 OttomanBritish, 1841 London, 1856 Paris and 1878 Berlin treaties and protocols of the legal situation
of the Straits had a leading role in the matter in hand.
2. Redeployment of The Ottoman Army Prior to the Battle of Gallipoli:
The Strait of Gallipoli is one of the world’s most important waterways as it is the only
route to the Sea of Marmara, Istanbul Bosporus and the Black Sea, as well as providing
control of sea trade with Sivastopol, Odessa and Istanbul via the Tuna, Dinyeper and Don
rivers.1 For the Allies, controlling the Strait could possibly trigger a change in the course of
the World War I for the stalemate on the Western Front, while sidelining the Ottoman Empire
in the east and obtaining Russian support. The most significant obstacle to this outcome was
passage through Gallipoli Strait.
In 1807, despite the fortifications in the Gallipoli Strait, the British managed to pass
through this narrow passage and reach Istanbul, while on their return, despite encountering
more formidable resistance, they were able to enter the Agean Sea without casualties.
However, over time, especially due to emerging developments in light of the artillery fire in
Moltke in 1836, it was said that no fleet under the sun would dare to enter the Gallipoli Strait,
due to the ease of which artillery pieces could be positioned to defend it.2 Undoubtedly, the
British were aware of this concern. However, during the Balkan Wars, the Balkan States had
adventitiously and rapidly defeated the Ottoman Army, leading the British to perceive the
Ottomans as being a “dead man” lying on the slab, rather than just a “sick man”. They
therefore assumed that the Ottoman army would be completely unable to resist them. The
British therefore began their campaign on the 3rd November, 1914, without ground support,
which ended with the defeat of their sea operations on the 18th March, completely removing
the advantage of a surprise attack and gifting the Ottoman Army time to prepare and
regroup. The battles that took place on this extremely narrow piece of land represent some of
the bloodiest scenes of the First World War.
1
Jonathan Schroden, A Strait Comparison: Lessons Learned from the 1915 Dardanelles
Campaign in the Context of a Strait of Hormuz Closure Event, Center for Naval Analyses, 7.
2
Robert Rhodes James, Gelibolu Harekâtı, trans. Haluk V. Saltıkgil (Ankara: Belge Yayınları,
1965), 4.
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The European states considered the Ottoman Empire as exhausted as a fighting force
following its defeat in the 1912-1913 Balkan Wars. European observers were reporting to
their headquarters that their deployment systems were insufficient, there was a lack of a
strategy and they had been unsuccessful in battles since the start of the war. 3 However,
when observing these forces that had been deployed on the battlefield, the majority of these
observers has overlooked the fact that the Ottoman soldiers were good individual fighters.
Contrary to the hypotheses of many historians on the topic, the Ottoman troops that
fought at Gallipoli were comprised of divisions that were graced with the best and most
educated leaders. The Allies believed that that would be facing an uneducated and disorderly
rabble of troops, representing all that could be gathered at the last minute by the Ottomans
who had lost the Balkan War. 4 However, the Gallipoli front had been fortified since 1880, and
during the Balkan Wars those fortifications had been strengthened. More importantly,
mobilization, organization and deployment within the army, as well as educational reform,
were beginning to yield positive results.
In 1919, a report was published by the Dardanelle Commission, which had been
established following World War I within the British Parliament. The report concluded that
Turkish soldiers were not good fighters due to their heavy defeat at the hands of the British in
the Balkan War. The Allies who came to Gallipoli had this assumption dispelled. At the end of
the war, the potential, capability and resolution of the Turkish Army was shown to be much
greater than what had been supposed.
The factor that had either escaped the British or had not been properly considered was
the reforms that had taken place in the Ottoman Army. These measures had, in fact, begun
before the Balkan Wars, but had not been able to be completed. As a result of rebellions in
Yemen and some European provinces, extremely valuable commanders and troops had
been assigned as peacekeepers in those districts. This meant that both reforms not been
completed, and insufficient preparations for war created a further weak point. After the war,
these procedures were vigorously recommenced, and some fundamental changes were
made.
3. The Beginning of the Battle of Gallipoli:
As well known, there was an increasing arms race between states at the end of the 19th
Century, virtually foreshadowing the outbreak of a great war at the start of the 20th Century.
3
. Erickson, E. J. (2001). Strength against Weakness: Ottoman Military Effectiveness at
Gallipoli, 1915. The Journal of Military History, 65(4), s.984. doi:10.2307/2677626
4
. A.g.e, s. 982.
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The Ottoman Empire, with sources that extended over a wide geographical area, was one of
the states that hungered for imperialist gains. On the 2nd August, 1914, after forming a secret
alliance with Germany, Ottoman general command rapidly mobilized their troops and drew
up plans for a military build-up; providing the pressure on the Black Sea that fulfilled the
conditions to force them into war.
The British Ministry of War began offensive fire against the outer defenses in the
Dardenelles at the start of November 1914 in order to eliminate the Ottoman Empire from the
war; these attacks were re-commenced on the 19th, 25th and 26th of February 1915, as well
as between 1-17 March 1915.
On the 4th March, the commander of the Allied fleet, Admiral Carden, sent a telegram
to Churchill telling him that they would be passing through the strait and reaching Istanbul
within a few hours. On the 18th March 1915, the Allies powerful armada was shipped into the
strait. Thanks to a reconnaissance flight of just two planes against the advanced technology
and guns of the Allied fleet, the Turkish guns were on target and the mines laid by Nusret
sunk the Allies largest ships, as “Gallipolli could not be passed”. A memorandum submitted
by Lloyd George to the British Council of War three months before the expedition to Gallipoli,
stated that “…insufficient attention to planning and preparation will lead to overall disaster for
the campaign”. On the 18th March, heavy defeat of the sea campaign proved Lloyd George to
be correct.
When the attempt to reach Gallipoli by sea failed, the Allied forces then embarked on a
amphibious operation to the Gallipoli Peninsula. The battles, which began at the crack of
dawn on the 25th April 1915, lasted for eight and half months. These Allied attacks, which
continued to the middle of August, were only halted by the famous resistance of the
‘Mehmetçikler’ (Affectionate name for the Turkish Private – similar to ‘Tommies’).
The 25th April 1915 landing operation began with a surprise attack in Seddülbahir,
Kumkale, Arıburnu and Kabatepe, followed by intense fighting. The Turks heroically
defended this front line on the first day, and suffered many casualties, but prevented the
Allies from reaching their goal. Lieutenant Colonel Mustafa Kemal, Commander of the 19th
Division, who was scrupulously watching developments of the landing operation on the 25th
April, 1915, used his great experience to retain the Gallipoli Peninsula, which was also being
approached by the Anzacs, by deploying the 57th Infantry Division and a Mountain Battery to
Kocaçimentepe and Conkbayırı. With the rousing orders Mustafa Kemal gave in Conkbayırı,
“I’m not ordering you to fight, I’m ordering you to die. In the time that it takes us to die, other
forces and commanders can come and take our place!” he emboldened the ‘Mehmetçik’ to
halt the enemy.
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In the four months between the commencement of land battles on the 25th April, 1915
and August 1915, forces lead by the British Allied Commander, General Hamilton, which
were joined by French forces, were not able to reach their target.
As a result of the battles over Seddülbahir in the southern sector, an advance of only
seven kilometers had been achieved, and the first goal, Alçı Hill, hadn’t been taken. In the
central sector, the Anzac corps were losing the will to fight as the day wore on in Arıburnu. In
this sector, Lieutenant Colonel Mustafa Kemal, Commander of the 19th Division, changed the
course of the battle with his timely and appropriate direction. The Anzac Corps were unable
to overcome the defense of Conkbayırı and achieve their goal. Over the past six months, the
British Allied Commander, General Hamilton, had suffered casualties of over 100,000.
The three most important features of these First World War battles were as follows:
Firstly, it was trench warfare. Secondly, the trenches were very close to each other. Thirdly,
battle casualties were extremely high.
In conclusion, the Battle of Gallipoli began with sea battles between the 19th February
and the 18th March 1915. As access to the strait could not be gained, on the 25th April the
Allied states launched another attempt to pass through the Strait to reach the Gallipoli
Peninsula. When this attempt also failed, defeat was accepted and the peninsula was
evacuated on the 9th January 1916.
4. The Global Political Effects and Results of the Battle of Gallipoli
In war, suggested Napoleon, morale is superior to physical strength. His quote “War is more
a matter of psychology than strategy. A righteous war is already half won.” rings true. 5
In light of new documents that have been obtained, the Gallipoli front was not a typical
front of The First World War, and the battles that took place there were not mere fighting, we
know now that they changed the course of history. The findings of new research conducted
in the field are being added to what is already known. This information is not just concerning
itself with history, it is also throwing a light on work done in relation to military knowhow. This
valuable knowledge sheds light on life at the Battle of Gallipoli, and at the same time, modern
battle concepts. For example, the Battle of Gallipoli included the highest incidence to date of
land-based artillery hitting floating targets. In addition, the amphibious landing employed by
5
M. Zekeriya, “Çanakkale Savaşı’nın Psikolojisi”, Yeni Mecmua Çanakkale Özel Sayısı, ed.
Ersan Güngör, haz. Muzaffer Albayrak-Ayhan Özyurt, Yeditepe Yayınları, İstanbul, 2006, s.
291; Talat Özdoğan, “Çanakkale’de Türk Kahramanlığı”, Çanakkale Muharebeleri 75. Yıl
Armağanı, Ankara, 1990, s. 166; Orhan Karaveli, Çanakkale Olmasaydı O Olmasaydı,
Doğan Kitap, İstanbul, 2014, s. 128.
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the Allied Nations during the Battle of Gallipoli was the first time that such craft have been
used in the history of modern warfare. It’s known that the lessons learnt were especially
employed in Sicily, Normandy and Okinawa during the Second World War. Furthermore, the
Battle of Gallipoli is the first successful example of the modern defense of a shore. A little
known factor is that anti-personnel snipers to target high-ranking enemy commanders were
first used as a tactic by the Turks at the Battle of Gallipoli. It can therefore be seen that the
Battle of Gallipoli contains a great deal of data to illuminate modern military knowhow.
The Battle of Gallipoli contained peculiarities that made it an extraordinary conflict. For
one thing, never before in history had such extensive sea and landing units been deployed
that comprised of such a range of soldiers fighting on the same front, but being from different
nations. From the start, this was a pitched battle, involving land, sea, air units, the latter of
which were used very effectively, as were submarines. There were also underground units
tunneling under enemy trenches to create mine warfare by planting explosive charges that
would blow trenches into the air. In terms of trench warfare, never before had opposing
trenches been so close together: at times just 8-10 meters apart.
Gallipoli showed that nations who had founded a global colonial empire, which had the
latest weapon technology and a massive fleet, could be defeated. This lit a torch of
independence for nations that for many years had been living in captivity.
The event changed the course of World War One, as well as bringing Mustafa Kemal,
leader of The War of Independence, savior of Istanbul from occupation and hero of
Anafartalar, to the attention of the Turkish nation and the world. The battle was also one of
the reasons that extended the war for another two years, caused the collapse of the Czarist
regime in Russia and the rise of the Bolsheviks, and was one of the causes of opening the
path to social-economic collapse for both victorious and defeated nations and the following
great upset that created Fascism in Italy and Nazism in Germany.
As the Turks had earned victory at Gallipoli, the Straits could not be opened, the
alliance between Russia and the Allies could not provide the supply of military hardware that
was required by Czarist Russia, and the commercial fleet that was carrying cereals required
for Europe was stuck in the Black Sea and were not able to get through to sell their cargo.
These developments lead to a social-economic disaster that strangled Czarist Russia
economically, militarily and politically. With defeat by Japan in 1905, Russia was completely
reformed6 by accession of the Bolsheviks. 7 The Bolsheviks first act was to withdraw from the
war, dismiss all treaties publically signed by the Czarists and expose all secret treaties.
6
A. Mete Tunçoku, Buzdağı’nın Altı, TBMM. Yayınları No 107, TBMM Basımevi, Ankara,
2005, s. 10-21; Erdoğan Aydın, a.g.e., s. 159.
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Britain, who had lost her past mastery of the seas, had to concede power to the USA,
which was developing over this period. At the end of the war, the USA undertook her new
role of sole world super power. 8
Relations between the Turkish and the Australian and New Zealand soldiers was
cordial, warm and even one of close friendship. In the history of the World War, it is known
as the “Gentlemen’s Battle”.
After living through so many days full of so much violence, blood and agony, the hatred
and animosity between two sides is replaced with positive impressions of admiration and
respect. In the case of The Battle of Gallipoli, these feelings has given rise to a friendly
atmosphere giving the Gallipoli Peninsula a special meaning that goes beyond just being a
100 year old battlefield.9
The greatest gift of the spirit of 1915 Gallipoli was the hero of Anafartalar, Mustafa
Kemal, described by Churchill, the father of the idea for the Gallipoli campaign, as “a man of
destiny”, by the official British author of the history of the war, Aspinall Oglander, as “an
extraordinary military genius” and by the official Australian author of the history of the war,
C.E.W. Bean, as “the greatest leader on the eastern front”. The British Prime Minister, Lloyd
George admitted, upon his forced resignation, “Centuries rarely produce a genius. What bad
luck of ours that the great genius of our era was granted to the Turkish nation! What could
we do against Mustafa Kemal?"
In the following years, Mustafa Kemal liberated the occupied Turkish Nation along with
Anatolia, thus founding the Republic of Turkey. Following the struggle for liberation, he was
unanimously appointed as a leader and was considered the most respected statesman of the
20th century.
7
Fahir Armaoğlu, “Çanakkale Muharebelerinin Rusya Üzerindeki Etkileri”, Çanakkale
Savaşları Sebep ve Sonuçları Uluslar arası Sempozyumu, 14-17 Mart 1990, Türk Tarih
Kurumu Basımevi, Ankara, 1993, s. 6-29.
8
Ergun Aybars, “Çanakkale Savaşı’nın Siyasi Sonuçları”, Çanakkale Araştırmaları Türk
Yıllığı, sayı 3, Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart Üniversitesi Atatürk ve Çanakkale Savaşlarını
Araştırma Merkezi, Mart 2003, s. 72.
9
A. Mete Tunçoku, “Çanakkale Savaşlarının Stratejik Sonuçları”, Atatürk Araştırma
Merkezi Dergisi, sayı 4, 1998, s. 563, 564.
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5. The Greatest Prize on the Political Stage of the Victory at Gallipoli: Mustafa Kemal
ATATURK and Leadership Qualities
He was born in 1881, in Selanik, a province of the Ottoman Empire, and graduated
from a Military School in 1902, and a Military College in 1905.10 In 1905, he was assigned to
the 5th Army in Damascus, and in 1907 to the 3rd Army in Macedonia. While serving in
Manastır and Selanik in 1909, he was assigned to a counter insurgent unit in Istanbul. 11 In
1911, he was sent to Tobruk as part of Italy’s land troops moving to Trablusgarp; and he
successfully commanded the Turkish Forces in Tobruk and Derne. In the Balkan War, as
appointed operations commander of corps in Bolayır, he served in Gallipoli and later with
corps based in locations from Bulgaria to Edirne. Immediately prior to the Battle of Gallipoli,
he served in the attaché’s office in Sofia.
At the start of World War One, Mustafa Kemal was carrying out his duties at the
attaché’s office in Sofia. With the intention to play an active role in the defense of his nation,
Mustafa Kemal demonstrated his self-sacrifice and love of his country by insisting that he be
assigned to Gallipoli.
If it is examined, Mustafa Kemal’s personal and leadership qualities are evident. He
was self-confident, proud, responsible, brave and forwards thinking. These qualities would
have a profound effect on the Battle of Gallipoli.
At the Battle of Gallipoli, Mustafa Kemal made important decisions when required, and
by using his initiative greatly influenced the outcome of the battle. These important decisions
made at the Battle of Gallipoli, also won him the Turkish Nation. As commander of the 5th
Army, and then the 19th Division, Mustafa Kemal, on the 25th April, the day the battle was
heating-up, attempted to telephone Army and Corps headquarters. However, when he was
unable to do so, he used his own initiative to order a section of his division to attack the
enemy at Conkbayırı. As a result of this order, Conkbayırı was saved just as it was about to
fall to the enemy.12 Had Mustafa Kemal waited for the order to attack, Conkbayırı would have
been lost. Allowing Conkbayırı to fall would have meant that the enemy was in reaching
distance of the Strait’s fortifications and the Battle of Gallipoli would have been lost. Due to
Mustafa Kemal’s use of his initiative, leading him to take this calculated risk, the enemy was
ejected without it taking Conkbayırı.
10
Gnkur.Bşk.lığı, Türk İstiklâl Harbine Katılan Tümen ve Daha Üst Kademlerdeki
Komutanların Biyografileri, (Ankara: Gnkur.Bşk.lığı, Basımevi, 1972),1.
11
A.g.e., 2.
12
İsmet Görgülü, Çanakkale İlk Günde Biterdi, 12.
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On the 25th April, 1915, while on the way to direct operations at Conkbayırı, Mustafa
Kemal encountered some Turkish soldiers retreating from the region of Balıkçı Damları. The
soldiers were fleeing as they had run out of ammunition, but Mustafa Kemal ordered them to
fix bayonets and lie on the ground. As the troops were now on the ground, as were the
enemy troops, the immediate danger was avoided. Mustafa Kemal gave this historic order:
“I’m not ordering you to fight, I’m ordering you to die. In the time that it takes us to die, other
forces and commanders can come and take our place!”
13
With this order he turned his
soldiers into a fighting force that were able to eject the Anzac troops they encountered. He
had therefore prevented a chaotic situation in the nick of time.
Mustafa Kemal’s leadership persuaded others to willingly follow his orders. In order for
an officer to dispatch and direct his subordinates, he must win their hearts and trust.
Sanders, instead of persuasion, tried to us his legal authority to command his subordinates.
On the other hand, Mustafa Kemal was a leader who could win his solders’ hearts and trust
using his leadership qualities. He soldiers would follow his orders, even if it meant their
death.
Leaders listen to the views of others, and should have the modesty to accept those
views when they are correct. Sanders would not stoop to consider the opinions of
commanders inferior to himself. It was for that reason that the Battle of Gallipoli, which could
have been finished in the first day, dragged on for months. Had Mustafa Kemal not used his
initiative to stop the advance of the Anzacs, the Ottomans could have lost the battle. Right
from the start, Mustafa Kemal, and the other Turkish commanders, used their incomparable
command and leadership skills to throw the Allied forces out of Gallipoli.
Due to the superior leadership ability exhibited at Gallipoli, ”Colonel Mustafa Kemal,
the Hero of Anafartalar”, as he was known all over the Ottoman nation, did his duty, without
interruption, from the seven months and fifteen days between the 2nd February 1915 and the
10th December 1915. During this period, the young officer, just 34 years old, successfully
directed the 19th Division, forces at Arıburnu, command of the 15th and 16th Corps and
Anafartalar Group command.
The greatest gift of the victory that was won on the world political stage at Gallipoli was
the man who was chosen the most respected man of the 20th Century, the hero of
Anafartalar: Mustafa Kemal.
Before his successful entering of the top-tier of world history, Ataturk was first
successful in the military. Amongst these successes, his most well known victory is at
13
Şevket Süreyya Aydemir, Tek Adam, 221-222.
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Gallipoli. At the Battle of Gallipoli (1915-1916) he demonstrated superior qualities of
leadership, along with clear strategies that altered the fate of first the front, and then the
battle. After being crowned with victory at the front, Mustafa Kemal even honored the enemy
with praise; he was a man who would turn heads. For example, Winston Churchill called him
“A man of destiny”. Following his victory, Mustafa Kemal envisioned himself as military leader
in War of Independence.
Mustafa Kemal’s successes were reflected during the period in the national press and
the press played a role in his portrait becoming established as that of a national hero.
Following his death, the portrait did not change; and whether it was national, or international,
the Victory at Gallipoli gained premium importance. The British press in particular published
news about Mustafa Kemal, and in his biographies showed his successes as beginning at
Gallipoli.
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was both a soldier, and a leader who left his mark on world
history as a political figure. Hero of Anafartalar, leader of The War of Independence, founder
of The Republic of Turkey, who had a personality that could be effective whether he was
acting as the first President or the architect of the Turkish State. The qualities of Mustafa
Kemal could well have been refined at the Ottoman Military College (Mekteb-i Harbiye),
which was founded by Sultan Mahmud II (1785-1839), and remains to this day as one of the
pre-eminent institutions. Mustafa Kemal, who at Gallipoli had his first and complete chance to
utilize the skills that had learnt at Harbiye, had suddenly created a model commander for the
world to aspire to. By deciding on tactics and strategies by following the progress of the
battle, Mustafa Kemal was able to change the destiny of the front and write in the pages of
history, and thus began to be known as The Man of Destiny. Whether it was national or
international, the starting point of his successes was given as The Battle of Gallipoli. 14
Over 500,000 people had been lost from both sides at The Battle of Gallipoli. No such
event had ever been seen anywhere in the world. The world’s most powerful army, using the
best technology available, was going against stubbornness, resolve, determination, will and
intelligence in a conflict to the death; a situation that would impress anybody. However, there
was an even greater truth, 19 years after that war, Ataturk would be speaking these words at
foreign graves:
14
Mustafa Kemal’in Gelibolu Muharebeleri’ndeki başarılarıyla ilgili bkz.: Michael Hickey,
Gallipoli, John Murray Yayınevi, Londra, 1995; Edward J. Erickson, Gelibolu Osmanlı
Harekâtı, Çev: Orhan Düz, Türkiye İş Bankası Kültür Yayınları, İstanbul, 2012; Edward J.
Erickson, Size Ölmeyi Emrediyorum! Birinci Dünya Savaşı’nda Osmanlı Ordusu, Çev:
Tanju Akad, Kitap Yayınevi, İstanbul, 2003; Alan Moorehead, Gelibolu, Çev: Ali Cevat
Akkoyunlu, Doğan Kitapçılık, İstanbul, 2004; Victor Rudenno, Gelibolu Denizden Saldırı,
Çev: Dilek Cenkçiler, ODTÜ Yayıncılık, Ankara, 2009.
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“Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives ... You are now lying in the soil of a
friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and
the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours ... You, the
mothers who sent their sons from faraway countries, wipe away your tears; your sons are
now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have
become our sons as well.”
It must not be forgotten that these words are poles apart from the Fascist and Nazi
speeches of a Europe that was being oppressed at that time.
6. Sources:
ARMAOĞLU, Fahir, Siyasi Tarih 1789-1960, Sevinç Matbaası, Ankara, 1973.
AYDEMIR, Şevket Süreyya, Tek Adam, 1’inci Cilt, (İstanbul: Remzi Kitabevi, 2007)
Çanakkale Araştırmaları Türk Yıllığı sayı 3, Ankara, Mart 2005.
ÇETİNER, Selahattin, Çanakkale Savaşları Üzerine Bir İnceleme, Cem Offset, Ankara,
1999.
ERICKSON, Edward J., Defeat in Detail: The Ottoman Army in the Balkans, 1912–1913,
(Praeger, 2003)
ERİCKSON, E. J. (2001). Strength against Weakness: Ottoman Military Effectiveness at
Gallipoli, 1915. The Journal of Military History, 65(4), s.984. doi:10.2307/2677626
ERİCKSON, Edward J., Gelibolu Osmanlı Harekâtı, Çev: Orhan Düz, Türkiye İş Bankası
Kültür Yayınları, İstanbul, 2012.
ERİCKSON, Edward J., Size Ölmeyi Emrediyorum! Birinci Dünya Savaşı’nda Osmanlı
Ordusu, Çev: Tanju Akad, Kitap Yayınevi, İstanbul, 2003.
The Final Report of the Dardanelles Commission (1919), Her Majesty’s Stationery Office,
Londra,s. 21. http://www.nla.gov.au/apps/cdview/?pi=nla.aus-vn2035864-s23-v adresinden
elde edildi.
Gnkur.Bşk.lığı, Türk İstiklâl Harbine Katılan Tümen ve Daha Üst Kademlerdeki Komutanların
Biyografileri, (Ankara: Gnkur.Bşk.lığı, Basımevi, 1972)
GÖRGÜLÜ, İsmet, Çanakkale İlk Günde Biterdi, (Ankara: Bilgi Yayınevi, 1998)
HİCKEY, Michael, Gallipoli, John MurrayYayınevi, Londra, 1995.
JAMES Robert Rhodes, Gelibolu Harekâtı, trans. Haluk V. Saltıkgil (Ankara: Belge Yayınları,
1965)
MOOREHEAD, Alan, Gelibolu, Çev: Ali Cevat Akkoyunlu, Doğan Kitapçılık, İstanbul, 2004.
RUDENNO, Victor, Gelibolu Denizden Saldırı, Çev: Dilek Cenkçiler, ODTÜ Yayıncılık,
Ankara, 2009.
SCHRODEN Jonathan, A Strait Comparison: Lessons Learned from the 1915 Dardanelles
Campaign in the Context of a Strait of Hormuz Closure Event, Center for Naval Analyses
TUNÇOKU, A.Mete, Çanakkale 1915 Buzdağı’nın Altı, TBMM Basımevi, Ankara, 2005.
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TUNÇOKU, A.Mete-TAŞKIRAN Cemalettin, Çanakkale, Churchill ve Anzaklar, Genkur.
Basımevi, Ankara, 2000
ZEKERİYA, M., “Çanakkale Savaşı’nın Psikolojisi”,Yeni Mecmua Çanakkale Özel Sayısı,
ed. Ersan Güngör, haz. Muzaffer Albayrak-Ayhan Özyurt, Yeditepe Yayınları, İstanbul, 2006.
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