The Impact of the Campaign
The Gallipoli campaign was a failure. Right from the start. The Allies could not force the Dardanelles Strait with ships alone. They could not open the strait by invading the Gallipoli Peninsula. The British government gave the fleet and later the army a hopeless task. But it would not admit it. Therefore both Army and Navy were ordered to carry on, month after month. In August, they tried a new offensive at Suvla Bay, and for a brief moment there was a chance, but they missed it because of poor planning, and then continued the war in the same way as before.
The consequences were disastrous: the two parties had a combined loss of 132,000 deaths and perhaps as many wounded. Thus the average cost of this campaign was more than 10,000 deaths a month. Finally, after almost a year of fighting, the British government realized the failure and ordered an evacuation. But by then 132,000 soldiers had lost their lives in a mission that could not be completed. This was the impact of the campaign in the short term. In the longer term the campaign also had some major consequences.
The Turkish officer Mustafa Kemal became a national hero because of his role in the defense of Gallipoli. After the war ended in 1918 he became the leader of the Ottoman army that stopped Greece's attempt to conquer the western part of Asia Minor. Thus his hero status among the Turks grew to new heights. In 1923 he founded the republic of Turkey and made himself the country's first president - a post he retained until his death in 1938. He is the most famous and best-known person in the history of Turkey.
The Gallipoli campaign was planned and implemented by the British government. The Ministers with prime responsibility were Lord Horatio Herbert Kitchener, who was Secretary of War, and Winston Churchill, who was Minister of the Marine (First Lord of the Admiralty).
When news of the failed invasion reached England, the government became unpopular, and Churchill had to resign in May 1915. His political career came to a halt, but it was only a small price for having launched a disastrous action, and besides, this setback was only temporary.
In 1917 he was appointed Colonial Secretary, and in 1921 he was the chairman of the Cairo Conference, that decided what would happen to the remains of the Ottoman Empire. This conference created the modern state of Iraq, although from the outset it was clear that the state had many different ethnic and religious groups that had no national unity.
If you want to be blunt, you can say that Churchill first made Mustafa Kemal a national hero, who was able to establish the republic of Turkey, and then set up Iraq, thereby laying the groundwork for many of the problems that still plague this country in the 21st century.
Lord Kitchener was not affected by Gallipoli scandal. He continued as Secretary of War until his death in June 1916. He was on his way to Russia aboard the British warship the Hampshire when it hit a mine and sank. Kitchener and almost the entire crew perished.
Anzac Day
The Gallipoli campaign had (and still has) a special significance in Australia and New Zealand. During the First World War, these two nations were still young and closely linked to the motherland. Many young men volunteered to join ANZAC and fight on England’s side. Gallipoli was a baptism of fire for ANZAC. Thousands fought and fell during this campaign.
For the surviving veterans, their families, and friends, and for subsequent generations, Gallipoli is an event that helped create their national identity.
The date of the invasion, 25 April, was named Anzac Day, an official holiday, still marked by many in Australia and New Zealand. Some travel to Gallipoli to see the place where it all happened. For many it is not just an ordinary tourist trip, but almost a pilgrimage .
Today veterans from that time are no longer alive. But the memory of Gallipoli lives on and remains important. Perhaps it has a growing importance. On 25 April 2005, the 90th anniversary of the invasion, 20,000 people showed up at Anzac Cove to attend the official ceremony at the site.
Hellfire Pass
Since 1987 Anzac Day has also been marked at Hellfire Pass in western Thailand. During World War Two, thousands of Allied prisoners of war were forced by the Japanese to build a railway from Thailand to Burma, the infamous “Railway of Death.” Many of these prisoners of war came from Australia and New Zealand.
Work on the section of the line that is known as Hellfire Pass started (coincidentally) on Anzac Day, 25 april1943.
In April 1987 this place was declared a historic monument, and in April 1998
a historical museum was inaugurated at the site: Hellfire Pass Memorial
Museum.
Anzac Day was originally about Gallipoli and the First World War. But nowadays it is also about Hellfire Pass, the Railway of Death, and World War Two.
Notes and References
** Tim Travers, Gallipoli, 1915, Tempus: Stroud, hardcover 2001, paperback 2002, 288 pages.
** Mustafa Askin, Gallipoli: A Turning Point, no year, ca. 2005, 56 pages.
** Commonwealth War Graves Commission, The Gallipoli Campaign, 1915 and The Gallipoli Peninsula, Turkey. This material is available at the tourist office in Canakkale. The commission has a website on the internet. The address is: www.cwgc.org
** Christopher Catherwood, Winston's Folly: Imperialism and the Creation of Modern Iraq, Constable: London, 2004, 268 pages.
** The Hassle Free Travel Agency, Anzac House, Canakkale, Turkey.
The website on the internet: Hassle Free Travel Agency.
E-mail address: hasslefree@anzachouse.com
** Major and Mrs. Holt's Battle Map of Gallipoli, T. & M. Associates, 2000. You can order this item online. The internet-address is: www.guide-books.co.uk
The Gallipoli campaign was a failure. Right from the start. The Allies could not force the Dardanelles Strait with ships alone. They could not open the strait by invading the Gallipoli Peninsula. The British government gave the fleet and later the army a hopeless task. But it would not admit it. Therefore both Army and Navy were ordered to carry on, month after month. In August, they tried a new offensive at Suvla Bay, and for a brief moment there was a chance, but they missed it because of poor planning, and then continued the war in the same way as before.
The consequences were disastrous: the two parties had a combined loss of 132,000 deaths and perhaps as many wounded. Thus the average cost of this campaign was more than 10,000 deaths a month. Finally, after almost a year of fighting, the British government realized the failure and ordered an evacuation. But by then 132,000 soldiers had lost their lives in a mission that could not be completed. This was the impact of the campaign in the short term. In the longer term the campaign also had some major consequences.
The Turkish officer Mustafa Kemal became a national hero because of his role in the defense of Gallipoli. After the war ended in 1918 he became the leader of the Ottoman army that stopped Greece's attempt to conquer the western part of Asia Minor. Thus his hero status among the Turks grew to new heights. In 1923 he founded the republic of Turkey and made himself the country's first president - a post he retained until his death in 1938. He is the most famous and best-known person in the history of Turkey.
The Gallipoli campaign was planned and implemented by the British government. The Ministers with prime responsibility were Lord Horatio Herbert Kitchener, who was Secretary of War, and Winston Churchill, who was Minister of the Marine (First Lord of the Admiralty).
When news of the failed invasion reached England, the government became unpopular, and Churchill had to resign in May 1915. His political career came to a halt, but it was only a small price for having launched a disastrous action, and besides, this setback was only temporary.
In 1917 he was appointed Colonial Secretary, and in 1921 he was the chairman of the Cairo Conference, that decided what would happen to the remains of the Ottoman Empire. This conference created the modern state of Iraq, although from the outset it was clear that the state had many different ethnic and religious groups that had no national unity.
If you want to be blunt, you can say that Churchill first made Mustafa Kemal a national hero, who was able to establish the republic of Turkey, and then set up Iraq, thereby laying the groundwork for many of the problems that still plague this country in the 21st century.
Lord Kitchener was not affected by Gallipoli scandal. He continued as Secretary of War until his death in June 1916. He was on his way to Russia aboard the British warship the Hampshire when it hit a mine and sank. Kitchener and almost the entire crew perished.
Anzac Day
The Gallipoli campaign had (and still has) a special significance in Australia and New Zealand. During the First World War, these two nations were still young and closely linked to the motherland. Many young men volunteered to join ANZAC and fight on England’s side. Gallipoli was a baptism of fire for ANZAC. Thousands fought and fell during this campaign.
For the surviving veterans, their families, and friends, and for subsequent generations, Gallipoli is an event that helped create their national identity.
The date of the invasion, 25 April, was named Anzac Day, an official holiday, still marked by many in Australia and New Zealand. Some travel to Gallipoli to see the place where it all happened. For many it is not just an ordinary tourist trip, but almost a pilgrimage .
Today veterans from that time are no longer alive. But the memory of Gallipoli lives on and remains important. Perhaps it has a growing importance. On 25 April 2005, the 90th anniversary of the invasion, 20,000 people showed up at Anzac Cove to attend the official ceremony at the site.
Hellfire Pass
Since 1987 Anzac Day has also been marked at Hellfire Pass in western Thailand. During World War Two, thousands of Allied prisoners of war were forced by the Japanese to build a railway from Thailand to Burma, the infamous “Railway of Death.” Many of these prisoners of war came from Australia and New Zealand.
Work on the section of the line that is known as Hellfire Pass started (coincidentally) on Anzac Day, 25 april
Anzac Day was originally about Gallipoli and the First World War. But nowadays it is also about Hellfire Pass, the Railway of Death, and World War Two.
Notes and References
** Tim Travers, Gallipoli, 1915, Tempus: Stroud, hardcover 2001, paperback 2002, 288 pages.
** Mustafa Askin, Gallipoli: A Turning Point, no year, ca. 2005, 56 pages.
** Commonwealth War Graves Commission, The Gallipoli Campaign, 1915 and The Gallipoli Peninsula, Turkey. This material is available at the tourist office in Canakkale. The commission has a website on the internet. The address is: www.cwgc.org
** Christopher Catherwood, Winston's Folly: Imperialism and the Creation of Modern Iraq, Constable: London, 2004, 268 pages.
** The Hassle Free Travel Agency, Anzac House, Canakkale, Turkey.
The website on the internet: Hassle Free Travel Agency.
E-mail address: hasslefree@anzachouse.com
** Major and Mrs. Holt's Battle Map of Gallipoli, T. & M. Associates, 2000. You can order this item online. The internet-address is: www.guide-books.co.uk
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