Gallipoli/Dardanelles campaign
Gallipoli/Dardanelles campaign, 1915–16. In February and March 1915, following a call for help from their Russian ally, the British and French navies mounted an attack against the Turkish defences on the Gallipoli peninsula. They hoped to break through the Dardanelles and capture the Turkish capital of Constantinople. This purely naval attack failed and was therefore followed by two amphibious assaults on the peninsula in April and August 1915. But despite bitter fighting, the British, French, Australian, and New Zealand forces only secured some small beachheads and the passage through the Dardanelles remained closed. Ironically the most successful part of the operation was the evacuation of the allied troops between December 1915 and January 1916.
David French
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Gallipoli/Dardanelles campaign
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Gallipoli/Dardanelles campaign