25 April 1915

25 April 1915 - the Gallipoli Campaign; The British attack on the Gallipoli Peninsula in April 1915 depended on careful timing and planning. Even if all had gone to plan, the force would have struggled to secure its objectives, especially within the time allotted. While the British were planning their attack, the Turks stockpiled ammunition and other supplies. The German General Otto Liman van Sanders, in charge of the 5th Army, which was defending the Dardanelles, had six first-rate Turkish divisions at his disposal.

Misdirected initial attack

The British plan was thrown into disarray even before the landing at dawn on 25 April. The Australian spearhead was mistakenly directed about 2 kilometres north of the envisaged landing place, nearer to Ari Burnu (at what was later named Anzac Cove) and on a much narrower front than expected.

People have long argued about the reasons for this. The tides, faulty navigation and a belated change of orders have all been suggested. An unauthorised change of direction by one of the midshipmen commanding a steamboat, which pulled the whole line of tows in this direction, is the most likely explanation.

Whatever the reasons, the effect for the men landing on the beaches was the same: ahead of them there was a tougher terrain than if they had landed where originally planned. The attack turned to chaos as the Australians pushed through tangled ravines and spurs. Units were split up or mixed together. Only a few small, uncoordinated parties reached the objective, Gun Ridge.

Delays in landing the rest of the 1st Australian Division made things even worse - the last troops reached shore four hours behind schedule. The first New Zealanders had begun landing soon after 9 a.m. in a process that took much of the day:

We ... didn't land until ... about five o'clock. The wounded and killed were lying about in all directions. I should say a thousand or more of them. The noise was terrific.

Hartley Palmer in Maurice Shadbolt, Voices of Gallipoli, 1988

Vigorous Turkish defence

Strong and well-positioned Turks opposed this messy landing. Their reinforcements were quick to arrive. Mustafa Kemal Bey – later known as Ataturk – led his 19th division to meet the Anzacs. A counter-attack in mid-morning drove the Australians back from the 400 Plateau. Kemal then turned his attention to the right of the Anzac position, where New Zealand troops had joined the Australians in the front line.

By evening, fierce fighting left the Turks with the high ground. About one in five of the 3000 New Zealanders who had landed became casualties. Far from rapidly gaining their initial objectives, the Anzacs were in danger of being pushed back into the sea.

No way through

Things were not much better at the main British landing site at Helles. The 29th Division took heavy losses to gain a shaky foothold. At V Beach the improvised landing craft, the transport SS River Clyde, had been run ashore. Disembarking men made easy targets – only about a tenth of the first 200 soldiers to leave the ship made it ashore. Casualties there were about 70%.

On the other side of the peninsula the French had landed at Kum Kale as planned. They were soon withdrawn and sent to Helles. The mock landing at Bulair went as planned, but it had little effect on the Turks. In that operation, Bernard Freyberg, future commander of New Zealand forces in the Second World War and later Governor-General of New Zealand, created a one-man diversion: he swam ashore to light flares with a view to misleading the Turkish defenders.