Dardanelles Essay Example

a challenging task. Furthermore, instead of immediately advancing towards the Turkish front line, the British troops halted their progress upon reaching the beaches. The soldiers took a break to rest, with their commanding officers examining the area while the men enjoyed a cup of tea and some smoking activities.

According to Alan Moorehead, when the British soldiers arrived at the hilltop front line, they failed to fortify themselves, resulting in 700 casualties by morning. The Navy consequently withdrew the remaining troops. Due to the hill's advantageous position for Turkish snipers to overlook the beach, they took advantage of it.

According to John Maesfield, the Turkish began firing on the British as soon as they left the landing boats. This resulted in many casualties, with some being killed in the water, wounded soldiers being swept away and drowned, and others drowning due to the weight of their equipment while trying to swim. Additionally, the positioning of the trenches coupled with heavy rain caused them to flood. As a result, a trench was flooded to the point where a pony, mule, pig, and two dead Turkish soldiers were washed over the barricade together, leading to horrifying consequences.

According to John Maesfield, the Dardanelles campaign failed for two reasons. The first factor was bad organisation which resulted in officers not synchronizing their watches. This caused troops to land on the wrong beach while the Navy, who were supposed to bomb the Turkish defences from the sea, were not taken out. As a result, the troops were fired upon while still debarking from the ships in the water, leading to failure of the campaign.

The failure of the Dardanelles can be attributed

to various reasons, with poor command being the third. One factor contributing to this was the lack of knowledge about the enemy's advancement, as General Hamilton's information was limited to a 1912 manual about the Turkish army, outdated maps, a tourist guidebook, and the Turkish desk at the foreign office. Adding to this, no instructions were given to the troops at X beach to reunite with those at Y and S beaches at the hill summit. As a result, officers lost control over their troops due to their confusion, caused by not having any orders to link up with other forces.

Alan Moorehead reported that during the second attack, Sir Frederick Stopford was appointed as the new leader of the troops. Sir Frederick was widely regarded as an incompetent and foolish old man who had little knowledge of how to lead the soldiers effectively.

An aged and deteriorating commander, who lacked experience in leading troops in battle, was observed as Stopford remained inactive while the troops under his authority advanced towards the frontline.

Four days after the attack had started, no further orders were given. Inadequate force and supplies were sent from Britain to Galipoli, which was the fourth and final reason for the failure in the Dardanelles. The scarcity of small rations led to sickness among the troops, and along with bad weather and poor medical supplies, the situation worsened. "At dark, the sleet increased, the mud froze, and there our men lay, most of them without overcoats, and many of them without food."

John Maesfield reported that the shortage of water was a significant issue for the troops. Since they were stationed far from any

fresh water sources, pipelines were installed in the trenches for them to use. However, the supply hoses were vulnerable to attacks from shrapnel, enemy troops, and allied troops who had gone insane. This resulted in some soldiers losing their sanity due to thirst and others resorting to desperate measures such as assaulting the water guards, piercing the supply hoses or pleading for water when lighters were near.

Despite being confused and exhausted, the allied forces continued to advance towards the Turks. The lack of success in the campaign cannot be attributed to a single factor, but rather to a combination of all factors.

In my opinion, the failure can be attributed to inadequate coordination and a poorly planned strategy, as these two factors are interrelated and involve many variables that must be taken into account.