Gallipoli Gallipoli Landings | ||
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By late 1914 the British and French governments had agreed it
was necessary to gain control of the straits known as the
Dardanelles This would allow for co-ordinated deployment of
Russian and allied troops. They approved a naval campaign,
aimed at destroying or capturing Turkish fortifications along the
length of the Dardenelles. However, by mid-February 1915 it
had become clear that only full scale military occupation of the
Gallipoli peninsula would end Turkish control.
From the outset, the Gallipoli campaign was seen as a dangerous venture, requiring co-ordinated landings of large numbers of allied troops at exact coastal locations. The final plan required the landing of a division of troops on the southern tip of the peninsula, at Cape Helles, with orders to capture the hill of Achi Baba, some twelve kilometres inland. Their push inland was to be supported by a series of secondary attacks at various points on the western side of the peninsula. One of these required the landing of Australian and New Zealand troops on a beach with easy access to the country inland, north of the headland known as Gaba Tepe. The principal objective of this landing was to capture the adjacent heights of Sari Bair, and then proceed to The Narrows.
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AIF :
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Training in Egypt
Gallipoli
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