Timeline of the Gallipoli Campaign explained

This article presents the timeline of the Gallipoli Campaign. The period of the proper battle is considered to be 19 February 1915 to 9 January 1916; however, a number of events took place between August 1914 and January 1915 that are relevant to the battle.

Complete timeline

August 1914

3 – First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, confiscates two Ottoman battleships (i.e. and) under construction in the United Kingdom.
10 – German warships and, having evaded Royal Navy pursuit in the Mediterranean, reach the Dardanelles and are granted passage.

October 1914

28 – Ottoman navy raids Russian Black Sea ports including Odessa and Sevastopol.^[1]

November 1914

2 – Royal Navy squadron, including the battlecruisers and, bombard the Turkish forts at the entrance to the Dardanelles.
6 – Politics: The United Kingdom declares war on the Ottoman Empire.

December 1914

13 – Naval operations: British submarine sinks the obsolete in the straits south of Çanakkale.

January 1915

13 – British War Council approves plans for a naval operation to force the Dardanelles.^[2]
15 – Naval operations: is lost after running aground in the straits.

February 1915

19 – Naval operations: First attack on the Dardanelles, includinf and .^[3]
25 – Naval operations: Second attack on the Dardanelles, led by Vice-Admiral John de Robeck aboard Vengeance.

March 1915

10 – Naval operations: Night attack in the straits led by Commodore Roger Keyes and the battleship .
12 – General Sir Ian Hamilton is appointed commander of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force by the Secretary of State for War, Horatio Kitchener.
13 – Naval operations: Keyes conducts another night-time minesweeping operation with some success.
16 – Naval operations: Admiral Carden, commander of the Allied fleet, resigns due to nervous strain. Vice-Admiral de Robeck takes command.
18 – Naval operations: Turkey defeats the final attempt by the British and French fleet to force the straits. Three battleships are sunk by mines. Three battleships and the battlecruiser are badly damaged.
22 – At a conference between Hamilton and de Robeck aboard, it is decided to make an amphibious landing on the Gallipoli peninsula.

April 1915

17 – British submarine runs aground in the straits.
25 – British Empire and French forces make amphibious landings on the Gallipoli peninsula.
- Landing at Cape Helles made by the British 29th Division and elements of the Royal Naval Division.
- Landing at Anzac Cove made by the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC).
- French forces make a diversion landing at Kum Kale on the Asian shore.
26 – Naval operations: Australian submarine becomes the first Allied vessel to pass through the Dardanelles into the Sea of Marmara.
27 – Anzac: Under the command of Mustafa Kemal, the Turks mount a counter-attack but fail to drive the Anzacs into the sea.
27 – Naval operations: British submarine passes through the Dardanelles to start a successful three-week tour.
28 – Helles: First Battle of Krithia British and French forces suffer 4,000 casualties for little gain.
28 – Anzac: The Anzac landing is reinforced by four battalions from the Royal Naval Division.

May 1915

1 – Naval operations: is mined and sunk in the straits.
6 – Helles: Second Battle of Krithia commences. British 42nd (East Lancashire) Division begins landing as reinforcements.
8 – Helles: Second Battle of Krithia ends.
12
- Helles: is sunk by the Ottoman torpedo boat Muavenet-i Milliye.
- Anzac: Australian 1st Light Horse Brigade arrives as reinforcements.
13 – Anzac: New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade arrives as reinforcements. Royal Naval Division battalions rejoin the rest of the division at Helles.
15 – Anzac: Major General W.T. Bridges, commander of the Australian 1st Division is mortally wounded in the leg by a Turkish sniper. He dies at sea three days later.
18 – Naval operations: British submarine passes through the straits into the Sea of Marmara.
18 – Anzac: Turkish forces mount a massive attack using 42,000 men but are repulsed, suffering 10,000 casualties.
19 – Anzac: Australian stretcher-bearer John Simpson Kirkpatrick is killed near Steele's Post.
20 – Anzac: The Australian 2nd Light Horse Brigade arrives as reinforcements.
21 – Anzac: The Australian 3rd Light Horse Brigade arrives as reinforcements.
22 – Anzac: Negotiations commence to arrange an armistice in order to bury the dead in no man's land.
24 – Anzac: An armistice is declared from 7.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. in which time Turkish and Anzac dead are buried.
25
- Anzac: is sunk by German U-boat .
- Naval operations: torpedoes Ottoman transport Stamboul in the Bosphorus, causing panic in Constantinople.
27 – Helles: is sunk by U-21.
28-30 Battle for No.3 Post

June 1915

4 – Helles: Third Battle of Krithia British and French forces mount a limited attack but still fail to reach their objectives.
28 – Helles: Battle of Gully Ravine starts.

July 1915

5 – Helles: Battle of Gully Ravine ends with the British repelling a large Turkish counter-attack.
12 – Helles: British 52nd (Lowland) Division and Royal Naval Division attack along Achi Baba Nullah.

August 1915

3 – Anzac: Reinforcements for the forthcoming offensive begin landing, including the British 13th (Western) Division.
6 – Battle of Sari Bair, also known as the August Offensive, commences.
- Helles: Battle of Krithia Vineyard diversion commences with an attack by the 88th Brigade of the British 29th Division.
- Anzac: Battle of Lone Pine diversion commences at 6.30 a.m. with the Australian 1st Division capturing Turkish trenches. Fighting continues for six days in which time seven Victoria Crosses are awarded.
- Suvla

At 10.00 p.m. the British 11th (Northern) Division, part of IX Corps, begins landing.

- Anzac: Under cover of darkness, two columns of Anzac, British & Indian troops break out to the north, heading for the heights of Chunuk Bair and Hill 971.
7
- Anzac: Battle of the Nek At 4.30 a.m. another futile diversion virtually wipes out two regiments of the 3rd Light Horse Brigade.
- Suvla: The British 10th (Irish) Division begins landing.
- Helles: Fighting at Krithia Vineyard continues with an attack by the 42nd Division.
- Anzac: After a lengthy delay, the New Zealand Infantry Brigade attempts to capture Chunuk Bair but fails.
8
- Anzac: Battle of Chunuk Bair Attacking at 3.00 a.m., New Zealand and British infantry gain a foothold on Chunuk Bair; Lt Col William Malone is killed.
- Naval operations: British submarine torpedoes the off Bulair.
9 – Anzac: A general attack by the Allies on the heights of Chunuk Bair, Hill Q and Hill 971 fails.
10
- Anzac: Battle of Chunuk Bair ends when the Turks, led by Mustafa Kemal, drive the Allies off the heights.
- Suvla: British 53rd (Welsh) Division attacks Scimitar Hill, suffering heavy casualties.
12 – Anzac: Battle of Lone Pine ends.
13 – Helles: Battle of Krithia Vineyard ends.
15 – Suvla: General Sir Frederick Stopford is sacked as commander of IX Corps.
21 – Final British offensive of the campaign launched to consolidate Anzac and Suvla landings.
- Suvla: Battle of Scimitar Hill IX Corps makes a final attempt to seize Scimitar and W Hills.
- Anzac: Battle of Hill 60 begins.
29 – Battle of Hill 60 ends.

September 1915

12 – The 26th Infantry Battalion at ANZAC arrives as reinforcements, deployed to Taylor's Hollow.
19 – Royal Newfoundland Regiment arrives as reinforcements.

October 1915

15 – General Sir Ian Hamilton is sacked as commander of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force.
28 – General Sir Charles Monro arrives to assume command of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force.
30 – Naval operations: runs aground while returning through the Dardanelles and is captured.
31 – Suvla: Destroyer runs aground in a storm and is wrecked.

November 1915

6 – Naval operations: British submarine is ambushed and sunk in the Sea of Marmara by German U-boat .
15 – Field Marshal Horatio Kitchener, the Secretary of State for War, visits Gallipoli.
22 – Kitchener recommends evacuation of Anzac and Suvla.
27 – A fierce storm and blizzard, lasting three days, strikes the peninsula.

December 1915

7 – Politics: The British Cabinet orders the evacuation of Anzac and Suvla.
18 – Start of final evacuation of Anzac and Suvla.
20 – Evacuation of Anzac and Suvla completed before dawn.
28 – Politics: The British Cabinet orders the evacuation of Helles.

January 1916

7 – Helles: British garrison reduced to 19,000. Turkish assault launched along Gully Spur.
9 – Helles: Last British troops depart the Gallipoli peninsula.

Bibliography

Book: Bennett . Geoffrey . Naval Battles of the First World War . 2005 . 978-1-84415-300-8.
Book: Fromkin . David . A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East . 1989 . 978-0-8050-0857-9.
Book: Hastings . Max . Catastrophe 1914: Europe Goes to War . 2013 . 978-0-307-59705-2.
Book: Travers, Tim . Gallipoli: 1915 . Tempus . 2004 . The Mill, Brimscombe Port, Stroud, Gloucester . 0-7524-2972-8 . registration . February 19, 2024.

Notes and References

Web site: Miller . Geoffrey . Turkey Enters the War and British Actions . Great War Primary Document Archive . 3 March 2024.
Travers (2004), p. 22
Travers (2004), p. 23.