So far as the climate or weather was concerned the main problem was water. In the summer, there was next to no water for the troops, and if there was any it was almost certainly infected, because of the impossibility of retaining any sense of hygiene. Although this might not seem to be anything to do with the failing of the Gallipoli Campaign, it has a great deal to do with it, in my opinion. This is because the lack of hygiene meant that soldiers became ill, and died, not from being killed in battle but from diseases. This would cause the Anzacs to have fewer soldiers, and therefore decrease their chances of gaining a victory over the Turks. Also, owing to the hot weather in the summer, bodies would rot more quickly, therefore spreading disease more quickly as well.
Lack of Intelligence
“Know your enemy.” This was not, unfortunately, achieved by the Anzac troops. They did not know what weapons the Turks had, they did not know how many men the Turks had, and, as explained in detail below, they did not realise how determined these brave Muslim soldiers were to protect their homeland, and more importantly, how effective they actually were at managing this.
Turkish Bravery
At the preliminary stages of the planning of the Gallipoli campaign, one of the ‘facts’ that the planners relied on greatly (in fact, too much), was that the Turks would offer hardly any resistance to the Anzac troops. This was, I feel, one of their greatest mistakes, although perhaps I am being “wise after the event”. The whole of their plan, it seems, was based around the idea of the Turks being weak, feeble and not at all brave. One general is recorded to have said “I don’t order you to attack, I order you to die.”
It became stalemate, similar to the Western Front
At Gallipoli, the trench system used on the Western Front was quickly adopted, and a similar stalemate between the two enemies developed there. Many people were dying on both sides, the Turks mown down by machine guns, but also the Anzac troops by close contact fighting and disease. “The wounded were so numerous that it had been impossible to cope with them all and many had lain there for days…” – Private Leonard Hart, Otago Infantry battalion, New Zealand. Sometimes the piles of dead bodies would produce such a hideous odour that a ceasefire was called in order to bury them.
Poor Leadership, and lack of commitment from senior officers
An example of the poor leadership demonstrated at Gallipoli is Sulva Bay. It was planned that two thousand allied soldiers would land on the thinly defended beaches in and around Sulva Bay on 6th August 1915. The troops would then march inland and finally attack the Turks with the Anzac troops. The leader General Stopford however, who had never commanded any forces before, failed to order his troops to advance and capture the hills, therefore not managing to make a simple, but decisive breakthrough in the campaign. One of the soldiers said “We were scared out of our wits… there were no officers near us… we stayed there all night.”
An example of the lack of commitment from the senior officers is that the commander, Sir Ian Hamilton, was too far away, on a battleship, to coordinate the attacking forces, and although he did often communicate with the front line via radio and telephone, he obviously couldn’t coordinate them as efficiently as if he had been there himself.
Bad Decisions
There were many bad decisions made throughout the whole campaign, the first and most obvious is that it was decided to carry out the campaign. Some people also believe that the British used the worst of their commanders and generals in order not to lose any good ones. They believe that had they used a soldier with the correct type of experience instead of sixty-one year old General Stopford, the whole outcome of the campaign could have been totally different. This however is a debated subject. Another bad decision was, in my opinion, to attack the straits first. Although I, not knowing much about tactics of warfare, might be making a totally ludicrous suggestion, it would perhaps have been better for the troops to land on the beaches first, so that the Turks were not so prepared for the attack, and then attack over the sea afterwards so as to confuse the Turks, rather than warning them of attack, which is what actually happened.
Brief Epilogue on the Gallipoli Campaign.
Eventually in winter 1915, the troops were evacuated from Sulva, Cape Helles, and Anzac Cove. The Gallipoli Campaign was a failure and Winston Churchill was humiliated.