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00:00This narrow strip of water is the Dardanelles, lying at the northern end of the Aegean Sea.
00:10It separates mainland Europe from Asia.
00:13Over the centuries many desperate battles have been fought here.
00:18In 1915 the forces of Britain, France and their empires clashed with the Turkish army
00:23at a place whose name is forever connected with hardship and death.
00:28It would become known as the Battle of Gallipoli.
00:57This is the ancient city of Troy.
01:00Strategically built on an outcrop of rock, it guards the entrance to the Dardanelles
01:04Straits and mainland Turkey.
01:07Nine separate cities have been built on this site, the earliest dating from 3000 years
01:12BC.
01:14In the 12th century the epic war between the Trojans and the Greeks was fought across this
01:18land, all for the love of the beautiful Helen.
01:21According to legend Ajax and Achilles led the Greek armies against Cimprium and the
01:26Trojan army of Hector and Paris.
01:28After ten years of siege and bitter fighting, it was the Greeks who broke the stalemate,
01:32gaining entry to Troy by hiding inside the fabled wooden horse.
01:37This romantic history was soon to have another chapter added as the storm clouds gathered
01:41over early 20th century Europe.
01:44As tension grew among the major continental powers, the spark that ignited the inferno
01:49came on June 28th 1914, when the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie
01:55were assassinated in the Bosnian city of Sarajevo.
02:00Within a few weeks a newly formed alliance known as the Triple Entente between Britain,
02:04France and Russia had ranged itself against Germany and Austria.
02:09In the months before the outbreak of the war, the Turkish capital of Constantinople, modern
02:14day Istanbul, smouldered with intrigue.
02:17All the great powers sent missions here, but the Turks took care not to commit themselves
02:22to either side.
02:25The ancient Ottoman Empire was suffering from years of poor and oppressive rule.
02:30In 1909 the Sick Man of Europe, as it had become known, underwent a change of leadership
02:36with the emergence of the Young Turks, a youthful group of assorted revolutionaries, politicians
02:42and adventurers.
02:44They were led by Talat Bey, whose political intrigues ensured that no one knew which side
02:49they might join.
02:51First in line and by far the most dangerous was Enver Pasha, the Minister for War.
02:57He was a powerful figure, almost universally hated by other political groups and by the
03:02army.
03:03He'd cultivated relations with the Germans after a period as military attaché in Berlin.
03:08In 1914 he agreed to the establishment of a German military mission in Turkey.
03:16Mustafa Kemal was another of the original Young Turks, given command of the 19th Division
03:22at Gallipoli, he was destined to emerge as one of the most significant figures of the
03:25campaign.
03:27The Young Turks' first task was to help reorganize the army under the leadership of the German
03:32General Lehmann von Sanders and his team of advisors.
03:36He started by strengthening the defenses surrounding the Dardanelles, building up the number of
03:40mobile artillery units both on the peninsula and the Asian coast.
03:45The infantry were also put through a series of intensive exercises.
03:50In 1914 Turkish troops were considered inferior to their European counterparts, but this opinion
03:56would soon change as their courage and tenacity in defending their homeland became apparent.
04:02The legend marked out on this hillside reminds passing travelers of the sacrifice that was
04:07made here by thousands of soldiers who died to give Turkey her freedom.
04:14The location of the Dardanelles was vitally important.
04:17The channel separates mainland Turkey from the Gallipoli peninsula and was the main supply
04:22route to get weapons into Russia and grain out.
04:26On the 4th of August 1914 Britain and France finally declared war on Germany.
04:31The previous day Winston Churchill, as First Lord of the Admiralty, confiscated two Turkish
04:36battleships being built in British yards.
04:39One of them, the Sultan Osman I, was nearing completion at Armstrong's on Tyneside.
04:44Her guns had been tested and the Turkish crew were waiting to take possession.
04:49This seizure outraged the Turkish people, pushing them closer to an alliance with Germany.
04:55Traditionally the Turk and the Briton had good relationships, relationships which had
05:03seen British support for Turkish interests and of course British interests in this area.
05:09But that balance was being changed despite all the endeavors Britain was making with
05:14her own intrigues in Constantinople with diplomatic maneuvering.
05:20But then the final pieces of jigsaw come into place.
05:24First Britain requisitions two ships which the Turks had felt quite legitimately they
05:30had bought and bought by the people's endeavor as well as the government's endeavor.
05:36British women's wedding rings and hard-earned savings of commercial enterprise of Turks
05:41had been invested in these ships which soon should have been seen in the Golden Horn wearing
05:47their new Turkish colors and instead they were kept by the Royal Navy.
05:52However, that serious loss to British prestige and respect for Britain was worsened still
06:00further by the fact that the Germans appeared to be giving a replacement almost for those
06:08ships with the arrival in Turkish waters of Gurband, a very modern, very powerful battle
06:14cruiser and her consort, the light cruiser Breslau.
06:19With the arrival of these ships the Turks had, it seemed, compensation for their losses.
06:25All of these factors change what had historically been a good relationship between Turk and
06:32Britain into one where the balance has swayed towards the Germans.
06:39Enver Pasha as Minister for War had been stalling for time, even hinting at an alliance with
06:44Russia, but he now chose instead to welcome the German warships which were soon seen moored
06:50in Constantinople, confirming Turkey's alliance with Germany.
06:55The Gurban and Breslau then steamed into the Black Sea where they attacked the Russian
06:59ports, this while flying the Turkish flag.
07:04The Allies issued an ultimatum to the Turks which was ignored and on the 31st of October
07:10war was declared.
07:13Meanwhile on the Western Front the lines of trenches that would become a feature of the
07:16European landscape for the next four years had become established, stretching some 600
07:22miles from the North Sea to Switzerland.
07:25On the Eastern Front the Russians had suffered huge losses and fearing their total collapse
07:30the Allies devised a plan to assault and capture the Dardanelles.
07:36This was the brainchild of Winston Churchill.
07:39Before war broke out he'd hatched the idea with the Secretary of State for War, Lord
07:43Kitchener.
07:44Now that the Russians were in desperate need of help, Churchill's plan was resurrected.
07:51It called for a fleet of aging British dreadnought battleships to force their way through the
07:55Dardanelles.
07:58Churchill hoped that the Turkish shore batteries would be quickly overcome.
08:01The fleet would then steam on into the Sea of Marmara, through the Bosphorus and into
08:06the Black Sea.
08:09The Allies were optimistic that the appearance of a battle fleet in front of Constantinople
08:13would cause panic.
08:15Turkey's only two munitions factories were within easy range and the threat of a naval
08:19bombardment, it was hoped, would cause the Turks to surrender.
08:23The British would lead the Allied attack with twelve battleships, reinforced by the Queen
08:27Elizabeth, the most modern and powerful ship in the British fleet.
08:30The French contributed six battleships while the Russians, lacking any effective navy of
08:35their own, were happy to support the plan.
08:38The main dissenting voice was the First Sea Lord, Admiral Fischer.
08:42He argued that while the dreadnoughts were expendable, their crews were not.
08:46They would be needed to fight the Germans in the North Sea.
08:49Despite his reservations, the plan went ahead.
08:52To prepare for the assault, Royal Navy battleships bombarded the Turkish forts guarding the southern
08:57entrance to the Dardanelles in February and March 1915.
09:02Following the final bombardment, parties of marines were landed at the entrance to the
09:06Dardanelles, here at the village of Kumkhali on the Asiatic side of the straits, and at
09:11Sed El Bar on the European coast at Cape Helles.
09:15Severe damage was inflicted on both forts, and many of their guns were destroyed.
09:21Some of the marines even penetrated inland behind the forts at Kumkhali.
09:26These attacks gave ample warning to the Turks, and they prepared their defences accordingly.
09:32At Sed El Bar, the large guns of the British battlecruisers had caused considerable damage.
09:38Lying only a few miles offshore, the Navy poured a torrent of high explosives onto the
09:42Turkish defences.
09:45Some of the shells penetrated the ammunition stores, causing massive damage.
09:49Others hit the shore batteries, knocking out the large guns designed to protect the entrance
09:53to the straits.
09:55Ironically, the destruction inflicted here was to be greater than at any later stage
10:00of the campaign.
10:10Allied submarines were also being used to good effect in attacking Turkish shipping
10:14in the Dardanelles.
10:16The crew of submarine B-11 were particularly successful.
10:21As a fisherman, I knew that despite the strength of the current in midstream, if I crept close
10:26into the shore there would be slack water.
10:29We dived to 60 feet at the narrows, waited a while, and then moved up and through.
10:34I came up to periscope depth and saw on the starboard quarter a large old Turkish battleship.
10:40I fired one torpedo and then had to reduce speed because the lights were getting low
10:44and our batteries were failing.
10:46By using full revs we got off, but I couldn't see the way out of the bay.
10:50I looked for the furthest bit of land through the periscope, but the coxswain said the Spirit
10:54Compass lenses had packed up, and all he could see were black spots.
10:59I told him to follow them, and at full speed in 20 minutes a sea horizon appeared on our
11:04port head.
11:05The stunt was very amusing and full of excitement.
11:08I hear I sent 100 Turks and many Germans to sleep.
11:11I'm afraid it lies very lightly on my chest.
11:16In the event of troops being committed, a commander would be required.
11:20Sir Ian Hamilton was called upon as one of Kitchener's most trusted commanders.
11:25He had served under Kitchener as an aide in the Sedan, and like most of the General Staff,
11:30was very much in awe of the great man.
11:32He was, after all, K of K, Kitchener of Khartoum.
11:38This led to a reluctance on Hamilton's part, as with many of his contemporaries, to question
11:43any of Kitchener's directives.
11:46Hamilton was a Scot, aged 62 at the time of his appointment.
11:50He was a career soldier whom many regarded as the most gifted military commander of the
11:54age.
11:55He was an intellectual with a passion for writing and poetry.
11:58He was good-natured and sensitive.
12:01He preferred to suggest courses of action to his subordinates rather than enforce, a
12:06strategy that would ultimately prove disastrous.
12:14Hamilton's leading generals displayed contrasting styles.
12:18Lieutenant General William Birdwood was loved by the Australian and New Zealand troops he
12:22came to command.
12:26But Sir Elmer Hunter Weston, in command of the superb 29th Division regulars, gained
12:30a reputation for repeating mistakes and suffering heavy casualties.
12:36Hamilton's unwillingness to impose his will on his staff resulted in many missed opportunities,
12:41and while he was much admired for his bravery and charm, it was drive and speed of action
12:46that were required here.
12:49Meanwhile, as the Turks continued to strengthen their defences around the Dardanelles, the
12:54battle to take the Straits was about to begin.
13:07This is the town of Shenakoli, on the Asian side of the Dardanelles.
13:11It overlooks the point known as the Narrows.
13:14Here the two coastlines are less than a mile apart.
13:17It was from the naval base here that the Turkish Navy sent out its minelayers to block the
13:21channel.
13:23On the night of the 7th of March, the minelayer Nusret slipped undetected down the Asiatic
13:28side of the Dardanelles to lay 20 mines parallel to the coast.
13:33This was a change to the normal strategy of laying a series of mines at various points
13:37across the Straits.
13:39The Nusret's mines had been placed in an area where Allied battleships had been seen on
13:43manoeuvres the previous day.
13:46It was here that the Turkish trap was set.
13:49It was to have devastating consequences.
13:53North Sea trawlers had been requisitioned and sent to the Dardanelles in an attempt
13:57to clear the minefields, but they were slow moving and made easy targets for the Turkish
14:02shore batteries.
14:04The civilian crews suffered many casualties.
14:08Royal Navy ratings were drafted in to help stiffen the resolve of the trawler crews,
14:12but this also failed, leaving many of the mines intact.
14:17On the 18th of March, the British and French fleets steamed past here heading north, its
14:22mission to subdue the Turkish defences at the Narrows.
14:27As the Allied fleets sailed in formation into the narrow confines at the Dardanelles, they
14:31were subjected to intensive shellfire.
14:35A vicious firefight began between the ships and the many forts and mobile gun batteries.
14:40As the exchange of gunfire grew in intensity, the ships on the right of the fleet were less
14:45than a mile from the Asiatic shore.
14:48As they neared the coast to end their attack, they turned for home, confident that the route
14:52ahead was clear.
14:54This played into the hands of the Turks, and the strategy in deploying the Nusret's mines
14:58now appeared to be working.
15:01As the huge ships swung around, tragedy struck.
15:05The French battleship Bouvet, which had been damaged by shellfire and was listing badly,
15:10then hit one of the Nusret's mines, and sank in only 30 seconds, with a loss of 690 of
15:16her crew.
15:17I couldn't rise to the surface because of the tug of the water.
15:22I was under for some time, then when the ship touched the bottom of the sea, I came straight
15:28up, either because of the impact, or because the boiler exploded.
15:33I couldn't breathe, blood was coming out of my mouth, my ears and my eyes.
15:38If I had not found a piece of wood, I should have been a goner.
15:44When I was on the surface again, I could see one or two other men who were being machine
15:50gunned from the shore, and killed.
15:54This was just the beginning of what would be a disastrous day for the Allies.
15:58The British battleships Irresistible and Ocean both hit mines and sank.
16:03The Inflexible was also hit and badly damaged, but managed to limp away, as sailors manning
16:08the pumps in an attempt to keep her afloat.
16:12A second French battleship, the Suffren, had sustained several hits, and had to be run
16:16aground to stop her sinking.
16:24The Allies were stung by the ferocity and accuracy of the Turkish fire.
16:29The British flagship Queen Elizabeth was ordered to withdraw, the navy could ill afford to
16:34lose its finest and most modern battleship.
16:38Such sudden losses and severe damage stunned the Allies, and they abandoned the attack.
16:44Its jolt to their confidence was to have grave repercussions when they failed to press
16:49home the assault the following day.
16:52Following this defeat, the navy was never to enter the Dardanelles in such force again.
16:58This was the first, and perhaps the most serious blunder of the campaign, if not the entire
17:03war.
17:04Admiral de Robeck, in command of the fleet, had wanted to call off the attack.
17:10But many, like the brilliant Commodore Keyes, felt that the navy should continue to press
17:14for a breakthrough.
17:16Fate was destined to play its part in the campaign, as Hamilton, dispatched to the peninsula
17:21by fast cruiser, arrived just in time to see the navy routed.
17:28One of the Turkish gunners was destined to become a national hero that day, following
17:33his efforts in feeding the big guns.
17:37The navy's failure to follow up the attack of the 18th provided the Turks with a morale
17:41boosting victory, one that seemed destined to mirror so much that was to follow.
17:47One of the main objectives of the attack had been the forts at Kilid Bar and Çanakkale,
17:51on either side of the Narrows.
17:53Both had been heavily shelled.
17:56The defeat caused consternation in London, but despite this the war cabinet supported
18:01de Robeck's decision to withdraw.
18:04It was clear now that the army would have to be brought in to join the navy in a combined
18:08operation.
18:11The army, though it was dispersed, was there, ready, and its commander-in-chief had viewed
18:18these operations, and Ian Hamilton had no doubt in his mind that there needed to be
18:24a combined operation.
18:26Of course he must have been aware that the burglar had, as it were, knocked on the door
18:31and advertised his presence, and it would take quite some time to get his force ready
18:37for such a major operation as a combined operation landing against opposition.
18:45Of course we can see today from our comfortable armchairs that to give the whole operation
18:51any chance of success, a combined operation would have had to have been assessed as to
18:58whether it was possible, had you got the resources for it, given the need to beat the Germans
19:03where they were placing their main forces on the Western Front, such a measured consideration
19:11that was necessary.
19:13But war sometimes doesn't allow such a measured consideration as we like to think today.
19:21It was typical of the campaign that little regard had been paid to any forward planning.
19:26The assault on Gallipoli had been seen as a naval attack.
19:30Now that the army was to be brought in, it was found that little attention had been paid
19:33to any previous intelligence about conditions on the peninsula.
19:38Reports from officers who had served here were ignored.
19:41Now that troops were to be committed, units of the Royal Naval Division and the 29th Division
19:46Regulars prepared to leave.
19:49Up to now we did not know our destination, but we thought we were bound for the Dardanelles,
19:55as we were part of the 29th Division and had some of the finest British soldiers with us.
20:01The officers arranged a boxing competition for the troops.
20:04They all fought very well, showing all the best characteristics of the British soldier
20:09– manliness, fairness, bulldog tenacity, and gentlemanliness.
20:16These two young stowaways were found, going on to join the two French divisions sent to
20:21divert the Turks' attention with the attack at Kamkhali on the Asian shore.
20:26Australian and New Zealand troops, en route to the Western Front, were diverted to Egypt,
20:31where they encountered British units.
20:34The Arab quarter was out of bounds, but of course we went there.
20:38We seemed to get on particularly well with the Anzacs, and they liked the R&D men.
20:42A friendship seemed to grow up, and this remained throughout the campaign.
20:48Nearly thousands of Allied troops were assembled in the Egyptian port of Alexandria.
20:53This would become the main base for supplying men and material to Gallipoli, and for bringing
20:57casualties out.
21:02The destination for these troops was the island of Lemnos, which lay 60 miles southwest of
21:07the peninsula.
21:09Hundreds of ships of every kind were now headed in its direction.
21:13We continued loading operations during the day and embarked at 4.30pm.
21:18We lay in the stream until next day.
21:21It was a sight of a lifetime to see so many vessels in a port.
21:24There must have been over 200, many of them carrying French troops.
21:32Every kind of ship is arriving, battleships, battlecruisers, lightcruisers, torpedo boats
21:37and submarines.
21:41A seaplane was launched from the aeroplane ship and circled round the harbour, a great
21:47sign of the potency of the appurtenances of our forces.
21:54While the Allies continued their preparations, the Turks under German orders were busy strengthening
21:59their defences.
22:01Lehman von Sanders had 80,000 troops under his command, comprising six divisions.
22:07He sent two of them to Kumkale, on the Asian shore where a major Allied landing was expected.
22:13The other four were stationed on the peninsula.
22:15One of them, commanded by Mustafa Kemal, was given the key role of acting as a mobile force.
22:22The Allied commanders now decided that the landings would take place on the 25th of April.
22:26It would be the largest amphibious assault the world had seen.
22:31Nothing like this had been attempted before.
22:34Leaving such a large force ashore in the face of what was hoped would be only token resistance,
22:39Hamilton would attack with a force of almost 75,000 men.
22:45At last the time had come for the troops to leave Lemnos, heading towards the peninsula.
22:51Many looked forward to the landing with a sense of foreboding, others saw it as the
22:55experience of a lifetime, some wondered how they would cope with the coming ordeal.
23:00We are off.
23:02In the quiet afterglow, Lemnos lies to the west.
23:06Tomorrow we are to land in Gallipoli.
23:08I have been looking at my lass's photograph, her eager eyes challenging me to manliness.
23:14Is she praying for me tonight?
23:22On the morning of the 25th of April, 1915, some 75,000 British and French soldiers were
23:28landed on the Gallipoli peninsula and the Turkish mainland.
23:32They were part of the biggest seaborne assault the world had ever seen.
23:37Following the disastrous naval battle in the Dardanelles, the decision had been taken to
23:41put troops ashore.
23:42It was the start of an eight and a half months campaign, one from which many thousands of
23:48these soldiers would never return.
23:55In the early hours of April the 25th, a fleet of ships laden with 75,000 Allied soldiers
24:01approached the Gallipoli peninsula, heading for two main landing points.
24:10The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, or ANZACs as they were known, were to be landed
24:14halfway up the peninsula, while the regular army soldiers of the crack 29th Division were
24:20to be put ashore at six beaches around Cape Helles.
24:25The ANZACs went in at first light, but landed further south of the wrong place, not at Gabatepe
24:30as had been planned, but here at ANZAC Cove a mile further north.
24:35This was blamed on a combination of strong currents and navigational errors by the Navy.
24:40The troops were confronted by a confused landscape of cliffs and razorback ridges.
24:45Due to the nature of the terrain, the area was lightly defended.
24:49Realizing this, the ANZACs took off in furious pursuit of the Turks, even as more men and
24:54equipment were being rushed ashore to consolidate the beachhead.
24:59Mustafa Kemal, the Turkish commander, was sent into action in an attempt to stop the
25:04ANZACs taking the high ground of the Saribere Ridge and Shonukbere.
25:08This was the key to capturing the peninsula.
25:11Dozens of bitter fights broke out, with many men getting lost in the maze of gullies.
25:16The ANZACs' over-enthusiasm led to chaos and heavy casualties, but some of them had advanced
25:21far enough to gain a glimpse of the distant Dardanelles on the far side of the peninsula.
25:27Kemal summoned up every man he could find and threw them into action.
25:31Desperate fighting continued throughout the day, resulting in the ANZACs being kept off
25:35the Saribere Ridge.
25:37A great chance had been lost.
25:41Further south at Cape Helles, the British troops met with mixed fortunes.
25:46At V and W beaches, the Turks had plenty of warning.
25:50V beach was to provide one of the most enduring images of the campaign, as the steamer River
25:55Clyde, packed with 2,000 troops, was run aground in the face of the enemy's artillery and
26:01concentrated machine gun fire.
26:04As the ship ground ashore, hatches cut into her bows were opened and the troops poured
26:09out to confront a hail of machine gun fire.
26:12It was 6.30am as the troops dashed down the specially constructed gangways.
26:18Signs of casualties were sustained as the men were caught in the narrow field of fire.
26:23An aircraft flying overhead reported the sea ran red with blood 50 yards out from the shore.
26:35This unique photograph was taken from the River Clyde soon after the landing.
26:39It shows soldiers in the very thrall of battle.
26:42Many lie dead or wounded, unable to move, while units of the Münster, Dublin and Hampshire
26:47regiments can be seen taking shelter from the concentrated Turkish machine gun fire.
26:53Four of their number are crawling towards the enemy barbed wire in an attempt to get
26:57off the beach.
26:59Many more remain trapped on the shoreline.
27:02These men would remain pinned down till nightfall, when, under cover of darkness, they and the
27:07remaining troops on board the River Clyde were able to advance without further loss.
27:14W beach had been heavily fortified.
27:17It was ringed with barbed wire and machine guns.
27:20The first Lancashire Fusiliers came ashore here.
27:23As they began to leave the cutters, their ranks were ripped apart by gunfire.
27:32Some of the soldiers who'd reached the shore were mystified when their mates remained motionless
27:53in the boats.
27:54They had been shot where they sat, the pressure of their bodies keeping them upright.
28:00Their gallantry in forcing their way ashore earned the regiment six VCs before breakfast.
28:05The commander-in-chief Sir Ian Hamilton was so moved by their sacrifice that he named
28:10W beach Lancashire Landing.
28:14Only a few hundred yards to the east of V beach, at S beach, the South Wales borderers
28:18had managed to dig themselves in.
28:20This would be one of the few successes of the day.
28:25Here the casualties had been few, this thanks to the Navy.
28:29For once its covering fire had been effective in dealing with the defenders.
28:37X beach was no more than a strip of sand faced by rugged cliffs.
28:42Here units of the 2nd Royal Fusiliers engaged the few Turkish defenders quickly capturing
28:47the clifftop.
28:49When the Turks counterattacked, the border regiment who had just landed scaled the cliff
28:54and together with the Fusiliers drove the Turks back 600 yards with a furious bayonet
28:59charge.
29:01But the opportunity to break out and help the Lancashires who were taking heavy casualties
29:05only a few hundred yards away was not taken.
29:13But it was at Y beach that some historians consider a real opportunity was missed.
29:18A force of 2,000 men were landed at this lightly guarded spot.
29:23The top was reached with little difficulty, but incredibly neither of the commanding officers
29:27could agree who was senior and should be in command.
29:31The resulting fuss saw troops sitting on the clifftops while the advantage slipped away.
29:36A request for orders from the local commander Hunter Weston were ignored as he remained
29:41separate from the action on board his command ship.
29:44My own view about Y beach is that however imaginative it may have been to try to outflank
29:52the Turkish defences at the toe of the peninsula from Clithia if you like, looking south westwards,
30:01that the beach from which such a landing could be made was very small and with a narrow cliff
30:09path up which I really think that despite the lack of opposition they did well to get
30:152,000 troops.
30:16But can we really expect 2,000 troops to hold or cut off the roads and communication across
30:26the toe of the peninsula which would I think there be about four or four and a half to
30:32five miles and I think that was perhaps over optimistic.
30:37So perhaps we put too much accent on the failure at Y beach determining any chance of success
30:47at Cape Hillers.
30:49The objective of all this effort was to capture the hill of Achi Baba and the nearby town
30:54of Clithia.
30:55From the summit of the hill the Turks had a clear view of the allied positions below.
31:00As the day progressed much time had been wasted battering at a barbed door.
31:06Hunter Weston had become transfixed by the slaughter at V and W beaches and had ignored
31:11or missed the opportunities at X and Y beaches.
31:15It is said that officers from Y beach had been able to stroll a mile inland to Clithia
31:20itself at that time undefended.
31:23Such lost opportunities were typical of the campaign.
31:27The Turks took advantage of the allies delay and quickly garrisoned Clithia turning the
31:32place into a fortress.
31:41At Cape Helles, three days after the landings on the 25th, Hunter Weston undertook the offensive
31:47known as the First Battle of Clithia.
31:51Concentrated artillery fire heralded the start of a series of major actions intended to take
31:56the town and the nearby hill of Achi Baba.
32:00In the following months thousands of lives would be lost in futile attempts to capture
32:04them.
32:06Of the 14,000 troops who attacked on the 28th, 3,000 were killed.
32:13At Anzac the situation remained critical.
32:16A maze of trenches were built.
32:17At some places they were less than 10 yards away from the enemy.
32:21The Australians dug themselves in while fending off repeated Turkish bayonet charges.
32:27Following their efforts here and on the Somme they were given the nickname Diggers.
32:31The fighting in these confined spaces was often of the most desperate nature with more
32:36than 7,000 casualties in the first three days.
32:40These rapidly growing numbers of wounded were in urgent need of evacuation as an increasing
32:45number of barges and craft were used to ferry them to the waiting transports.
32:51It was among these gullies that one of the most celebrated characters of Anzac and of
32:55the whole Gallipoli campaign was to emerge.
32:58John Simpson Kirkpatrick came from a coal mining family in South Shields, County Durham.
33:04He joined the Merchant Navy and jumped ship when he reached Australia, changing his name
33:09to John Simpson.
33:11When war broke out he enlisted in the Field Ambulance Corps as a stretcher bearer and
33:15soon found himself posted to the peninsula as part of the Australian 3rd Division.
33:20It was in the confused and dangerous landscape of Anzac that Simpson was to achieve immortality.
33:26In an attempt to cope with the ever increasing flood of wounded he befriended one of the
33:30many donkeys put ashore to haul supplies.
33:33He soon became a familiar sight to the troops.
33:36As the fighting raged among the chaos of shells and gunfire, life expectancy at Anzac could
33:42be very short.
33:44Through it all Simpson could be seen bringing back the badly injured men.
33:47He became known to everyone as the man with a donkey.
33:52Three weeks after he landed Simpson was killed while bringing in yet another wounded man.
33:57In his time at Anzac he had saved the lives of more than 300 soldiers, including Turks.
34:02He remains one of Australia's most treasured heroes.
34:08Meanwhile in front of Krithia a bitter struggle developed as the British tried to wrest control
34:12from the Turks.
34:14Some initial success was achieved with the troops gaining nearly 600 yards of no man's
34:19land.
34:20To follow up this advantage Hamilton suggested a night attack, but Hunter Weston thought
34:24otherwise with the result that the following daylight raids ended in carnage.
34:30Despite the losses he attacked again next day losing 6,500 troops in the process.
34:37Hamilton now changed his mind about the direction of the assault, switching the emphasis from
34:41Helles to Anzac.
34:44Before he could act, the Turks attacked.
34:56The positions at Anzac have become the stuff of legend.
34:59Features of the landscape were given names.
35:02This sandstone escarpment became one of the most familiar, known to the troops as the
35:06Sphinx.
35:09The increasingly ragged Australians occupied an area of beachhead less than three and a
35:13half thousand yards long and only 1,200 yards inland.
35:18Many of the trenches had been named after soldiers who'd fought there.
35:22Places like Russell's Top, Quinn's Post or Walker's Ridge became associated forever with
35:28sudden and violent death.
35:32Johnson's Jolly was so called after Brigadier General Johnson, who called for the Turkish
35:36trenches near Lone Pine to be shelled, this to jolly up the defenders.
35:43The name Anzac was born when the divisional name of Australian and New Zealand Army Corps
35:48was shortened in an attempt to speed up the paperwork.
35:51Life here, if you could cling on to it, was miserable.
35:55The men were often short of water and racked by dysentery that came with the constant clouds
36:00of corpse flies.
36:02So they seized any opportunity to enjoy a game or a bit of horseplay.
36:07Hygiene was essential and any chance to get a haircut or to delouse their bodies or their
36:11clothing was welcomed.
36:21On the 19th of May, the Turks assaulted Anzac with 30,000 men.
36:25The densely packed hordes swept across this open ground to be met with concentrated rifle
36:31fire.
36:33The diggers fought each other for a place on the fire step.
36:36After days of taking it, it was now their turn to dish it out.
36:42Soon the narrow area in front of the trenches was choked with more than 10,000 dead and
36:46dying Turks.
36:49The carnage was to create a further problem.
36:51The stench from so many corpses was unbearable and the threat of disease from the bodies
36:57prompted a truce.
37:00On the 24th of May, both sides emerged from their trenches into no man's land to bury
37:04the dead.
37:07The unwanted quietness of the day was almost uncanny.
37:11The Australians and Turks are only six yards apart and at the end of the truce they shook
37:15hands and wished each other luck.
37:18They then retired to their trenches and tried to blow each other's heads off.
37:23War is a curious business.
37:27It was at this time that a grudging respect for the Turks' fighting abilities was acknowledged.
37:32Johnny Turk was seen to be a good and dedicated fighter who behaved honorably.
37:37As the summer war on, the costly attacks at Krithia continued.
37:42Hunter Weston was determined to maintain the offensive.
37:45This culminated in the Third Battle of Krithia, which began on the 4th of June.
37:5030,000 troops were committed, this time with the help of the French.
37:55They sent two divisions of troops and six batteries of their famous 75mm guns.
38:00Their accuracy and firepower were renowned, and during the attacks on Krithia they had
38:05a heartening effect on the British troops on their left flank.
38:08The French are sometimes referred to as the Forgotten Army of the Gallipoli Campaign.
38:13This even though they held and maintained a vital position on the right flank at Hellas.
38:17These troops showed great valor in holding their ground, suffering many casualties in
38:22the process.
38:24As stalemates settled over the peninsula, Hamilton now ordered a new battle plan.
38:30The objective was to seize the summit of Chonuk Bair above Anzac Cove.
38:34A series of diversionary attacks would take place at Suvla Bay, The Neck, Lone Pine and
38:39south of Krithia.
38:42The main assault would be launched from the coastal plain north of Anzac and involve climbing
38:46up a series of steep gullies to capture Chonuk Bair.
38:50This job fell to the 13th Division, made up from soldiers of Kitchener's new army.
38:55This force of more than 10,000 men had been brought ashore undetected under the cover
39:00of darkness, a remarkable feat in itself.
39:03They would be joined by the New Zealanders and the Gurkhas.
39:07The battle plan's success hinged on winkling out the Turks.
39:11On the evening of the 6th of August the troops advanced up the maze of unrecognized gullies.
39:16They knew Kamal and his men occupied the heights, but had no idea how many Turks there were
39:22or how well dug in.
39:26We moved into the creek, but the Turks must have had wind of our intended attack.
39:31Just as we got there they opened fire.
39:34We didn't fire a shot, as we went out without any cartridges in our rifles.
39:38We were told to take the place with the bayonet, and by Jove we did, in great style.
39:44Two Turks came around a bush and I got them both.
39:48Two days later British and Gurkha troops reached the crest, while on the right the
39:52New Zealanders took the summit itself.
39:56They held on there for two days before the Turks eventually drove them off, Kamal personally
40:00leading the attack.
40:02Some of the most desperate fighting of the campaign took place here, for the Allies it
40:06ended in failure.
40:10At Anzac the diversions began, watched by Kamal from a nearby ridge.
40:16The attack here at Lone Pine began at 4pm on the 6th of August.
40:20The Turks were well dug in, their trenches covered with heavy pine logs.
40:25At 5.30pm three Australian battalions surged forward in four lines.
40:30It would be two days before the Australians finally took the place.
40:35The tension as we waited for the whistle was unbearable.
40:39We had some 70 or 80 yards to go, and as the fire grew hotter we might have been doubling
40:44over crisp straw, as this was the impression the noise of the firing made on me.
40:50We had to go straight to the third line trench, over the top of the others.
40:54I got to this trench absolutely exhausted, and was regaining my breath, when a big Turk
40:59came charging along, pursued by two Australians.
41:02As he passed me I shot him in the back.
41:05At dawn the next day the 8th and 10th Australian light horse assaulted the Turkish lines at
41:10the neck.
41:11The Turkish lines were only 60 yards away.
41:15Most of the first wave was annihilated within the first 5 yards.
41:19Two more attacks suffered the same fate.
41:22Well the right of the line did go over the top, and my brother was killed.
41:27We were not ordered out of our trenches, as orders to cancel the fourth line attack and
41:31view of the massacre reached us just in time.
41:35I was soon told that my brother had been brought in dying.
41:38I didn't get to him in time, and all that was left for me to do was to bury him and
41:42write to his wife.
41:46Further north at Suvla Bay, the diversion here had the potential to be decisive in its
41:50own right.
41:51The plan was to get the troops ashore and moving inland as quickly as possible.
41:56More of Kitchener's new army were now committed.
41:59The 10th and 11th Divisions were landed in purpose-built craft known as Beatles on the
42:03night of the 6th of August and the following morning.
42:09Getting ashore was not too bad.
42:11We lined up on the beach and got our orders.
42:14No firing, bayonet only.
42:17I saw Captain Morgan look at his wrist compass and point in the direction of La La Baba.
42:24As we went towards the hill, firing broke out and I heard Turks screaming, Allah, Allah.
42:31A lot of our men were killed, including Captain Morgan.
42:36The wounded were crying out, and in the darkness it was all confusion.
42:42The commander of the Suvla attack, General Stopford, was largely responsible for the
42:46confusion, failing to move his men quickly off the beaches.
42:50This gave the Turks time to bring in reinforcements.
42:53The result was heavy Allied casualties for no ground gained.
42:59Two weeks after the landing on the 23rd of August, as the troops advanced across the
43:03Suvla plain, the battlefield caught fire.
43:07Many of the wounded crawled under the scrub in search of shelter, only to be burned to
43:11death.
43:13If a true hero was to emerge from the confusion of the Gallipoli campaign, it was Kemal.
43:18His ruthless determination and his bravery on so many occasions was a major factor in
43:22the Turkish victory.
43:23It made him a national figure, going on to become the founding father of the Turkish
43:27nation.
43:29While Kemal stamped his authority on events, Sir Ian Hamilton often only reacted to them
43:34as they occurred.
43:36As the Allied situation on the peninsula deteriorated, so did his standing in London.
43:41The writing was on the wall, and on October the 16th he was recalled.
43:46He had lost the confidence of his generals and the war cabinet, and had been further
43:50undermined by newspaper criticism at home.
43:53It proved to be the last straw.
43:56Following this, Kitchener himself visited Gallipoli.
43:58What he saw led him to recommend evacuation, even against the advice of some of the generals
44:03on the spot.
44:05He was convinced the position was hopeless, and the troops utterly worn out.
44:10In December, the war cabinet agreed.
44:13In a final twist of the campaign, the baking heat of the Turkish summer now gave way to
44:18storms, floods, and, in November, blizzards.
44:22There were 16,000 cases of frostbite, and 300 men died from the cold.
44:28As the order was given to evacuate many from W and V beaches, the rear guards left Suvla
44:34on the 20th of December 1915, and from Helis on the 7th of January 1960.
44:40More than 100,000 men and their equipment were to be taken off in stages, leaving only
44:45small detachments manning the front line, all the support troops having left.
44:54Many ruses were set up to mislead the enemy, periods of silence, guns fired by delayed
44:59action, and some unlikely new recruits.
45:03The Turks were completely fooled.
45:06Not a man was lost due to excellent planning, the skill of the navy, and the self-discipline
45:10of the men.
45:12As the departing ships watched the fires ashore, the final irony of the campaign was that the
45:17evacuation was the most successful part of it.
45:21The fighting on Gallipoli cost more than 58,000 allied lives.
45:25The Turks lost at least as many, the exact number is still unknown.
45:30The British sustained the greatest losses with over 21,000 dead, the French with 13,000,
45:36the Anzacs with 9,500, the Indians more than 7,000.
45:41There were many others among the Gurkhas, Canadians, and even the Jewish Zion Mule Corps.
45:47Those suffering from wounds and disease numbered more than 200,000.
45:52With ominous foresight, the poet Rupert Brooke of the Royal Naval Division composed one of
45:56the most memorable of all war poems.
45:59He died of blood poisoning on the eve of the April 25th landings.
46:03His words would set the tone for the bloodletting of the next three years.
46:10If I should die, think only this of me, that there's some corner of a foreign field that
46:16is forever England.
46:19There shall be in that rich earth a richer dust concealed, a dust whom England bore,
46:25shaped, made aware, gave once her flowers to love, her ways to roam, a body of England's
46:34breathing English air, washed by the rivers, blessed by the suns of home.