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The Landing at Cape Helles occurred from 25 to 26 April 1915 during the Gallipoli campaign of World War I. After the failure of a naval attempt to force the Dardanelles, Allied troops landed to remove the Turkish forts commanding the Dardanelles straits. The landings were successful in some areas, but a resolute Thrkish defense prevented major success.

History[]

In the spring of 1915, the British Empire planned to open a new front of World War I, drawing up plans for an ambitious naval invasion of the Ottoman homeland. The British - whose ranks included Australian and New Zealander soldiers from the ANZAC corps - decided on a multi-pronged assault on the Gallipoli peninsula, from which they could destroy the Ottoman forts guarding the Dardanelles straits. The main landing area was at Cape Helles, at the foot of the peninsula.

Battle[]

Cape Helles bombardment

The bombardment of Cape Helles

The British sent a large portion of the ANZAC corps to launch a diversionary landing at Anzac Cove, while the French staged their own landing at Kum Kale and other British forces landed at Bulair. At Cape Helles, the steampship River Clyde was used as a Trojan horse, deploying several battalions of Allied soldiers, half of whom were killed. The Allied landing forces faced several trenches manned by Turkish soldiers, machine-guns, and artillery pieces, and the Turks inflicted heavy losses on the Allied landing parties. However, the Allies made use of naval firepower to soften the Ottoman defenses while storming the beaches, and they soon fought their way to the Sedd-el-Bahr fortress. The British gained a foothoold despite the slaughter at V and W Beaches, gaining a foothold ashore. However, their plans were thrown into disarray, and it would not be until two months later that the British were able to secure their day-one objectives, doing so with heavy losses.

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