The Battle of Scimitar Hill(Yusufçuk Tepe) was the last offensive mounted by the British at Suvla during the Battle of Gallipoli in World War I. It was also the largest single-day attack ever mounted by the Allies at Gallipoli, involving three divisions. The purpose of the attack was to remove the immediate Turkish threat from the exposed Suvla landing and to link with the Anzac sectors to the south. Launched on August 21, 1915, to coincide with the simultaneous attack on Hill 60, it was yet another costly failure. Combatants Allies: • Serbia, • Russia, • France, • Romania, • Belgium, • British Empire and Dominions, • United States, • Italy, • ...and others Central Powers: • Germany, • Austria-Hungary, • Ottoman Empire, • Bulgaria Casualties Military dead: 5 million Civilian dead: 3 million Total: 8 million Full list Military dead: 3 million Civilian dead: 3 million Total: 6 million Full... August 21 is the 233rd day of the year (234th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Gallipoli, called Gelibolu in modern Turkish, (Greek: Καλλίπολις), is a town in northwestern Turkey. ... Imperial motto (Ottoman Turkish) Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (the Eternal State) The Ottoman Empire at the height of its power (1683) Official language Ottoman Turkish Capital Sogut (1299-1326), Bursa (1326-1365), Edirne (1365-1453), Ä°stanbul (1453-1922) Imperial anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Sovereigns Padishah of the Osmanlı Dynasty... Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881 – November 10, 1938), Turkish soldier and statesman, was the founder and first President of the Republic of Turkey. ... Combatants United Kingdom France India Australia New Zealand Newfoundland Ottoman Empire Commanders Sir Ian Hamilton Otto Liman von Sanders Strength 5 divisions (initial) 14 divisions (final) 6 divisions (initial) 14 divisions (final) Casualties 252,000 (205,000 British, 47,000 French) dead 97,000 wounded 145,000+ sick 253,000... Combatants Britain, France Ottoman Empire Commanders Sackville Carden John de Robeck Unknown Strength 31 battleships 3 battlecruisers 24 cruisers 25 destroyers 8 monitors 14 submarines Unknown Casualties 6 battleships sunk 3 battleships damaged 1 battlecruiser damaged 1 destroyer sunk 8 submarines lost 2 battleships 1 destroyer 5 gunboats 50+ transports... The landing at Anzac Cove was part of the amphibious invasion of the Gallipoli peninsula by British and French forces on April 25, 1915. ... Landing at Cape Helles Conflict First World War Date 25 April 1915 Place Cape Helles, Gallipoli, Turkey Result British victory The Landing at Cape Helles was part of the amphibious invasion of the Gallipoli peninsula by British and French forces on April 25, 1915 during World War I. Helles, at... First Battle of Krithia Conflict First World War Date 28 April 1915 Place Helles, Gallipoli, Turkey Result Turkish victory The First Battle of Krithia was the first Allied advance of the Battle of Gallipoli during World War I. Starting at Helles on April 28, three days after the initial landings... Second Battle of Krithia Conflict First World War Date 6–8 May 1915 Place Helles, Gallipoli, Turkey Result Turkish victory The Second Battle of Krithia continued the Allies attempts to advance on the Helles battlefield during the Battle of Gallipoli of World War I. The village of Krithia and neighbouring... Third Battle of Krithia Conflict First World War Date 4 June 1915 Place Helles, Gallipoli, Turkey Result Turkish victory The Third Battle of Krithia, fought on the Gallipoli peninsula during World War I, was the final in a series of Allied attacks against the Turkish defences aimed at capturing the... Battle of Gully Ravine Conflict First World War Date 28 June - 5 July 1915 Place Helles, Gallipoli, Turkey Result Allied victory The Battle of Gully Ravine was a World War I battle fought at Cape Helles on the Gallipoli peninsula. ... Battle of Sari Bair Conflict First World War Date 6–29 August 1915 Place Gallipoli peninsula, Turkey Result Turkish victory The Battle of Sari Bair, also known as the August Offensive, was the last attempt made by the British to seize control of the Gallipoli peninsula from Turkey during World... Battle of Krithia Vineyard Conflict First World War Date 6–13 August 1915 Place Helles, Gallipoli, Turkey Result Turkish victory Gallipoli Campaign Naval operations – Anzac – Helles – 1st Krithia – 2nd Krithia – 3rd Krithia – Gully Ravine – August Offensive – Krithia Vineyard – Lone Pine – British action at Helles on the Gallipoli peninsula to divert... Battle of Lone Pine Conflict First World War Date 6–12 August 1915 Place Anzac, Gallipoli, Turkey Result Australian victory Prelude The Lone Pine battlefield, named for a solitary Turkish Pine that stood there at the start of the fighting, was situated about the centre of the eastern line of... Landing at Suvla Bay Conflict First World War Date 6–15 August 1915 Place Suvla, Gallipoli peninsula, Turkey Result Turkish victory The landing at Suvla Bay was an amphibious landing made at Suvla on the Aegean coast of Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey as part of the August Offensive, the final... Combatants Australia Ottoman Empire Commanders Col. ... The Battle of Chunuk Bair was a World War I battle fought between the Turkish defenders and troops of New Zealand and Britain on Turkeys Gallipoli peninsula in August 1915. ... Battle of Hill 60 Conflict First World War Date 21–29 August 1915 Place Gallipoli, Turkey Result Turkish victory The Battle of Hill 60 was the last major assault of the Battle of Gallipoli. ... Suvla is a bay on the Aegean coast of the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey, south of the Gulf of Saros. ... Combatants United Kingdom France India Australia New Zealand Newfoundland Ottoman Empire Commanders Sir Ian Hamilton Otto Liman von Sanders Strength 5 divisions (initial) 14 divisions (final) 6 divisions (initial) 14 divisions (final) Casualties 252,000 (205,000 British, 47,000 French) dead 97,000 wounded 145,000+ sick 253,000... Combatants Allies: • Serbia, • Russia, • France, • Romania, • Belgium, • British Empire and Dominions, • United States, • Italy, • ...and others Central Powers: • Germany, • Austria-Hungary, • Ottoman Empire, • Bulgaria Casualties Military dead: 5 million Civilian dead: 3 million Total: 8 million Full list Military dead: 3 million Civilian dead: 3 million Total: 6 million Full... When spelt with a capital A, Allies usually denotes the countries supporting the Triple Entente who fought together against the Central Powers in World War I and against the Axis Powers in World War II. For more information, see the related articles: Allies of World War I and Allies of... Gallipoli, called Gelibolu in modern Turkish, (Greek: Καλλίπολις), is a town in northwestern Turkey. ... Symbol of the Polish 1st Legions Infantry Division in NATO code A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of around ten to fifteen thousand soldiers. ... The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (popularly abbreviated as ANZAC) was originally an army corps of Australian and New Zealand troops who fought in World War I at Gallipoli, in the Middle East and on the Western Front. ... August 21 is the 233rd day of the year (234th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Battle of Hill 60 Conflict First World War Date 21–29 August 1915 Place Gallipoli, Turkey Result Turkish victory The Battle of Hill 60 was the last major assault of the Battle of Gallipoli. ...

Prelude

Paralysis had set in to the British campaign in the Dardanelles after repeated failures to advance at Helles on the tip of the peninsula since the original 25 April landings. In August a new offensive, known as the Battle of Sari Bair, was opened at Suvla in an attempt to regain the initiative from the Turks. Two divisions of Lieutenant-General Sir Frederick Stopford's IX Corps were landed at Suvla on the night of 6 August while a simultaneous breakout was made from the long-stagnant Anzac sector to the south of Suvla. Map of the Dardanelles The Dardanelles (Turkish: Çanakkale BoÄŸazı, Greek: Δαρδανελλια), formerly known as the Hellespont, is a narrow strait in northwestern Turkey connecting the Aegean Sea with the Sea of Marmara. ... Peninsula A peninsula (from Latin paene insula, almost island) is a geographical formation consisting of an extension of land from a larger body, surrounded by water on three sides. ... April 25 is the 115th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (116th in leap years). ... Battle of Sari Bair Conflict First World War Date 6–29 August 1915 Place Gallipoli peninsula, Turkey Result Turkish victory The Battle of Sari Bair, also known as the August Offensive, was the last attempt made by the British to seize control of the Gallipoli peninsula from Turkey during World... Symbol of the Polish 1st Legions Infantry Division in NATO code A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of around ten to fifteen thousand soldiers. ... Lieutenant General is a military rank used in almost every country in the world. ... The British IX Corps was an army corps formation that existed during World War I and World War II. World War I The IX Corps was originally formed in England in 1915 in readiness to make a new landing at Suvla during the Battle of Gallipoli. ... August 6 is the 218th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (219th in leap years), with 147 days remaining. ... The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (popularly abbreviated as ANZAC) was originally an army corps of Australian and New Zealand troops who fought in World War I at Gallipoli, in the Middle East and on the Western Front. ...

Scimitar Hill, so named because of its curved summit, and the neighbouring W Hills to the south were part of the Anafarta Spur that marked the southern edge of the Suvla sector. Their capture had originally been first-day (7 August) objectives but General Stopford was exceedingly hesitant about making any major advances without artillery support. Consequently the troops of the British 11th (Northern) Division (which had made the initial landing on the night of 6 August) and the 10th (Irish) Division (which had landed the following morning) did not advance from the immediate environs of the beach until 8 August, by which time they were already exhausted from lack of water and being under constant shrapnel and sniper fire. A scimitar with a large blade (kilij) This article refers to the scimitar sword. ... August 7 is the 219th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (220th in leap years), with 146 days remaining. ... Historically, artillery refers to any engine used for the discharge of projectiles during war. ... (Redirected from 11th (Northern) Division) The British 11th (Northern) Division, was one of the Kitcheners Army divisions raised from volunteers by Lord Kitchener, it fought at Gallipoli and the Western Front during the First World War. ... August 6 is the 218th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (219th in leap years), with 147 days remaining. ... (Redirected from 10th (Irish) Division) The 10th (Irish) Division, was one of the Kitcheners Army divisions raised from Irish volunteers by Lord Kitchener in 1914 It fought at Gallipoli, Salonika and Palestine during the First World War. ... August 8 is the 220th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (221st in leap years), with 145 days remaining. ... Comparison of a shell fragment from a HE shell, of that of two different types of shrapnel balls Shrapnel is the term used to describe the spherical shot or musket balls dispersed when a shrapnel shell bursts. ... The term sniper is attested from 1824 in the sense of sharpshooter. The verb to snipe originated in the 1770s among soldiers in British India in the sense of to shoot from a hidden place, in allusion to snipe hunting, a game bird known for being difficult to sneak up...

On the moring of 9 August the British made their first effort to advance towards the high ground to the east, a ridge called Tekke Tepe. Scimitar Hill, which guarded the approach to this ridge from the southwest along the Anafarta Spur, had been captured unopposed by the 6th Battalion, The East Yorkshire Regiment, on 8 August but was then abandoned. The British attempted to recapture the hill on 9 August and in the intense fighting it changed hands a number of times before the British were forced off around midday. Despite the arrival of reinforcements in the form of the 53rd (Welsh) Division on 9 August and the 54th (East Anglian) Division on 10 August, any hopes the British had of a swift victory at Suvla were now gone as the Turks consolidated their hold on the surrounding ridges. August 9 is the 221st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (222nd in leap years), with 144 days remaining. ... August 8 is the 220th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (221st in leap years), with 145 days remaining. ... August 9 is the 221st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (222nd in leap years), with 144 days remaining. ... The British 53rd (Welsh) Division was a Territorial Army division. ... August 9 is the 221st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (222nd in leap years), with 144 days remaining. ... The British 54th (East Anglian) Division was a Territorial Army division. ... August 10 is the 222nd day of the year (223rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ...

On 10 August the 53rd Division made another attack at Scimitar Hill which was another massive failure for the British and effectively ruined the division as a fighting unit within two days of its landing. August 10 is the 222nd day of the year (223rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Symbol of the Polish 1st Legions Infantry Division in NATO code A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of around ten to fifteen thousand soldiers. ...

The 21 August battle

On 15 August Stopford was sacked and Major-General Beauvoir de Lisle, commander of the 29th Division, was made temporary commander of IX Corps until Lieutenant-General Julian Byng could be sent from France. De Lisle abandoned any immediate thoughts of a major offensive — preparations for a major push by the 54th Division had been made at great cost but little effect on 12 August. Instead he intended to secure the ground he held and make a strong link to Anzac to the south, where, as at Suvla, the original August objectives had proven unreachable. This required the capture of Scimitar Hill, the W Hills and Hill 60. August 21 is the 233rd day of the year (234th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... August 15 is the 227th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (228th in leap years), with 138 days remaining. ... Major General is a military rank used in many countries. ... The British 29th Division, known as the Incomparable Division, was a First World War regular army infantry division formed in early 1915 by combining various units that had been acting as garrisons about the British Empire. ... Lieutenant General is a military rank used in almost every country in the world. ... Field Marshal Julian Hedworth George Byng, 1st Viscount Byng of Vimy (11 September 1862–6 June 1935) was a career British Army officer who served as commander of the Canadian army in World War I, and later became Governor General of Canada. ... August 12 is the 224th day of the year (225th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ...

To make the attack from Suvla, De Lisle had the dismounted troops of the 2nd Mounted Division (Yeomanry) and the 29th Division, which had moved from Helles where it had already borne the brunt of the fighting since the initial landings of 25 April. The 2nd Mounted Division, was a yeomanry (Territorial Army cavalry) division that served during 1915 in the First World War. ... In the 1790s, the threat of invasion of England was high, with the French Revolution and the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. ... April 25 is the 115th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (116th in leap years). ...

The plan for 21 August was to attack Scimitar Hill with the 29th Division and the W Hills with the 11th Division, keeping the yeomanry in reserve near the beach. As was so often the case at Gallipoli, the preliminary artillery barrage looked impressive but achieved little. The British had no sight of their targets, which were obscured by mist and smoke, whereas the Turkish artillery had a clear view of the entire Suvla battlefield and ample opportunity to register their targets. August 21 is the 233rd day of the year (234th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Historically, artillery refers to any engine used for the discharge of projectiles during war. ...

The 11th Division's attempt to capture the W Hills collapsed in confusion when confronted by a Turkish strongpoint and artillery fire. As a consequence when the 1st Battalion of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers managed to capture the summit of Scimitar Hill, they found themselves under fire from the defenders higher up the Anafarta Spur to the east and from the W Hills to the south. The Irish retreated from the summit while the undergrowth around them was set ablaze by the shellfire, incinerating the wounded as they lay helpless. Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers Motto: Nec Aspera Terrent (By Difficulties Undaunted) In 1688 the inhabitants of Inniskillen, Ireland, organized a town millitia to defend the area aginst James II. The millitia fought the enemy with such succes that it was later incorporated into the army of William III as the Inniskilling...

Around 5 pm the troops of the 2nd Mounted Division were ordered forward from their reserve position on Lala Baba, near the beach. They advanced, marching in formation, across the bed of a dry salt lake. By this time the air was clouded by mist and smoke so that they had little idea of where they were going. The 5000 men of the five brigades formed in columns by regiment and, marching in extended order, were easy targets for the shrapnel. After enduring that trial by fire, most of the brigades halted in the cover of Green Hill, west of Scimitar Hill, but Brigadier-General Thomas Pakenham, 5th Earl of Longford, led his 2nd (South Midland) Brigade in a charge over Green Hill and up to the summit of Scimitar Hill. Continuing on, Lord Longford was cut off and killed. The yeomanry too were driven from the summit. If youre looking for a specific Salt lake, try the article Salt Lake (disambiguation). ... Brigade is a term from military science which refers to a group of several battalions (typically two to four), and directly attached supporting units (normally including at least an artillery battery and additional logistic support). ... Brigadier General (sometimes known as a one-star general from the United States insignia) is the lowest rank of general officer in the United States and other countries, ranking just above Colonel and just below Major General. ... Thomas Pakenham, 5th Earl of Longford KP, MVO, OC (1864 - August 21, 1915), born in Dublin, Ireland. ...

Aftermath

In one day of fighting the British suffered 5300 casualties out of the 14,300 soldiers who participated. The only two Victoria Crosses awarded at Suvla were made for rescuing of wounded at Scimitar Hill, one on 9 August by Captain Percy Hansen and the other following the 21 August battle by Private Frederick Potts. Victoria Cross medal, ribbon, and bar. ... August 9 is the 221st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (222nd in leap years), with 144 days remaining. ... Captain is both a nautical term and a rank in various uniformed organizations. ... Photo submitted by Martin Hornby - (Gallaher Cigarette Cards) Percy Howard Hansen (VC, DSO, MC, Croix de Guerre (France)) (26 October 1890 – 12 February 1951) was a Danish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded... August 21 is the 233rd day of the year (234th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... A private is a military soldier of the lowest military rank (equivalent to Nato Rank Grades OR-1 to OR-3 depending on the force served in). ... Frederick William Owen Potts was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. ...

The attack at Scimitar Hill on 21 August was the last attempt by the British to advance at Suvla. The front line remained between Green Hill and Scimitar Hill for the remainder of the campaign until the evacuation on December 20. August 21 is the 233rd day of the year (234th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... December 20 is the 354th day of the year (355th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...