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, the attack broke down due to poor leadership and planning, lack of communications and exhaustion and demoralisation of the troops. Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... April 28 is the 118th day of the year (119th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 247 days remaining. ... 1915 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Gallipoli, called Gelibolu in modern Turkish, is a town in northwestern Turkey. ... The Republic of Turkey is a country located in Southwest Asia with a small part of its territory (3%) in southeastern Europe. ... The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a country in western Europe, and member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the G8, the European Union, and NATO. Usually known simply as the United Kingdom, the UK, or (inaccurately) as Great Britain or Britain, the UK has four constituent... The French Republic or France (French: République française or France) is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in western Europe, and which is further made up of a collection of overseas islands and territories located in other continents. ... The Ottoman Empire at the height of its power Imperial motto El Muzaffer Daima The Ever Victorious (as written in tugra) Official language Ottoman Turkish Capital İstanbul ( Constantinople/Asitane/Konstantiniyye ) Sovereigns Sultans of the Osmanli Dynasty Population ca 40 million Area 12+ million km² Establishment 1299 Dissolution October 29, 1923... Sir Aylmer Gould Hunter-Weston (1864 - March 18, 1940) was a British general who served in World War I. At the outbreak of the war in 1914 he commanded a brigade on the Western Front. ... Battle of Gallipoli Conflict First World War Date 19 February 1915 - 9 January 1916 Place Gallipoli peninsula, Turkey Result Ottoman victory The Battle of Gallipoli took place on the Turkish peninsula of Gallipoli in 1915 during the First World War. ... Naval Operations in the Dardanelles Campaign Conflict First World War Date 19 February 1915 - 9 January 1916 Place Dardanelles, Turkey Result Turkish victory The Naval operations in the Dardanelles Campaign of the First World War were mainly carried out by the Royal Navy with substantial support from the French and... Landing at Anzac Cove Conflict First World War Date 25 April - 3 May 1915 Place Anzac Cove, Gallipoli Result Stalemate 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... 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... Battle of the Nek Conflict First World War Date 7 August 1915 Place Anzac, Gallipoli, Turkey Result Turkish victory The Battle of the Nek was a small World War I battle fought as part of the Gallipoli campaign. ... Battle of Chunuk Bair Conflict First World War Date 6–10 August 1915 Place Anzac, Gallipoli, Turkey Result Turkish victory 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... Battle of Scimitar Hill Conflict First World War Date 21 August 1915 Place Suvla, Gallipoli, Turkey Result Turkish victory 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 April 25 landings. ... 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. ... Battle of Gallipoli Conflict First World War Date 19 February 1915 - 9 January 1916 Place Gallipoli peninsula, Turkey Result Ottoman victory The Battle of Gallipoli took place on the Turkish peninsula of Gallipoli in 1915 during the First World War. ... Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... April 28 is the 118th day of the year (119th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 247 days remaining. ...

Prelude

On the morning of April 25, 1915 the British 29th Division under the command of Major General Aylmer Hunter-Weston landed on five beaches around Cape Helles at the southern tip of the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey. The main landings at 'V' and 'W' Beaches were hotly contested and the British suffered heavy casualties. A supporting landing made at 'Y' Beach on the Aegean coast to the north was made without opposition but the troops were without instructions so made no attempt to either advance or dig in. At that time, the first day objectives of the village of Krithia and the nearby hill of Achi Baba were virtually undefended. When Turkish reinforcements arrived the British were forced to evacuate the 'Y' Beach landing and so a major opportunity of early success was lost. April 25 is the 115th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (116th in leap years). ... 1915 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 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. ... Insignia of a United States Air Force Major General German Generalmajor Insignia Major General is a military rank used in many countries. ... Sir Aylmer Gould Hunter-Weston (1864 - March 18, 1940) was a British general who served in World War I. At the outbreak of the war in 1914 he commanded a brigade on the Western Front. ... Gallipoli, called Gelibolu in modern Turkish, is a town in northwestern Turkey. ... The Republic of Turkey is a country located in Southwest Asia with a small part of its territory (3%) in southeastern Europe. ... Greece and the Aegean Sea The Aegean sea in Greece as seen from the island of Greek: Αιγαίον Πέλαγος, Aigaion Pelagos; Turkish: Ege denizi) is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, located between the Greek peninsula and Anatolia (Asia Minor, now part of Turkey). ...

After heavy fighting the British were able to secure the main landings. The French Corps expéditionnaire d'Orient division which had made a diversionary landing at Kum Kale on the Asian shore of the Dardanelles on April 25 had now moved across the straits to Helles to hold the right of the Allied line. By the afternoon of April 27 the Allies were able to make an advance of about two miles up the peninsula towards Krithia in readiness for an assault on the following day. The Dardanelles (Turkish: Çanakkale Boğazı), formerly Hellespont, is a narrow strait in northwestern Turkey connecting the Aegean Sea with the Sea of Marmara. ... April 27 is the 117th day of the year (118th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 248 days remaining. ...

The ferocity of the Turkish defence of the landings led the British to grossly overestimate the opposition they faced. Believing at the time that the Turks were indifferent fighters, they assumed they were faced by two divisions whereas in reality they outnumbered the Turks 3 to 1 and were confronted by two weak regiments who resisted doggedly while waiting for reinforcements.

The battle

The battle commenced around 8 am on April 28 with a naval bombardment. The plan of advance was for the French to hold position on the right while the British line would pivot, capturing Krithia and assailing Achi Baba from the south and west.

The overly complex plan was poorly communicated to the brigade and battalion commanders of the 29th Division who would make the attack. Hunter-Weston remained far from the front and so was not able to exert any control as the attack developed.

The initial advances were easy but as pockets of Turkish resistance were encountered, some stretches of the line were held up while others kept moving, thereby becoming outflanked. The further up the peninsula the troops advanced, the more difficult the terrain became as they encountered the four great ravines that ran from the heights around Achi Baba towards the cape.

On the extreme left the British ran into Gully Ravine which was as wild and confusing as the ground at Anzac Cove. Two battalions of the 87th Brigade (1st Border Regiment and 1st Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers) entered the ravine but were halted by a machine gun post near 'Y' Beach. No further advance would be made up the ravine until the 1/6th Gurkha Rifles would capture the post on the night of May 12-13, the site becoming known as 'Gurkha Bluff'. View of Anzac Cove from Ari Burnu, July 2004. ... Gurkha Soldiers (1896) Gurkha (or Gorkha) are people from Nepal who take their name from the eighth century Hindu warrior-saint Guru Gorkhnath. ...

The exhausted, demoralised and virtually leaderless British troops could go no further in the face of stiffening Turkish resistance. In places Turkish counter-attacks would drive the British back to their starting positions. By 6 pm on April 28 the attack was called off.

Aftermath

13,500 Allied troops would participate in the battle, suffering 3000 casualties. The scale and duration of the battle was minor compared to later fighting but the First Battle of Krithia was one of the most significant of the campaign as it proved that the original British assumption of a swift victory over an indifferent enemy was grossly mistaken. Thereafter Helles would become the scene of numerous attrition battles and success would be measured by an advance of a hundred yards or the capture of a trench.