The
landing at Suvla Bay was an
amphibious landingAmphibious warfare is the use of naval firepower, logistics and strategy to project military power ashore. In previous eras it stood as the primary method of delivering troops to non-contiguous enemy-held terrain...
made at
SuvlaSuvla is a bay on the Aegean coast of the Gallipoli peninsula in European Turkey, south of the Gulf of Saros.On 6 August, 1915 it was the site for the Landing at Suvla Bay by the British IX Corps as part of the August Offensive during the Battle of Gallipoli.In the English-speaking world, many...
on the
AegeanThe Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey respectively. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
coast of
GallipoliThe Gallipoli peninsula is located in Turkish Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles straits to the east...
peninsula in
TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
as part of the
August OffensiveThe Battle of Sari Bair , also known as the August Offensive, was the final attempt made by the British to seize control of the Gallipoli peninsula from the Ottoman Empire during First World War.The Battle of Gallipoli had raged on two fronts, Anzac and Helles, for three months since the invasion...
, the final
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
attempt to break the deadlock of the
Battle of GallipoliThe Gallipoli Campaign took place at Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey from 25 April 1915 to 9 January 1916, during the First World War. A joint British Empire and French operation was mounted to capture the Ottoman capital of Istanbul, and secure a sea route to Russia...
. The landing, which commenced on the night of 6 August 1915, was intended to support a breakout from the
Anzac sectorThe term ANZAC originated as an acronym for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, an army corps of Australian and New Zealand troops who fought against the Turks in 1915 at the Battle of Gallipoli during World War I...
, five miles (8 km) to the south.
Despite facing light opposition, the landing at Suvla was mismanaged from the outset and quickly reached the same
stalemateStalemate is a situation in chess where the player whose turn it is to move is not in check but has no legal moves. A stalemate ends the game in a draw. Stalemate is covered in the rules of chess....
conditions that prevailed on the Anzac and
HellesCape Helles is the rocky headland at the south-westernmost tip of the Gallipoli peninsula, Turkey. It was the scene of heavy fighting between Turkish and British troops during the landing at Cape Helles at the beginning of the Gallipoli Campaign in 1915....
fronts. On 15 August, after a week of indecision and inactivity, the British commander at Suvla, Lieutenant-General
Sir Frederick StopfordLieutenant-General Sir Frederick William Stopford, KCB, KCMG, KCVO was a British Army officer.Stopford was a younger son of James Stopford, 4th Earl of Courtown...
was dismissed. His performance in command was one of the most incompetent feats of generalship of the First World War.
Prelude
On 7 June 1915, the Dardanelles Committee met in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
and, under the guidance of Lord Kitchener, decided to reinforce the
Mediterranean Expeditionary ForceThe Mediterranean Expeditionary Force was part of the British Army during World War I, its headquarters was formed in March 1915 that commanded all Allied forces at Gallipoli and Salonika. This included the initial naval operation to force the straits of the Dardanelles...
of General Sir Ian Hamilton with three
New ArmyThe New Army, often referred to as Kitchener's Army or, disparagingly, Kitchener's Mob , was an all-volunteer army formed in the United Kingdom following the outbreak of hostilities in World War I...
divisionA division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between ten to thirty thousand soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions make up a corps...
s. Two more Territorial Army divisions were allocated later in the month, giving Hamilton the numbers required to reinvigorate the campaign. A long-standing plan to break out of the Anzac
bridgeheadA bridgehead is a military fortification that protects the end of a bridge that is closest to the enemy...
was adopted; it had first been proposed on 30 May by the commander of the
Australian and New Zealand Army CorpsThe Australian and New Zealand Army Corps was a First World War army corps of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force that was formed in Egypt in 1915 and operated during the Battle of Gallipoli. The corps was disbanded in 1916 following the evacuation of Gallipoli...
, Lieutenant-General
William BirdwoodField Marshal William Riddell Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood, GCB, GCSI, GCMG, GCVO, GBE, CIE, DSO was a First World War British general who is best known as the commander of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps during the Gallipoli Campaign in 1915.-Youth and early career:Birdwood was born in...
.
However, just as the original landing site at Helles in April had insufficient space to land all the troops available, and so a secondary landing was to be made north of Gaba Tepe, now in July there was insufficient room to accommodate all the new troops within the congested Anzac perimeter, nor was there room to manoeuvre them in battle, and so a new landing at Suvla was planned which would link up with the forces at Anzac.
The Suvla landing was to be made by the newly formed
British IX CorpsThe 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. Command of the corps was given to Lieutenant-General Sir...
, initially comprising two
brigadeA brigade is a military unit that is typically composed of two to five regiments or battalions, depending on the era and nationality of a given army. Usually, a brigade is a sub-component of a division, a larger unit consisting of two or more brigades; however, some brigades are classified as a...
s of the
10th (Irish) DivisionThe 10th Division, was a New Army division, one of Kitchener's New Army K1 Army Group divisions raised largely in Ireland from the Irish National Volunteers in 1914...
and the entire
11th (Northern) DivisionThe British 11th Division, was one of the Kitchener's Army divisions raised from volunteers by Lord Kitchener, it fought at Gallipoli and the Western Front during the First World War...
. Command of IX Corps was given to Lieutenant-General
Sir Frederick StopfordLieutenant-General Sir Frederick William Stopford, KCB, KCMG, KCVO was a British Army officer.Stopford was a younger son of James Stopford, 4th Earl of Courtown...
. British military historian
J.F.C. FullerMajor General John Frederick Charles Fuller CB, CBE, DSO, commonly J.F.C. Fuller, , was a British Army officer, military historian and strategist, notable as an early theorist of modern armoured warfare, including categorising principles of warfare...
said of Stopford that he had "no conception of what generalship meant" and indeed he was appointed not on his experience (he had seen little combat and had never commanded men in battle) or his energy and enthusiasm (he was aged 61 and had retired in 1909) but because of his position on the list of seniority. Hamilton had requested either Lieutenant-General Julian Byng or Lieutenant-General
Henry RawlinsonGeneral Henry Seymour Rawlinson, 1st Baron Rawlinson, GCB, GCSI, GCVO, KCMG , known as Sir Henry Rawlinson, 2nd Baronet between 1895 and 1919, was a British First World War general most famous for his roles in the Battle of the Somme of 1916 and the Battle of Amiens in 1918.Rawlinson was born in...
, both experienced Western Front corps commanders, but both were junior to Lieutenant-General
Sir Bryan MahonGeneral Sir Bryan Thomas Mahon KCB, KCVO, DSO was a British Army general and Irish Free State Senator.Mahon was born at Belleville, County Galway...
, commander of the 10th Division and so, by a process of elimination, Stopford was selected.
Planning
The offensive was to open on 6 August 1915 with diversions at Helles (the
Battle of Krithia VineyardThe Battle of Krithia Vineyard was intended as a minor British action at Helles on the Gallipoli peninsula to divert attention from the imminent launch of the August Offensive. Instead, the British commander, Brigadier General H.E...
) and Anzac (the
Battle of Lone PineThe Battle of Lone Pine, which took place during the Gallipoli campaign from the sixth to the tenth of August 1915, was merely a diversion to draw attention from the main assaults of 6 August against the Sari Bair peaks of Chunuk Bair and Hill 971....
). The landing at Suvla was to commence at 10:00 pm, an hour after the two assaulting columns had broken out of Anzac heading for the Sari Bair heights. The original plan at Suvla was to put the 11th Division ashore south of Nibrunesi Point, the southern headland of the bay, as it was not considered safe to land in the dark within the bay itself where there were uncharted
shoalThings known as shoal, shoals or shoaling include:* Shoal, a sandbank or reef creating shallow water, especially where it forms a hazard to shipping* Shoal draught , of a boat with shallow draught which can pass over some shoals...
s. The 30th and 31st Brigades of the 10th Division would land the following morning. The objective of IX Corps was to seize the ring of hills that surrounded the Suvla plain; Kiretch Tepe to the north along the Gulf of Saros, Tekke Tepe to the east and the Anafarta Spur to the south-east.
When Stopford was first shown the plan on 22 July he declared, "It is a good plan. I am sure it will succeed and I congratulate whoever has been responsible for framing it." Stopford's chief-of-staff,
Brigadier GeneralBrigadier General is the lowest ranking General Officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of Colonel and Major General.The rank can be traced back to the militaries of Europe where a brigadier general, or simply a brigadier, would command a brigade in the field...
Hamilton ReedMajor General Hamilton Lyster Reed VC, CB, CMG, was born in Dublin and was an Irish 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.- Details :He was 30 years old, and a captain in...
was not so supportive and his doubts and prejudices succeeded in swaying Stopford. Reed was an
artilleryArtillery is a military combat Arm that employs weapons capable of discharging large projectiles in combat. They are generally capable of adding considerable fire power to the military capability of an armed force...
officer who had won the
Victoria CrossThe Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration which is, or has been, awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories. It takes precedence over all other orders, decorations and medals...
during the
Boer WarThe Second Boer War , commonly referred to as The Boer War and also known as the South African War , the Anglo-Boer War and in Afrikaans as the Anglo-Boereoorlog or Tweede Vryheidsoorlog , or the Engelse oorlog was fought...
. Having served on the Western Front, he believed no assault on entrenched positions could be made without artillery support.
ReconnaissanceReconnaissance is a military and medical term denoting exploration conducted to gain information. Militarily, its shorthand Canadian and British form is recce , its American usage form is recon...
had revealed no prepared fortifications at Suvla and yet Stopford proceeded to limit the objectives of the landing and Hamilton failed to stop him. The final orders issued by Stopford and the 11th Division commander,
Major GeneralMajor General or Major-General is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of Sergeant Major General. A Major General is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of Lieutenant General and senior to the ranks of Brigadier and Brigadier General...
Frederick Hammersley, were imprecise, requiring only that the high ground be taken "if possible".
Stopford and Reed also wanted the 34th Brigade of the 11th Division to be landed within Suvla Bay itself. Unlike the April landings, IX Corps was supplied with purpose-built
landing craftLanding craft are boats and seagoing vehicles used to convey a landing force from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. Most renowned are those used to storm the beaches of Normandy, the Mediterranean, and many Pacific islands during WWII...
known as "Beetles" which were
armourArmour or armor is protective covering used to prevent damage from being inflicted to an individual or a vehicle through use of direct contact weapons or projectiles, usually during combat...
ed and self-propelled. This fleet of landing craft was commanded by
CommanderCommander is a military rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service...
Edward UnwinEdward Unwin VC, CB, CMG 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.-Biography:...
who had captained the
SS River ClydeThe SS River Clyde was a 4,000 ton collier built in Glasgow in 1905 and named after the River Clyde in Scotland. On April 25, 1915, the River Clyde was used as a Trojan horse for the landing at Cape Helles during the Battle of Gallipoli...
during the April landing on V Beach at Cape Helles.
The commander of the Fifth Army, General
Otto Liman von SandersGeneralleutnant Otto Liman von Sanders was a German general who served as adviser and military commander for the Ottoman Empire during World War I....
, was well aware a new landing was imminent through reports of troop build-ups in the Greek islands, however he was unsure of where the landing would be made. British deceptions made a landing on the
AsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.6% of the earth's total surface area and with approximately 4 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population.Asia is traditionally defined as part of the...
n shore possible so three divisions were located there while three more were stationed north of Suvla at
BulairBolayır is a village in the European part of Turkey. In the First Balkan War the Bulgarian army managed to stop a Turkish counterattack near this village and this decisive victory gave a strong position to the Bulgarian forces....
on the neck of the peninsula. Suvla was defended by three
battalionA battalion is a military unit of around 1000-1500 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel...
s, the "Anafarta Detachment", under the command of a
BavariaBavaria , with an area of and almost 12.5 million inhabitants, is located in the southeast of Germany and is the largest state of Germany by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
n cavalry officer,
MajorIn many European languages, the term Major is a military rank, implying seniority at one of usually various levels of rank. For example:*"General-Major" or "Major-General", denoting a senior ranking general officer....
Wilhelm Willmer, whose task was to delay any enemy advance until reinforcements arrived. Willmer had no
machine gunA machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rifle bullets in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute...
s and few
field artilleryField artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, long range, short range and extremely long range target engagement....
pieces. Willmer constructed three strong points; one on Kiretch Tepe to the north, one on Hill 10 in the centre and one on Chocolate Hill, near the southern end of the salt lake that lay behind the beach. Small pickets were positioned elsewhere, including on Lala Baba, a small hill between the beach and the salt lake.
When the attack at Lone Pine commenced, Willmer was ordered to send one battalion as reinforcements so that when 20,000 British began landing at Suvla, they were opposed by only 1,500 Turkish soldiers.
Landing
The 32nd and 33rd Brigades of the 11th Division began to come ashore at "B Beach" south of Nibrunesi Point shortly before 10 pm. In the first action fought by a
New ArmyThe New Army, often referred to as Kitchener's Army or, disparagingly, Kitchener's Mob , was an all-volunteer army formed in the United Kingdom following the outbreak of hostilities in World War I...
unit, two companies from the 6th Battalion,
The Yorkshire RegimentThe Green Howards was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the King's Division...
, drove the Turkish defenders off the small hillock of Lala Baba which overlooked the beach. It was an inauspicious start; all but two of the Yorkshires' officers became casualties as did one third of the men.
Shortly afterwards the 34th Brigade attempted to land at "A Beach" within Suvla Bay but the landing went awry from the start. The
destroyerIn naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, short-range but powerful attackers .Before World War II, destroyers were light vessels without the endurance...
s conveying the brigade anchored too far south, facing shoal water and on the wrong side of the channel that drained the salt lake into the bay. Two lighters grounded on reefs and the men had to wade ashore submerged up to their necks. The 11th Battalion,
The Manchester RegimentThe Manchester Regiment was a regiment of the British army, formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 63rd Regiment of Foot and the 96th Regiment of Foot...
, having come ashore from the destroyer
HMS GrampusHMS Grampus was a Beagle-class destroyer of the Royal Navy and originally named HMS Nautilus when she was commissioned on 30 March 1910 from Thames Ironworks & Shipbuilding Company...
, had the greatest success of the landing, managing to find its way to the Kiretch Tepe ridge and fight its way some distance along it to the east for the loss of 200 casualties.
Elsewhere the landing was in chaos, having been made in pitch darkness which resulted in great confusion with units becoming mixed and officers unable to locate their position or their objectives. Later, when the
moonThe Moon is Earth's only natural satellite and the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System. The average centre-to-centre distance from the Earth to the Moon is , about thirty times the diameter of the Earth. The common centre of mass of the system is located at about —a quarter the Earth's...
rose, the British troops became targets for Turkish
sniperA sniper is a highly trained marksman who shoots targets from concealed positions or distances exceeding the capabilities of regular personnel. Snipers typically have specialized training and distinct high-precision rifles...
s. Attempts to capture Hill 10 failed because no one in the field knew where Hill 10 was. Shortly after dawn it was found and taken, the Turkish rearguard having withdrawn during the night.
Stopford had chosen to command the landing from the
sloopA sloop is a sailboat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter. A sloop's fore-triangle is smaller than a cutter's, and unlike a cutter, a sloop usually bends only one headsail, though this distinction is not definitive; some sloops such as the...
HMS
Jonquil but as the landing was in progress, he went to sleep. The first news he received was when Commander Unwin came aboard at 4 am on 7 August to discourage further landings in Suvla Bay.
British
war correspondentA war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories firsthand from a war zone. In the 19th century they were also called Special Correspondents.-Methods:...
Ellis Ashmead-BartlettEllis Ashmead-Bartlett was a British war correspondent during the First World War. Through his reporting of the Battle of Gallipoli, Ashmead-Bartlett was instrumental in the birth of the Anzac legend which still dominates military history in Australia and New Zealand...
witnessed the landing shortly after dawn from the transport
Minneapolis. While he could hear the fighting continuing at Anzac, Suvla was comparatively quiet and "no firm hand appeared to control this mass of men suddenly dumped on an unknown shore." The British official history, written by
CaptainCaptain is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines. It ranks above Lieutenant and below Major and has a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force...
Cecil Aspinall-Oglander who was on Hamilton's staff, was blunt in its assessment; "It was now broad daylight and the situation in Suvla Bay was verging on chaos."
Progress on 7 August was minimal. The two brigades of the 10th Division came ashore, adding to the confusion. In the heat of the day, the soldiers became desperate for
drinking waterDrinking water or potable water is water of sufficiently high quality that it can be consumed or used without risk of immediate or long term harm...
. Towards evening two hills east of the salt lake were captured; these represented the sole gains for the first day ashore at Suvla. IX Corps had suffered 1,700 casualties in the first 24 hours, a figure exceeding the total size of Willmer's detachment. At 7 pm, Willmer was able to report to Von Sanders:
- "No energetic attacks on the enemy's part have taken place. On the contrary, the enemy is advancing timidly."
Von Sanders now ordered two divisions from Bulair, the Turkish 7th Division and Turkish 12th Division, under the command of Feizi Bey, to move south to Suvla.
Stopford did not go ashore from the
Jonquil on 7 August. By the end of the day, the chain of command had completely broken down.
Lethargy
Stopford was satisfied with the results of the first day. On the morning of 8 August, he signalled Hamilton:
- "Major-General Hammersley and troops under him deserve great credit for the result attained against strenuous opposition and great difficulty. I must now consolidate the position held."
He had no intention of advancing to the high ground. The British staff had estimated that it would take the Turkish divisions at Bulair 36 hours to reach Suvla — they could be expected to arrive on the evening of 8 August. Hamilton was dismayed by the lack of progress so far and the absence of any drive from Stopford or his subordinates. He had already dispatched Captain Aspinall to discover first-hand what was happening at Suvla. Aspinall was accompanied by Lieutenant-Colonel Maurice Hankey, Secretary to the
Committee of Imperial DefenceThe Committee of Imperial Defence was an important ad hoc part of the government of the United Kingdom and the British Empire from just after the Second Boer War until the start of World War II...
, who was to report on the progress of the campaign to the British Cabinet. When he received Stopford's signal, Hamilton decided to see Suvla for himself, travelling on the
yachtA yacht is a high end recreational boat. It designates two rather different classes of watercraft, sailing and power boats. Yachts are different from working ships mainly by their leisure purpose. It was not until the rise of the steamboat and other types of powerboat that sailing vessels in...
HMS
Triad.
Aspinall and Hankey initially found the ease and inactivity at Suvla encouraging, assuming it meant the fighting was now far away amongst the hills. Once on the beach, they were warned to keep their heads down as the front line was only a few hundred yards away — and that Stopford was still aboard the
Jonquil. Aspinall found Stopford "in excellent spirits", well satisfied with progress. When Aspinall pointed out that the men had not reached the high ground, Stopford replied, "No, but they are ashore."
Aspinall and Hamilton both converged on the
light cruiserA light cruiser is a warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armoured cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armour in the same way as an armoured cruiser: a protective belt and deck...
HMS ChathamHMS Chatham was a Town-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy launched on 9 November 1911 from Chatham Dockyard. She was the lead ship of the Chatham subgroup....
, the flagship of Rear-Admiral
John de RobeckAdmiral of the Fleet Sir John Michael de Robeck, 1st Baronet GCB, GCMG, GCVO was an admiral in the British Royal Navy who commanded the Allied naval force in the Dardanelles during World War I....
who commanded the landing fleet. Finally, on the afternoon of 8 August, nearly two days after the landing commenced, Hamilton gained a clear picture of events. Accompanied by Aspinall and
CommodoreCommodore is a military rank used in many navies for officers whose position exceeds that of a navy captain, but is less than that of a rear admiral...
Roger Keyes, he crossed to the
Jonquil to confront Stopford who had finally been ashore to consult with Hammersley.
Stopford and Hammersley planned to order an advance the following morning, 9 August. Hamilton insisted that an advance be made immediately and so, at 6.30 pm, the 32nd Brigade was ordered to march two and a half miles to the Tekke Tepe ridge. The march, in darkness over unfamiliar, rough terrain, was difficult and the brigade did not approach the summit until 4 am on 9 August. The Turkish reinforcements had reached the ridge shortly before them and met the exhausted British infantry with a
bayonetA bayonet is a knife-, dagger-, sword-, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit on, over or underneath the muzzle of a rifle barrel or similar weapon, effectively turning the gun into a spear. It is a close quarter battle combat or last-resort weapon.-History: The origins of the bayonet are...
charge. The 32nd Brigade was virtually annihilated in a matter of minutes and the remnants of the battalions scattered back towards the beach.
Hamilton had watched the battle from the
Triad. He wrote in his diary:
- "My heart has grown tough amidst the struggles of the peninsula but the misery of this scene wellnigh broke it... Words are of no use."
Dismissal
Feizi Bey's troops began to arrive, as expected by the British, on the evening of 8 August. Von Sanders wanted to attack immediately but Feizi Bey objected, saying that the men were exhausted and without
artilleryArtillery is a military combat Arm that employs weapons capable of discharging large projectiles in combat. They are generally capable of adding considerable fire power to the military capability of an armed force...
support, so Von Sanders dismissed him. In his place he put Mustafa Kemal, the commander of the Turkish 19th Division, which had been fighting at
Chunuk BairThe Battle of Chunuk Bair was a World War I battle fought between the Turkish defenders and troops of New Zealand and Britain on Turkey's Gallipoli peninsula in August 1915...
. Kemal assumed authority over the "Anafarta section" which spanned from Suvla south to Chunuk Bair.
Kemal was easily a match for Stopford. Ruthless and decisive, he held the high ground and was content to remain on the defensive at Suvla while he dealt with the threat to the Sari Bair ridge. The intensity of the fighting escalated at Suvla on 9 August but the opportunity for the British to make a swift advance had now disappeared. Around midday the gunfire set scrub alight on Scimitar Hill, and Ashmead-Bartlett, watching from Lala Baba, saw the British wounded trying to escape the flames:
- "I watched the flames approaching and the crawling figures disappear amidst dense clouds of black smoke. When the fire passed on little mounds of scorched khaki
This article is about the fabric. For the colour, see Khaki . Kaki, another name for the persimmon, is often misspelled "Khaki".Khaki is a type of fabric or the colour of such fabric. The name comes from the Persian word khâk which came to English from British India, specifically via the British...
alone marked the spot where another mismanaged soldier of the KingGeorge V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 1910 through World War I until his death in 1936...
had returned to mother earth."
Reinforcements were arriving, the
53rd (Welsh) DivisionThe British 53rd Infantry Division was a Territorial Army division that fought in both World Wars. During the First World War the division fought at Gallipoli and in the Middle East. Remaining active during the interwar years as a peace-time formation, the division again saw action in World War...
had started coming ashore on the night of 8 August, and the
54th (East Anglian) DivisionThe British 54th Division was a Territorial Army division. During the First World War the division fought at Gallipoli and in the Middle East...
arrived on 10 August, but command remained paralysed. Some of the reasons that Stopford gave for his inaction were
surrealSurrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
, such as that the Turks were "inclined to be aggressive."
Hamilton finally cabled Kitchener that the IX Corps generals were "unfit" for command. Kitchener swiftly replied on 14 August, saying:
- "If you should deem it necessary to replace Stopford, Mahon and Hammersley, have you any competent generals to take their place? From your report I think Stopford should come home. This is a young man's war, and we must have commanding officers that will take full advantage of opportunities which occur but seldom. If, therefore, any generals fail, do not hesitate to act promptly. Any generals I have available I will send you."
Before receiving a response, Kitchener made Lieutenant-General Julian Byng available to command IX Corps. On 15 August Hamilton dismissed Stopford and, while Byng was travelling from
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
, replaced him with Major-General Beauvoir de Lisle, commander of the
British 29th DivisionThe 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. Under the command of Major General Aylmer Hunter-Weston, the division...
at Helles. Hammersley was also dismissed but Hamilton intended to retain Mahon in command of the 10th Division. However, Mahon was incensed that de Lisle, whom he disliked, was appointed above him and quit, saying "I respectfully decline to waive my seniority and to serve under the officer you name." He abandoned his division while it was in the thick of the fighting on Kiretch Tepe. The commander of the 53rd Division, Major-General John Lindley, voluntarily resigned.
Aftermath
General Stopford is blamed for the failure of the Suvla operation but responsibility ultimately lay with Lord Kitchener who, as
Secretary of State for WarThe position of Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a British cabinet-level position, first applied to Henry Dundas . In 1801 the post became that of Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. The position was re-instated in 1854...
, had appointed the elderly and inexperienced general to an active corps command, and with Sir Ian Hamilton who accepted Stopford's appointment and then failed to impose his will on his subordinate. On 13 August Hamilton had written in his diary, "Ought I have resigned sooner than allow generals old and inexperienced to be foisted up on me." By then it was too late and Stopford's departure contributed to Hamilton's downfall which came on 15 October when he was sacked as the commander of the
Mediterranean Expeditionary ForceThe Mediterranean Expeditionary Force was part of the British Army during World War I, its headquarters was formed in March 1915 that commanded all Allied forces at Gallipoli and Salonika. This included the initial naval operation to force the straits of the Dardanelles...
.
Under General de Lisle's command, the Suvla front was reorganised and reinforced with the arrival of the 29th Division from Helles and the
2nd Mounted DivisionThe 2nd Mounted Division, was a yeomanry division that served in the First World War. At the outbreak of war it was assigned to defence of the Norfolk coast. In March 1915 it formed a second-line duplicate of itself, the 2/2nd Mounted Division...
from
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia...
(minus their horses). The fighting climaxed on 21 August with the
Battle of Scimitar HillThe Battle of Scimitar Hill 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 largest battle of the Gallipoli campaign. When it too failed, activity at Suvla subsided into sporadic fighting until it was evacuated by the British in late December.
Commemoration
In the
English-speaking worldThe English-speaking world consists of those countries or regions that use the English language to one degree or another.-Number of native speakers by country:-See also:*Anglosphere*History of the English language*British Empire...
, many people who otherwise might not have heard of the landing at Suvla Bay know something of its history through the song
And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda"And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda" is a song, written by Scottish-born singer-songwriter Eric Bogle in 1971. The song describes the futility, gruesome reality and the destruction of war, while criticising those who seek to glorify it...
written in 1972 by
Eric BogleEric Bogle is a folk singer-songwriter. He emigrated to Australia in 1969 and currently resides near Adelaide, South Australia.-Career:...
and
coveredIn popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new rendition of a previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
by numerous artists including
the Clancy BrothersThe Clancy Brothers were an Irish folk music singing group, most popular in the 1960s, who are often credited with popularizing Irish traditional music in the United States. The brothers were Patrick "Paddy" Clancy, Tom Clancy, Bobby Clancy and Liam Clancy...
,
Joan BaezJoan Chandos Baez is a folk singer and songwriter known for her highly individual vocal style...
and
the PoguesThe Pogues are a band of mixed Irish and English background, playing traditional Irish music with influences from punk rock and jazz, formed in 1982 and fronted by Shane MacGowan. They reached international prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s, until MacGowan left the band in 1991 due to...
. The song, while emotionally charged and vivid, is not an accurate historical account of the landing and subsequent events. Suvla also appears in the traditional Irish song The Foggy Dew commemorating the 1916 Easter Rising.
Suvla Bay also plays a role in the climax of the
Peter WeirPeter Lindsay Weir AM is an Australian film director. After playing a leading role in the Australian New Wave cinema with his films such as Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Last Wave and Gallipoli, Weir relocated to the US and directed a diverse group of American and international films -- many of...
movie
Gallipoli (1981 film)Gallipoli is a 1981 Australian film, directed by Peter Weir and starring Mel Gibson and Mark Lee, about several young men from rural Western Australia who enlist in the Australian Army during the First World War. They are sent to Turkey, where they take part in the Gallipoli Campaign...
in which the third and final wave of Australian troops is ordered into a suicidal advance to maintain pressure on the Turkish/German troops despite the failure of the landing. The fictional character General Gardiner orders the advance reconsidered, with the famous line "at Suvla" ..."the [English] officers are sitting on the beach drinking cups of tea".