British Underestimate Ottoman Forces, Turkish Resolve Thousands of Allied Troops Killed on the Beaches Special to The Great War Project (25 April) In the hope of a swift victory, the Allied powers on this day a century ago, land some 50,000 troops on the Gallipoli Peninsula in northwestern Turkey, on the northern shore of the…
Tag Archive for Constantinople
PREPARATIONS UNDER WAY FOR GREAT BRITISH LANDING AT GALLIPOLI.
by Mike Shuster
Fight On, the Cry from All Sides. Only Lone Voices in Opposition. Special to The Great War Project (24-26 March) Stalemate and deadlock still prevail on the Western Front in northern France and Belgium. Elsewhere, defeat after defeat, slaughter after slaughter on both sides only steels the determination to fight on. Writes historian Martin Gilbert:…
ON GALLIPOLI PENINSULA ARMY WILL TAKE OVER
by Mike Shuster
Second Naval Assault on Dardanelles Abandoned. Secret Plan with Russia to Carve up Ottoman Empire. Special to The Great War Project (19-20 March) The British bombardment a century ago of the Dardanelle Straits in western Turkey is a disaster. Three French and British battleships are sunk by mines in the straits. Three more are put…
ALLIED ARMADA FAILS IN ATTACK ON TURKEY
by Mike Shuster
At Dardanelles, Turkish Defenses Sink, Cripple Six Battleships; A Colossal British Miscalculation Special to The Great War Project (17-18 March) On the morning of March 18th a century ago, the British unleash a huge naval attack on the Dardanelles, the strategic waterway in northwestern Turkey. Initially ten battleships – six British and four French –…
BRITISH ASSAULT EXPECTED IN DARDANELLES
by Mike Shuster
A Massive Concentration of Warships. Turks Fortify Strategic Waterway; Constantinople Threatened. Special to The Great War Project (14-16 March) A fleet of sixteen British battleships is gathering in the Aegean Sea just outside the Dardanelles. This is the narrow, strategic waterway that leads from the Mediterranean to Constantinople, the Ottoman capital and on to the…
PANIC IN CONSTANTINOPLE
by Mike Shuster
British Assault on Dardanelle Straits Widely Expected; Target is Ottoman Capital Special to The Great War Project (5-7 March) By this time a century ago, the British decide to “force the Dardanelles.” This narrow waterway in northwest Turkey, thirty miles long and less than a mile wide at its most narrow, is the key to…
FROZEN EARTH, FROZEN WAR
by Mike Shuster
Germans Dig in for Long Haul; In the Trenches: Paneled Walls, Even Carpets; Ottoman Threat to Kill Allied Hostages. Special to The Great War Project. (24-25-26 November) In the central zone of the Eastern Front a century ago, as the battle around what is now the Polish city of Lodz comes to a close, the…