The Plan
This plan was a very simple one, perhaps its why it failed. The British battleships simply sailed down the Dardanelles and fired on the Turkish positions (Britannica, 2013). The simple Idea was that the Turkish men would simply run at the sight of the battleships just off shore. But this idea was extremely incorrect.
The Attack
The British Battleships cruised down the Dardanelles to the Turkish position. The ships fired and the Turkish suffered heavy losses, but they didn't retreat. Instead they gained more anger and maned the heavy weapons that were located along the forts walls, as the ships continued to fire at the Turkish positions the Turkish fired back (SBS1, 2011).
There were a number of
different reasons that the British loss battle and left. Some of these include:
1. The Mines
The British intelligence had moved in and gathered intelligence on the Turkish position a week before the actual attack. Because of this the British battleships were not aware of the mines that had been laid out n the water just 2 days before the battle by. The Turkish mine-maker had laid the mines along the narrows (the smallest and thinnest parts of the river, see picture below). These were considered minefields because they covered a vast amount of river (AustraliaGov, The Bouvet, 2013).
1. The Mines
The British intelligence had moved in and gathered intelligence on the Turkish position a week before the actual attack. Because of this the British battleships were not aware of the mines that had been laid out n the water just 2 days before the battle by. The Turkish mine-maker had laid the mines along the narrows (the smallest and thinnest parts of the river, see picture below). These were considered minefields because they covered a vast amount of river (AustraliaGov, The Bouvet, 2013).
In the picture above the mines are shown to be located at the beginning of 'The Narrows' and the south-eastern area of the entrance/exit of the Dardanelles. The map also explains the positioning of the Turkish positions in relationship to their firepower or strength. The picture below is of a Naval Mine that has been pulled out of the waters of Gallipoli. These mines were filled with explosives, and when hit by a ship, exploded. This damages ships immensely often causing the large enough hole for the ship to sink. In total there were two ships sunk from contact with mines(AustraliaGov, 2013).
The mines came out of nowhere.... one minute there was clear waters then the next thing we see is The Bouvet sinking just beside us......
From the diary of Thomas Lowrie-Shelford, on the naval attack on Gallipoli
2. The Expectations of the Turkish
As mentioned before the British were sure that the Turkish would turn and run at the sight of the British Navy sailing right up to them. But instead the Turkish turned and attacked using the heavy artillery along the walls of their forts. These heavy artillery guns sank one battleship by themselves, killing over 570 crew members (AustraliaGov, 2013) and giving the Turkish a firm sense of energy.
As mentioned before the British were sure that the Turkish would turn and run at the sight of the British Navy sailing right up to them. But instead the Turkish turned and attacked using the heavy artillery along the walls of their forts. These heavy artillery guns sank one battleship by themselves, killing over 570 crew members (AustraliaGov, 2013) and giving the Turkish a firm sense of energy.