Gallipoli Campaign

     The Gallipoli Campaign of 1915-1916, also known as the battle of Gallipoli, was thought up by Winston Churchill and was an attempt by the Allied powers to control the sea route from Europe to Russia during World War I. In early 1915 Russians found themselves threatened by the Turks in the Caucasus and appealed for some relief. The British decided to mount a naval expedition to bombard and take the Gallipoli Peninsula on the Western shore of the Dardanelles, with Constantinople as its objective. The campaign began with a failed naval attack by British and French ships on the Dardanelles Straits in February-March 1915 and continued with a massive land invasion of the Gallipoli Peninsula on April, 25, involving British and French troops as well as Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC). By mid-October, allied forces had suffered heavy casualties and had made little head way from their initial landing sites. Australian casualties added up to about 26,111 and about 8,141 deaths. Despite this, it has been said that Gallipoli had no influences on the course of war.