Allied withdrawal from Gallipoli, 1916
On the night of 8/9 January 1916 the Allied withdrawal from Gallipoli was completed.
On 22 November 1915 the Allies had decided to withdraw from Gallipoli. The campaign had been intended to break through Ottoman lines, which would effectively encircle Austro-Hungary and Germany. The campaign suffered set backs from the outset, being unable to make substantial gains and seeing many ANZAC forces pinned down on the beaches. Allied commanders on the field had anticipated an evacuation, which was ordered after Lord Kitchener spent just two hours on the front observing conditions.
Allied and Ottoman casualties were high as the Gallipoli front became one of atrition. 44000 Allied and 87000 Ottoman troops were killed on the offensive. The first phase of the Allied withdrawal began on 15 December. Over 5 nights some 30000 ANZAC troops were evacuated from the beaches.
Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Brudenell White, of the Australian army devised a plan to safely evacuate those men. Winter was setting in and it was customary for fighting to wane in freezing conditions. He employed a series of ‘silent stunts’ which were intended to give the impression that the Allies were simply making preparations for seeing themselves through winter. Periods of no artillery or gun fire were introduced, followed by the intermittent fire that was typical of trench warfare: much of which was done using timers. To keep up appearances, some equipment was unloaded from ships during the day to give the Ottoman lookouts evidence of continued presence in the area.
That plan worked, tricking the Ottoman forces into believing nothing unusual was underway. Anzac Cove and Sulva were evacuated without being engaged by an enemy assault.
CreditNational Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London
The evacuation from Walker’s Ridge involved the Indian Mule Corps removing equipment at night and taking it to Walker’s Pier. The Turks were used to seeing Mules in Allied lines, nothing would seem odd about their presence: only this time, the load was being taken from the front rather than to it. Despite the familiarity of the Mule Convoys, men were still concerned that the Mules may give away the operation. It was a fear that was soon eased:
“At once I thought–’My goodness, if the Turks don’t see all this as it goes along they must be blind’. But as I went along behind them I began to notice how silently these mules behaved. They had big loads, but they were perfectly quiet. They made no sound at all as they walked except for the slight jingle of a chain now and then … . I doubt if you could have heard the slightest noise … . I doubt if at 1,000 yards [915 metres] you could see them at all-possibly just a black serpentine streak”.[Quoted in CEW Bean, The Story of Anzac, Sydney, 1924, Vol II, p.866]
With the bulk of Allied forces evacuated from Gallipoli, only a force of British and French troops remained in the area, at Cape Helles. This body of men were evacuated on the night of 8/9 January 1916.
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Images:
Cape Helles, Jan 9th 1916 after the evacuation of Gallipoli Peninsula. H.M.S. Edgar, Grafton and torpedo boats (PAH5183) Smith, C J
CreditNational Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London
HMS Cornwallis, last ship to leave the area as the 15-20th December withdrawal ended. Imperial War Museum.
