the 29th division
The First Battle of Krithia
The First Battle of Krithia was the first allied advance during the Gallipoli Campaign. Starting at Helles on April 28th 1915, three days after the initial landings, the attack broke down due to poor leadership and planning, lack of communications and exhaustion and demoralisation of the troops.
On the morning of April 25th, the British 29th Division under the command of Major General Aylmer Hunter Weston landed on five beaches around Cape Helles at the southern tip of Gallipoli. A supporting landing made at Y Beach on the Aegean coast to the north was made without opposition but the troops were without instructions so made no attempt to either advance or dig in. At that time, the first-day objectives of the village of Krithia and the nearby Hill of Achi Baba were virtually undefended. When Turkish reinforcements arrived the British were forced to evacuate the ' Y ' Beach landing and so a major opportunity of early success was lost.
On the morning of April 25th, the British 29th Division under the command of Major General Aylmer Hunter Weston landed on five beaches around Cape Helles at the southern tip of Gallipoli. A supporting landing made at Y Beach on the Aegean coast to the north was made without opposition but the troops were without instructions so made no attempt to either advance or dig in. At that time, the first-day objectives of the village of Krithia and the nearby Hill of Achi Baba were virtually undefended. When Turkish reinforcements arrived the British were forced to evacuate the ' Y ' Beach landing and so a major opportunity of early success was lost.
After heavy fighting the British were able to secure the main landings. The French ' Corps expeditionnaire d'Orient ' division which had made a diversionary landing at Kum Kale on the Asian shore of the Dardanelles on April 25th had now moved across the straits to Helles to hold the right of the Allied line. By the afternoon of April the 27th the Allies were able to make an advance of about two miles up the peninsula towards Krithia in readiness for an assault on the following day.
The ferocity of the Turkish defence of the landings led the British to grossly overestimate the opposition they faced. They assumed they were faced by two divisions whereas in reality they outnumbered the Turks
3 to 1 and were confronted by two week regiments who resisted doggedly while waiting for reinforcements.
The battle commenced around 8 am on April the 28th with a naval bombardment. The plan of advance was for the French to hold position on the right while the British line would pivot, capturing Krithia and assailing Achi Baba from the south and west. The overly complex plan was poorly communicated to the brigade and battalion commanders of the 29th Division who would make the attack. Hunter Weston remained far from the front and so was not able to exert any control as the attack developed. The same problem with staff commanders being far from the front and the actual fighting would rear its ugly head during the attack on the Somme on the 1st July 1916.
The ferocity of the Turkish defence of the landings led the British to grossly overestimate the opposition they faced. They assumed they were faced by two divisions whereas in reality they outnumbered the Turks
3 to 1 and were confronted by two week regiments who resisted doggedly while waiting for reinforcements.
The battle commenced around 8 am on April the 28th with a naval bombardment. The plan of advance was for the French to hold position on the right while the British line would pivot, capturing Krithia and assailing Achi Baba from the south and west. The overly complex plan was poorly communicated to the brigade and battalion commanders of the 29th Division who would make the attack. Hunter Weston remained far from the front and so was not able to exert any control as the attack developed. The same problem with staff commanders being far from the front and the actual fighting would rear its ugly head during the attack on the Somme on the 1st July 1916.
Major General Aylmer Hunter-Weston, one of the many ' Donkey ' Generals who would also be known as ' Hunter Bunter ' and ' The Butcher of Helles ' for the disregard he showed towards the welfare of his men and for his incompetent battle plans.
The initial advances were easy but as pockets of Turkish resistance were encountered, some stretches of the line were held up while others kept moving, thereby becoming outflanked. The further up the peninsula the troops advanced, the more difficult the terrain became as they encountered the four great ravines that ran from the heights around Achi Baba towards the cape.
On the extreme left the British ran into Gully Ravine ( see map ) which was as wild and as confusing as the Ground at Anzac Cove. Two Battalions of the 87th Brigade ( 1st Border Regiment and 1st Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers ) entered the ravine but were halted by a machine gun post near Y beach. No further advance would be made up the ravine until the 1st and 6th Gurkha Rifles would capture the post on the night of May 12th-13th. This involved them going up a 300 ft vertical slope which had defeated both the Royal Marine Light Infantry and the Royal Dublin Fusiliers. The site became known as " Gurkha Bluff. "
On the extreme left the British ran into Gully Ravine ( see map ) which was as wild and as confusing as the Ground at Anzac Cove. Two Battalions of the 87th Brigade ( 1st Border Regiment and 1st Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers ) entered the ravine but were halted by a machine gun post near Y beach. No further advance would be made up the ravine until the 1st and 6th Gurkha Rifles would capture the post on the night of May 12th-13th. This involved them going up a 300 ft vertical slope which had defeated both the Royal Marine Light Infantry and the Royal Dublin Fusiliers. The site became known as " Gurkha Bluff. "
Gully Ravine
