July 1915 opened with the Allies launching more attacks in Gallipoli in an effort to gain territory inland, instead of being held at bay by the Ottoman Turkish forces.

During the late summer Maltese men were called to join the Malta Labour Corps to help the soldiers on the frontline by digging trenches and doing any other work that was needed.

Allied submarines were very active in the Dardanelles and the Sea of Marmara. Even aircraft were employed for reconnaissance over the battlefields.

However, when the Allies realised that they were locked at the beachheads and could not penetrate further inland, they decided to evacuate their troops.

During June and July 1915 the Allies mounted a series of attacks from Helles sector on the southern tip of the peninsula. Prominent among these was the Battle of Gully Ravine, fought on June 28, 1914, along the Aegean back of the peninsula in the wake of a moderate French success a week earlier. A British action took place in the Helles sector on July 12, before the main Allied effort was shifted north to Anzac Cove.

In the meantime, the Allies planned to land two fresh infantry divisions from IX Corps, at Suvla, five miles north of Anzac Cove, followed by an advance on Sari Bair from the northwest. The landing at Suvla Bay took place on the night of August 6, 1915, against light opposition, but little more ground than the beach was seized. The Ottomans were able to occupy the Anafarta Hills, preventing the British from penetrating inland, which reduced the Suvla sector to static trench warfare.

The final British attempt to resuscitate the offensive came on August 21 with attacks at Scimitar Hill and Hill 60. Control of the hills would have united the Anzac and Suvla fronts but both attacks failed.

During the fighting, General Sir Ian Hamilton had requested another 95,000 troops on August 17, but on August 16 the French had announced plans to the British Secretary of War, Lord Kitchener, for an autumn offensive in France. A meeting of the Dardanelles Committee on August 20 determined that the French offensive would be supported with all the forces at Britain’s disposal, which left only about 25,000 reinforcements for the Dardanelles.

On August 23, after news of the failure at Scimitar Hill, Hamilton felt compelled to assume a defensive strategy as Bulgaria’s entry in the war, which would allow the Germans to rearm the Turkish army, was imminent, and left little opportunity for the resumption of offensive operations.

On September 25, Lord Kitchener demanded three divisions, two British and one French, for service in Salonika in Greece, and this marked the beginning of the end of the Allied campaign at Gallipoli.

The prospect of evacuation was raised on October 11, 1915, but Hamilton resisted the suggestion, fearing damage to British prestige. Shortly afterwards, Hamilton was dismissed as commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force and was replaced by General Charles Monro.

Meanwhile, autumn and winter brought relief from the heat but also led to gales, blizzards and flooding, resulting in men drowning and freezing to death, while thousands suffered frostbite. At the same time, the situation at Gallipoli was further complicated by the entry of Bulgaria into the war on September 6, 1915, on the side of the Central Powers.

On October 5, 1915, the British and French opened a second Mediterranean front at Salonika, Greece, by moving three divisions from Gallipoli, and reducing the flow of reinforcements. A land route between Germany and the Ottoman Empire through Bulgaria was opened, enabling Germany to supply heavy artillery to devastate the Allied trench network, as well as modern aircraft and experienced crews.

The Ottomans were able to occupy the Anafarta Hills, preventing the British from penetrating inland, which reduced the Suvla sector to static trench warfare

Monro recommended evacuation to Lord Kitchener, who in early November visited the eastern Mediterranean. On November 22, the British decided to cut their losses and evacuate Suvla and Anzac sectors. In contrast to earlier operations, planning moved quickly and efficiently. The evacuation of Anzac Cove began on December 15, with 36,000 troops withdrawn over the following five nights. The last party left in the early hours of December 20, the night of the last evacuation from Suvla. British and French forces remained at Helles until January 8-9, 1916.

In Turkey, the campaign marked the beginning of a national revival. The Ottoman hero of Gallipoli, Mustafa Kemal, would eventually become known as Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founding president of the Turkish Republic.

In New Zealand and Australia, Gallipoli helped foster a developing sense of national identity. Those at home were proud of how their men had performed on the world stage, establishing a reputation for fighting hard in difficult conditions. Anzac Day grew out of this pride, where it was first observed on April 25, 1916, the date of the landing has become a crucial part of national life for Australia and New Zealand.

In their book No Labour, No Battle: Military Labour during the First World War, John Starling and Ivor Lee say that about 7,000 Maltese men served in the Maltese Labour Corps, although the medal rolls show a smaller figure of 5,621. Some 128 lost their life at Gallipoli.

The initial call for men to serve as stevedores in Gallipoli was made on September 2, 1915. Over 1,000 volunteers presented themselves in less than a week, and 864 were chosen, and they were left in the command of Major J.V. Aspinall and Lieutenant J.L. Muscat, of the King’s Own Malta Regiment of Militia (KOMRM).

Their average wage was of half a crown a day, besides rations, and a separate allowance of sixpence in favour of their wife, and a penny for every child. The men enlisted for a period of three months and many saw this as an opportunity to earn a substantial sum of money in a short period of time.

Before the enlisted men left Malta they were told they were to be located behind the troops. They sailed from Malta directly to the Greek island of Mudros, and during their trip there was rumour that they were going to serve in the war zone. When they arrived in Mudros, some 234 men, under the command of Captain Stivala, volunteered to serve in Gallipoli and sailed on September 27. It appears that they were in companies under the direction of a Maltese officer.

The medal rolls indicate that a total of 1,088 men received the bronze war medal and the victory medal for service in Gallipoli. The majority of the first contingent served from September 1, 1915 until February 17, 1916. Captain Alfred J. Gatt, Royal Malta Artillery, was awarded the Military Cross for his service with the Maltese Labour Corps at Gallipoli, and six other officers were mentioned in despatches.

On November 13, 1915, Lord Kitchener inspected the Maltese Labour Corps at Gallipoli during his tour of Gallipoli. He praised them for their work and showed gratitude for the important service they were rendering. In early December, 1915, it was decided to evacuate the troops and men from Gallipoli, and among the first to leave were the Maltese and Egyptian labour corps on December 11.

The last of the Maltese labour corps who had served at Mudros and at Gallipoli returned to Malta on February 17, 1916 where they were met by the Governor, Field Marshal Paul Methuen, who thanked them for their service.

Meanwhile, the submarine campaign continued. HMS E14 made three tours of the Sea of Marmara, the last one began on July 21, 1915, despite the fact that the Ottomans had a newly installed anti-submarine net near the narrows.

Another attempt was made by the French submarine Mariotte on July 27, but was forced to the surface. After being shelled from the shore batteries, Mariotte was scuttled. On August 8, 1915, during HMS E11’s tour of the Sea of Marmara, she succeeded to torpedo the Ottoman battleship Barbaros Hayreddin, resulting in the loss of 253 men, and also sank a gunboat, seven transports and 23 sailing vessels.

About 7,000 Maltese men served in the Maltese Labour Corps, although the medal rolls show a smaller figure of 5,621. Some 128 lost their life at Gallipoli

On September 4, 1915, HMS E7 was also trapped in anti-submarine net as it attempted to start another tour. Despite such reverses, by mid-September the Allies had succeeded in closing off the eastern entrance to the Dardanelles to German U-boats with mines and nets to prevent submarines from operating out of Constantinople. One of the German submarines affected was U-21, which was unable to return to Constantinople, the U-boat instead went back to Cattaro, in the Adriatic.

Meanwhile, the first French submarine to enter the Sea of Marmara was Turquoise, but later was forced to turn back and, on October 30, 1915, it ran aground beneath a Turkish fort and was captured intact.

The crew of 25 were taken prisoners and documents detailing planned Allied operations were discovered, which included meeting HMS E20. Instead it was kept by the German U-14, which torpedoed and sank HMS E20, killing all but nine of the crew.

In May 1915, the seaplane carrier HMS Ben-my-Chree sailed for the Dardanelles, carrying two short-type 184 torpedo bombers, and arrived at Lesbos on June 10.

Its aircraft was mainly involved in spotting for ships providing naval gunfire support for troops ashore, although they also conducted reconnaissance missions of the area.

Flight Commander Charles Edmonds served aboard HMS Ben-my-Chree during the Gallipoli Campaign. On August 12, 1915, flying a Short 184 seaplane, he made history by launching the first ever aerial torpedo attack on a Turkish merchant ship. It subsequently sank, although it had already been hit by the British submarine HMS E14. Five days later, he successfully attacked another Turkish ship, the first to have been sunk entirely by this method.

This was followed by a successful attack on August 17 against a ship by Edmonds.

Flight Lieutenant George Dacre accompanied Edmonds on his flight in his own aircraft, but suffered engine troubles and had to land in the Dardanelles. He was taxiing on the water when he encountered a large steam tugboat, which he immediately torpedoed. After taxiing for several miles he was able to get airborne again and was within gliding distance of HMS Ben-my-Chree when his engine failed permanently.

After its arrival, the Allied air force was expanded from one squadron to a full wing designated No. 3 Wing RNAS, consisting of 40 aircraft, based at Imbros, which replaced its original Voisin aircraft with Farmans and Nieuport Xs. A French squadron, Escadrille MF98T, had also been established at Tenedos.

Against this the Ottomans had 20 aircraft, of which eight were stationed at Çanakkale. Throughout the offensive, Allied aircraft made reconnaissance flights, spotted for naval gunfire support, and conducted low-level bombing of Ottoman reserves as they were brought up to the battlefield. They also undertook anti-shipping operations in the Gulf of Saros where a seaplane from HMS Ben-my-Chree sank an Ottoman tug with an air-launched torpedo.

The first aerial victory occurred during the summer 1915. Karl Kettembeil joined the aviation Compagnie Fliegerstaffel 1 in Gallipoli. Previously he was artillery officer at the Gallipoli front. While on a reconnaissance flight with pilot Preussner at the controls on September 27, 1915, Kettembeil shot down an enemy aircraft at the Golf of Saros.

On November 30, 1915, an Ottoman crew enjoyed their first air combat victory. Pilot Yüzbasi Ali Riza and observer Mülazim Orhan Bey shot down a Maurice Farman of the French squadron MF 98T based at Tenedos island. They were flying the first armed Albatros C.I to enter service with the Ottoman Air Force (serial number AK1) and their victim fell near Gaba Tepe. The Turkish crew of Ali Riza and Orhan were members of the first Turkish air squadron.

Allied and Ottoman losses

Sources differ about the losses suffered by the Allies and the Ottomans. Gallipoli: The Fatal Shore, by Harvey Broadbent, gives the following breakdown of both the estimated numbers of combatants and the casualties:

British & Indian troops:	348,000
British troops killed:	21,255
Indian troops killed:	1,358
Total loss:	119,696
Australian troops:	50,000,
Troops killed:	7,594-8,709
Wounded and sick:	19,441
Total loss:	26,094-27,700
New Zealand troops:	8,500
Troops killed:	2,431-2,701
Wounded and sick:	4,752
Total loss:	7,571
French & colonial troops:	79,000,
French troops killed:	10,000 (circa)
Wounded and sick:	17,000 (circa)
Total loss:	27,004
Ottoman troops:	200,000-500,000
Troops killed:	66,000-86,692
Wounded and sick:	213,308
Total loss:	218,000-300,000

(To be continued)

Charles Debono is curator at the National War Museum.