Gallipoli - Introducing V Beach

It’s time to dive into V Beach, the second map on the Gallipoli peninsula! Here, British forces attempt to capture the southernmost tip that protects the entrance to the Dardanelles Straits, using the SS River Clyde as a trojan horse.

Before we get started, do check out the first episode of our interview with Jonathan Ferguson! We sat down in the weapons vault of the Royal Armouries museum in Leeds to discuss the weapons used on the Ottoman Fronts, and also got to fire a couple. This first episode: British Rifles!

Landing at Cape Helles

Having been thwarted in their attempts to force the Dardanelles Straits in March 1915, the Entente allies planned a series of amphibious landings on the Gallipoli peninsula. The intention was for infantry to land onto the beaches and then march and fight their way overland to attack and capture the Ottoman forts and guns that protected the Dardanelles.

Gallipoli: New Perspectives on the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, 1915-16 by Rhys Crawley & Michael Locicero

A series of landings were planned for Cape Helles, with landing sites being assigned an identifying letter. V Beach was located near the village of Seddülbahir and had strong defenses. The beach lay beneath an old castle which protected both a nearby harbor and the village itself. On the left were a series of more modern fortifications whilst, further inland, the ruins of a pre-Byzantine fort lay atop Hill 141. The castle in particular would be heavily shelled by British warships in preparation for a landing.

Sedd el Bahr fort photographed from the SS River Clyde, IWM (Q 50473)

In order to safely deliver soldiers to the beach, the British chose to be inventive. They converted the collier ship, SS River Clyde into a trojan horse. It would, whilst accompanied by smaller steamtugs with row boats in tow, beach itself before releasing the infantry aboard directly onto the beach. However, the River Clyde became beached further out than anticipated and many soldiers drowned or were killed by the Ottoman defenders as they tried to get ashore. Pinned down on the beach, it was only after nightfall and the eventual success of landings and reinforcements on their flank that the attackers were able to move inland, and capture the village itself.

SS River Clyde beached at Cape Helles, The War Illustrated in June, 1915

V Beach in Gallipoli

The battle starts with the landing of the British forces on the beach, consisting of numerous smaller rowboats and the SS River Clyde. Choosing to spawn in a rowboat will get you to shore quicker, provided you can stay alive for the trip. If you opt to board the River Clyde, you have much more cover and a scenic view, but it takes a bit to run aground and come to a complete stop.

Once the River Clyde is parked, you can walk across the gangways and lighters – flat boats used as a bridge – to make it to shore with mostly dry boots. This is now the quickest way to get ashore, but the rowboats remain available if you’re looking to take another avenue.

At the beach, you’re already close to the objectives of the first sector. On the right side from the British perspective, you have the old castle that provides the defending Ottomans with a lot of cover. The closest tower already took some big hits, but the walls give excellent elevation and cover from arrowslits, while the narrow entryways force the Brits to funnel