Gallipoli - Main Theme | The Ottoman Empire & the Gallipoli Campaign

Today, our favourite historian Dr Chris Kempshall is back to round up your Gallipoli history course with the other side of the equation: the perspective of the Ottoman Empire during WW1. But first, to get you in the right mood, listen to the Main Theme of Gallipoli: Gallipoli Marsi.

With Gallipoli Marsi stuck in your head, let's get to the blog:

In 1915, the Ottoman Empire faced an existential threat to its survival. The allied attack on the Dardanelles Straits and Gallipoli peninsula could, if unchecked, lead to the occupation of the Ottoman capital of Constantinople. In the end, Gallipoli would prove to be a huge triumph for the Ottoman military but would also lay the foundations for its eventual defeat and collapse. It would also play an important role in the creation of a new modern Turkish state.

When the nations of the Entente Alliance and the Central Powers went to war in 1914, the fighting was unlikely to be restrained simply to the Western and Eastern Fronts.

For some countries, such as Italy and the Ottoman Empire, the war represented an opportunity to either claim or solidify their place as one of the European Great Powers. Being on the winning side would provide them with the opportunity for territorial expansion and the weakening of their primary rivals.

Many of the other Great Powers had come to view the Ottoman Empire as the ‘sick man of Europe’ in the years before the war. An old empire, but one that was politically and militarily weak and unstable.

Joining the war and emerging victorious would be a powerful way for the Ottomans to dismiss such accusations. However, when the war came to the lands and territories of the Ottoman Empire it produced one of the greatest threats they had ever faced.

This is the historical and strategic background to the Ottoman Empire’s experience in the Gallipoli campaign.

Historical Context

The Ottoman Empire’s route to joining the Central Powers in 1914 was a complicated one and was heavily influenced by long time rivalries and the treatment of its previous allies.

Steam post image Map of Ottoman Empire in 1914, URL: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/map-ottoman-empire-1914, (Manatū Taonga — Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 28-May-2024

In regards to territory, the Ottoman Empire covered a huge spread of land from the Caucasus to Mesopotamia and from the Dardanelles to the Sinai Desert. Within this territory there were a mix of valuable resources - like the oil fields of Mesopotamia - as well as a substantial number of different groups, peoples, and tribes.

Such a mix of potential nationalities each with their own interests and desires put a great deal of internal pressure on the Ottoman state. The Ottom,ans were not unique in facing this issue at the beginning of the 20th century. It was a driving force behind Austria-Hungary’s decision to pursue war in 1914 and had been a concern for various nations since at least the mid 1800s.

The Young Turk Revolution of 1908 had been aimed against the restrictive and autocratic rule of Sultan Abdülhamid II and, for a while, it appeared that a more modernised and united Ottoman Empire would emerge. However, it soon became clear that the other Great Powers of Europe did not want a reinvigorated Ottoman Empire to sway the balance of power on the continent.

The closest rival of the Ottomans was the Russian Empire. They had tried repeatedly, particularly during the Crimean War, to expand into territory and areas that were thought to be part of the Ottoman’s ‘sphere of interest’. The Russian desire to access a warm water port for both trade and military influence put them at odds with the Ottomans, especially given that they both shared the Black Sea.

Both Britain and France had fought alongside the Ottomans during the Crimean War to prevent a Russian victory but this was not a sign of any warmth or regard. Right up to the start of the First World War there had been supposedly strong diplomatic ties between London and Constantinople as previous allies but the British did not disguise their disdain for the Ottomans. They believed them to be largely lacking as a military power and this was one of the reasons they had not immediately been keen to formalise a more modern alliance. Many within the British government and military were unconvinced that the Ottomans were an ally worth having or one that could pull their weight in wartime.

Steam post image The Changing Waves of Migration from the Balkans to Turkey: A Historical Account - Scientific Figure on ResearchGate. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/The-Ottoman-Empire-in-the-Balkans-before-the-First-Balkan-War-1912_fig1_284897275 [accessed 6 Aug 2026]

Some of this disregard for Ottoman military strength was a result of the defeats they had suffered in the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913 which had seen the Ottomans lose a great deal of their territory in Europe.

However the territory occupied by the Ottoman Empire - particularly the way access from the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas into the Black Sea had to pass through the Dardanelles and Constantinople - was to have a significant impact on the course of the First World War.

The lack of interest from Britain and France in making a formal alliance with the Ottomans ahead of the outbreak of war was mirrored in Germany. They also had doubts over whether the Ottoman Empire would be able to muster the military strength needed in case of war. However they also feared the consequences of the Ottomans joining the Entente. If that happened - then a supply route through to the Russians would be possible and the Central Powers would face another threat to the south beyond the Balkans.

There were other benefits to bringing the Ottomans onboard. The work on the much-anticipated Berlin-Baghdad railway was still not finished in Mesopotamia by August 1914. But the section of track which linked Berlin and Constantinople was completed and this meant that the Germans could provide military supplies and support directly to this potential ally who could likely be counted on to threaten Russia. Additionally the decision by the British to break a contract with the Ottomans for several dreadnought battleships that were under construction (and keep them for their own use) further pushed leaders in Constantinople towards the Central Powers.

Steam post image Admiral Souchon and his officers in Ottoman Navy uniforms. By Garitan - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17851786

The Ottoman Empire signed a secret treaty with Germany on 2nd August 1914 - the day after Germany had declared war on Russia but before Britain and France had formally entered the conflict. The Ottomans would not make their participation known until late October 1914 when, in a plan formed between the Ottoman War Minister Enver Pasha and the German Admiral Willian Souchen (who had recently delivered a small squadron of naval vessels to the Ottomans), their ships shelled Russian ports in the Black Sea.

The Ottomans were now at war with the Entente. On the surface it appeared much of their efforts and focus would be directed at the Russians, who subsequently invaded Anatolia in November 1914. But the deadlock on the Western Front and the possibility of removing the Ottoman Empire both as a participant in the Central Powers and as an obstacle to supplying the Russians was very tempting for Britain and France at the end of 1914.

The Ottoman Empire at War

Whilst the greatest danger to the Ottomans would come at the Dardanelles in 1915, it was not the only theatre that their forces fought in. The British landed imperial troops in Mesopotamia in November 1914 to capture the oilfields at Basra. From there they began to move along the Tigris River where they captured the town of Kut. The end point of this march was hoped to be the strategically vital city of Baghdad but the British would eventually be stopped at Ctesiphon and then besieged in Kut by Ottoman forces.

Steam post image Three maps, showing the advance on Baghdad and first and second battles of Kut. Unknown artist, United States Military Academy, Department of History, map 47 b, https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/warfare-1914-1918-ottoman-empiremiddle-east/

However, whilst this attack was eventually halted it did cause concern for the Ottoman leadership. The huge size of their empire meant that forces could not easily be deployed everywhere at once. The hope had been that, in the case of an invasion in Mesopotamia, the local tribes that lived there - although not all were particularly loyal to Constantinople - would see the attackers as outsiders and slow them down until Ottoman soldiers could arrive. But this did not happen. Many of these tribes seemed to view the invaders threating the central Ottoman state as not really being their problem. Russian advances in the Caucasus also threatened the territorial integrity of the Ottoman Empire. The internal cracks were already beginning to show.

However these threats were nothing in comparison to the realisation that Britain and France aimed to try and force the Dardanelles Straits and capture the Ottoman capital of Constantinople. Such an attack could potentially bring the entire empire to the point of collapse and not simply knock the Ottomans out of the war but possibly out of existence.

The Dardanelles and the Bulair Lines, IWM Q 109143 https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205351875

The Ottomans had known for centuries the importance of holding the Dardanelles Straits given they could act as a gateway through the Sea of Marmara right up to Constantinople. The entrance was guarded by ancient castles at Sedd-el-Bahr and Kum Kale and, along the narrow straits themselves, various artillery forts and positions had been prepared in advance. Many of these were placed so that they could shell any passing ships but the enemy weapons could not return fire. To further protect themselves against enemy fleets, the Straits were prepared with underwater mines that could easily sink a much larger vessel.

The British and French attempt to try and force their navies through the Straits on 18th March 1915 was a disaster with a number of ships either sunk or damaged. Whilst the Entente were forced to retreat the potential danger was not lost on the Ottomans. Their enemies had shown the resolve to try and make the naval journey to Constantinople and had only been halted by the defensive forts. If those forts at the Dardanelles were lost then the outcome could be apocalyptic.

Gallipoli and the Ottoman Empire

Whilst Britain and France undertook their planning and preparations for staging landings that would threaten the defences of the Dardanelles, the Ottomans could not be entirely sure where the enemy attack would land. With the two banks of the Dardanelles covering both the European and Asian sides of the Straits, it was feasible that any landings could focus on either, or both, of them.

When the attacks came on 25th April 1915, the weight of them fell upon the Gallipoli Peninsula on the European side. In the early hours of the morning Ottoman sentries spotted the approach of small boats towards the beaches of Gallipoli. As these boats, and the soldiers within them drew closer to the shore, the Ottomans opened fire and began preparations to fall back.

The rifle fire they directed at the boats began to inflict casualties on the approaching attackers and, in a bid to avoid being hit, some jumped overboard and drowned as they were pulled under by their heavy kit. At places like V Beach, where the British used the SS River Clyde as a trojan horse to deliver their troops directly onto the beach, the Ottomans managed to hold the invasion for the entire first day.

Steam post image Turk Soldiers, Gallipoli. Bain News Service, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2014700276/

Across the peninsula the Ottomans had the advantage of prepared positions designed to help repel an attack. But the scale of the attacks, and the initial loss of the beaches pushed them to breaking point. The Entente armies appeared set on capturing various strategically valuable peaks and high points along the peninsula. If they succeeded before Ottoman reinforcements could arrive then the operation could be a success.

In response the Ottomans dedicated themselves to extreme measures. At Anzac Cove - the site of the landings of Australian and New Zealand soldiers - the primary commander was Lieutenant-Colonel Mustafa Kemal. Recognising the dire situation before him he issued a now famous order to his solders:

“I don't order you to attack. I order you to die. By the time we are dead, other units and commanders will have come up to take our place.”

The Ottomans resolved to fight to the last man if needed . They launched repeated counter-attacks throughout the 25th April. Whenever the invading forces managed to get a foothold inland of the beaches, they were quickly forced back again. So disruptive were the Ottoman defenders, that by the end of the 25th April, British commanders were giving serious thought to evacuating the peninsula entirely to avoid being pushed back into the sea.

However, despite this, the Entente forces clung on. But they would never make significant headway towards their primary objectives. Whilst multiple attacks were launched against the Ottomans who held the high ground throughout the campaign, the Entente were unable to threaten the forts that guarded the Dardanelles.

Anafarta, Gallipoli Peninsula. C. 1915-08. The Commander Mustafa Kemal Bey (Ataturk). Australian War Memorial https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C196601

In August one of the largest Entente attacks was a combined operation which involved a further landing by British soldiers at Suvla Bay (in an attempt to widen the front) and attacks by New Zealand forces at Chunuk Bair and Australians at the Nek. Again, these attacks provided a real degree of danger to the Ottomans. Mustafa Kemal was saved from serious injury when a piece of shrapnel struck a watch in his pocket. After days of fighting, the Ottomans once again held the Entente at bay.

With the attacks thwarted the Entente began to realise there was little prospect of breaking through and ever threatening the forts of the Dardanelles.

By January of 1916, with the invasion completely stalled and with rumours that the Ottomans would shortly receive heavy artillery from the Germans - guns that could wipe the invasion force off the peninsula - the Entente quietly evacuated their positions in the dead of night on 8th January. The most serious threat to the Ottoman Empire of the entire war had been defeated.

Aftermath and Legacy

In the immediate short term the Ottoman Empire’s prestige within the Central Powers had significantly grown. They had defeated a concerted effort to knock them out of the war, although it had come at the cost of thousands of soldiers wounded, captured, or killed.

The defence of the Dardanelles and the defeat of the Entente powers had also brought Bulgaria into the war as a member of the Central Powers. Their position in the Balkans would help protect the supply pipeline from Berlin to Constantinople.

However, Gallipoli was not the only battlefield that the Ottomans were having to commit their strength to. Fighting had continued in Mesopotamia, the Caucasus, and in Palestine. The effort expended by the Ottomans at Gallipoli had been formidable but it had also weakened the Empire. They continued to lack the industrial infrastructure to maintain participation in a total war. Additionally the internal divisions and competing identities that existed within the Empire were beginning to come apart.

Steam post image The British Army In The Sinai and Palestine Campaign, 1915-1918. Imperial War Museums Q 12310 https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205195240

Across the entire war the Ottoman Empire had mobilised in the region of 2,850,000 million people. Their military losses were initially estimated at 325,000 with 85,000 combat related and 240,000 were due to diseases. However the true figures may be much higher with a total military death toll (including diseases) of around 650,000.

Much like Austria-Hungary and Russia - the Ottoman Empire began to unravel in the face of such extreme military pressure and ongoing losses. In 1918, British forces smashed the Ottoman armies at Megiddo. It quickly became clear the extent of the disaster and, with the situation on the Western Front also deteriorating, the Ottomans sued for peace. They signed the Armistice of Mudros on 30th October 1918.

British fleet entering the Dardanelles 12th November 1918. Australian War Memorial

https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C3499

By the 12th November, the British fleet finally, years after their first attempts, passed through the Dardanelles Straits and occupied Constantinople. It was the beginning of the end for the Ottoman Empire. The ensuing Turkish War of Independence saw the emergence of two competing governments. One loyal to the Ottomans and operating out of Constantinople and the other, a Turkish National Movement led by Mustafa Kemal - the hero of Gallipoli - who now went by the name of Ataturk. It was his force that would eventually prevail and lead to the breakup of the Empire.

Sykes-Picot Agreement. Institute for Curriculum Services, https://icsresources.org/map/03-sykes-picot-agreement/

During the war the British and the French governments had made plans for how to divide up the territory formerly occupied by the Ottomans into their own new holdings. Elements of these plans would now come into being with recognisable nations like Iraq, Syria, and Palestine coming into being - operating in the ‘sphere of influence’ of the triumphant Entente powers.

Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2502980

In 1923, with the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, the new state of Turkey signed an updated peace agreement - the Treaty of Lausanne - which established and recognised their new borders and returned control of Constantinople to the Turkish people. Many historians have come to view this moment as the true end of the First World War. With the treaty signed the occupying forces returned to their ships and sailed back down the Dardanelles and out into the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas.

Ataturk has come to be seen as the founding father of the modern Turkish state and his heroism in the defence of Gallipoli in 1915 was a crucial part of his image. It was through his leadership and the heroism of the many soldiers who fought there that Çanakkale - as the Dardanelles were known to the Ottomans - remained impassable.