The Gallipoli Campaign ended on this day 96 years ago. The Gallipoli Campaign was an unsuccessful attempt by the Allies, including the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, to capture Constantinople and secure a sea route to Russia. The Ottoman Empire, which had joined the Central Powers (Germany, Austria and Bulgaria) in the First World War, controlled the straits (the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles) connecting the Aegean Sea to the Black Sea, which was the key route for supplying goods to Russia.
Winston Churchill advocated a plan for a naval attack on the Dardanelles, using obsolete Royal Navy battleships. The naval campaign, which began in February 1915, was unsuccessful, and so the plan was changed to include ground forces. While the ANZAC forces and various British and French forces were being readied for the attack, the Ottoman commanders took the opportunity to strengthen their defences.
The Gallipoli landing took place on 25th April 1915, and resistance was fierce. The Allied forces failed to make the anticipated progress, and there were very heavy casualties on both sides, as days stretched into months. It eventually became clear that the Allied forces would have to evacuate, and troop numbers were gradually reduced during December. The retreat was expected to come with heavy casualties, but when the last troops left on 9 January 1916 only two soldiers had been wounded during the evacuation.