Battle of Gully Ravine
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Battle of Gully Ravine | |||||||
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Part of Gallipoli Campaign | |||||||
Gurkhas of the 29th Indian Brigade charge through Gully Ravine | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Ottoman Empire | |||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Aylmer Hunter-Weston | Faik Pasha[1] | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
Unknown | 13,000[2] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
3,800 [3] | 6,000[4] |
The Battle of Gully Ravine (Zığındere) was a World War I battle fought at Cape Helles on the Gallipoli peninsula. By June 1915 all thoughts the Allies had of a swift decisive victory over the Ottoman Empire had vanished. The preceding Third Battle of Krithia and the attack at Gully Ravine had limited objectives and had much in common with the trench warfare prevailing on the Western Front.[5] Unlike previous Allied attacks at Helles, the Gully Ravine action was largely successful at achieving its objectives, though at a typically high cost in casualties.
Prelude
The third battle of Krithia on 4 June had made some progress in the centre of the line at Helles but had failed on the left flank (west) along Gully Spur and Gully Ravine and on the right flank (east) where the
(1. Kerevizdere Battle)On 21 June the French, with overwhelming
On 28 June a similar attack was planned for the left flank along Gully Spur, Gully Ravine and neighbouring Fir Tree Spur. The terrain around Gully Ravine (
The battle
After two days of heavy bombardment, battle began at 10.45 am on 28 June with a preliminary raid to capture the
In the ravine the 1st Battalion, Border Regiment did not advance as far as those troops on the spur since Ottomans there were somewhat sheltered from the deadly bombardment from the sea. Their final position was fortified with rocks and boulders and became known as "Border Barricade".
On the right of the advance, along Fir Tree Spur, the battle did not go so well for the British. The inexperienced soldiers of the 156th Brigade lacked artillery support and were massacred by Ottoman
The counter-attacks
Ottoman commanders were very concerned about this advance near the Western coast of Gallipoli which threatened to encircle their right wing. Gully Ravine became the scene of vicious and bloody fighting as the Ottomans commenced a series of counter-attacks on the night of 1–2 July. Two soldiers of the 1st Battalion, the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, Captain Gerald O'Sullivan and Corporal James Somers, were awarded the Victoria Cross for recapturing a trench taken by the Ottomans during a counter-attack.
Faik Paşa, known for his bravery and aggressiveness was put in charge of the right wing of the Otto limanne at Sıĝındere.
The Ottomans, with plentiful manpower in reserve but lacking any significant artillery and machine guns, made incessant counter-attacks culminating with the strongest on 5 July but all were repulsed. Still, the control of the strategic hills overlooking Sıgındere and Kerevizdere were denied to the Allies by massive Ottoman bayonet attacks. The Ottoman casualties for the period between 28 June and 5 July are estimated at between 14,000 and 16,000, four times the British losses. Where possible the Ottoman dead were burned but a truce to bury them was refused. The British believed the dead bodies were an effective barrier and that Ottoman soldiers were unwilling to attack across them. This was one of the few truly unvalorous and unmagnanimous acts committed by Allies which infuriated the Ottoman greatly.
In the face of immense losses, Faik Paşa had stopped first the counterattack on the morning of 30 June. In spite of strong and direct urging from Liman Paşa (Otto Liman von Sanders) and pressure to continue the counter-attack, he wanted to rest his badly decimated troops for a day. Hesitation of Faik Paşa unnerved Weber Paşa who was in command of the front there. He contemplated pulling back behind the ever strategic Alçı Tepe as a last resort. This would have given over complete victory to the Allies. He had to be strongly dissuaded by Liman Paşa.
Finally, the
Meanwhile, the Allies had observed the preparation for the attack from the air and made their own preparations. On 5 July the last major attack of this battle commenced but met with a very strong wall of fire the Allies put up. The dead were mounting again in front of the British trenches.
After the counter-attacks ceased, the front line stabilised and remained largely static for the rest of the Gallipoli campaign although both sides engaged in a vigorous mining war around the ravine.
Achi Baba Nullah (2. Kerevizdere Battle)
Hunter-Weston had one final fling at Helles. Once the two remaining brigades of the
The plan was for one brigade to attack in the morning and the other to attack in the afternoon so that the full weight of artillery support could be lent to each brigade. The 155th Brigade would attack at 7.35 am and the 157th at 4.50 pm. Bombardment began at 4:30 am, from land, sea and air. 14 Allied planes participated in softening up the Ottoman defenses, one of the first such combined actions in military history.
Both attacks began well with the capture of the first Ottoman trench but descended into chaos and confusion as, in a repeat of the April and May Helles battles, the troops advanced too far, lost contact and came under artillery and machine gun fire. The next morning confusion and panic resulted in a disorderly retreat which was eventually halted but Hunter-Weston ordered the advance to resume and sent the battered Royal Naval Division in again. The line was stabilised.
By the end of the battle, one third of the 52nd Division had become casualties. General Egerton was temporarily dismissed from his command of the division for protesting at the treatment of his troops.
Aftermath
In late June General Hunter-Weston departed his command of the
Notes
- ^ Until July 3rd
- ^ 1st, 3rd and 5th Divisions, 3rd being moved from Asiatic side
- ^ This number covers only June 28–30, the total for 8 days is estimated to be 5,000, no information breakdown for killed and wounded
- ^ ATASE, Çanakkale 3, pp.205–207, 6,000 killed
- ^ "Battle of Gully Ravine, Gallipoli | Royal Irish - Virtual Military Gallery". www.royal-irish.com. Retrieved 2023-12-19.
- ^ Kadri Perk, Çanakkale Savaşları Tarihi, p.80
- ^ Kadri Perk, Çanakkale Savaşları Tarihi, p.78
- ^ Aspinall-Oglander 1932, p. 82.
- ^ ATASE, Çanakkale 3, pp.115–136
- ^ Charles F. Roux
- ^ Aspinall-Oglander 1932, p. 85.
- ^ Aspinall-Oglander 1932, p. 92.
References
- Aspinall-Oglander, C. F. (1932). "Chapter VII Kereves Dere and Gully Ravine". Military Operations Gallipoli, Vol II: May 1915 to the Evacuation. London: William Heinemann. pp. 79–96. )
Chambers, Stephen J.,Gully Ravine — Gallipoli Pen & Sword Books Ltd (2003)