First Battle of Krithia - Prelude

Prelude

On the morning of 25 April 1915, the British 29th Division under the command of Major General Aylmer Hunter-Weston landed on five beaches around Cape Helles at the southern tip of the Gallipoli peninsula in the Ottoman Empire. The main landings at 'V' and 'W' Beaches were hotly contested and the British suffered heavy casualties. A supporting landing made at 'Y' Beach on the Aegean coast to the north was made without opposition but the troops were without instructions so made no attempt to either advance or dig in. At that time, the first-day objectives of the village of Krithia and the nearby hill of Achi Baba were virtually undefended. When Ottoman reinforcements arrived the British were forced to evacuate the 'Y' Beach landing and so a major opportunity of early success was lost.

After heavy fighting, the British were able to secure the main landings. The French Corps expéditionnaire d'Orient division which had made a diversionary landing at Kum Kale on the Asian shore of the Dardanelles on 25 April had now moved across the straits to Helles to hold the right of the Allied line. By the afternoon of 27 April, the Allies were able to make an advance of about two miles up the peninsula towards Krithia in readiness for an assault on the following day.

The ferocity of the Ottoman defence of the landings led the British to grossly overestimate the opposition they faced. Believing at the time that the Ottomans were indifferent fighters, they assumed they were faced by two divisions whereas in reality they outnumbered the Ottomans 3 to 1 and were confronted by two weak regiments who resisted doggedly while waiting for reinforcements.