Gallipoli failed for many reasons at once, and no single mistake explains it. It was a combination of optimistic planning, unforgiving terrain, a determined and well-led defence, and a series of lost opportunities that were never recovered.
Understanding why it failed is the key to understanding the whole campaign, and it is the question visitors ask most often when they stand on the ground.
Flawed planning and lost surprise
The naval attack alerted the Ottomans that the Dardanelles were the target, so by the time troops landed in April the defenders had weeks to prepare. The element of surprise, so vital to the plan, was largely gone.
Maps were poor, intelligence underestimated the enemy, and the landings were spread across difficult beaches with unclear objectives.
The terrain and the climate
The peninsula is a maze of steep ridges, deep gullies and thick scrub, ground that favoured the defenders at almost every turn. Attackers had to climb into fire while supplies and water came up the same exhausting slopes.
Summer brought heat, flies and disease; winter brought storms and frostbite. The landscape itself was an enemy.
A determined defence and lost chances
The Ottoman defenders, ably led by commanders including Mustafa Kemal, fought with great determination and counter-attacked at the decisive moments, notably to retake Chunuk Bair in August.
At several points the Allies came close to a breakthrough but could not exploit it in time. Caution, confusion and exhaustion repeatedly let the moment slip, and the front simply hardened again.
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