Third Battle of Krithia

Third Battle of Krithia. The Third Battle of Krithia was a major engagement fought on 4 June 1915 during the Gallipoli Campaign of World War I. It represented a renewed, large-scale Allied effort to break the stalemate on the Helles front and capture the village of Krithia and the commanding heights of Achi Baba. The assault, involving British and French forces, ended in costly failure with minimal territorial gains, solidifying the defensive deadlock that characterized the campaign.

Background

The strategic context for the battle was the stalled Allied offensive on the Gallipoli peninsula, following the failures of the First Battle of Krithia and Second Battle of Krithia. The overall commander of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, General Ian Hamilton, remained under intense pressure from the War Office in London to achieve a decisive victory. The objective of capturing the high ground around Achi Baba was seen as a crucial prerequisite for any advance toward the ultimate goal of the Dardanelles and the Ottoman capital of Constantinople. The opposing Ottoman Fifth Army, commanded by the German general Otto Liman von Sanders, had spent weeks fortifying their lines with extensive trench networks, machine gun posts, and artillery batteries, transforming the landscape into a formidable defensive position.

Prelude

In late May 1915, following the bloody but inconclusive engagement at the Battle of Gully Ravine, Allied commanders planned a new coordinated assault. The operation was to be a daylight attack across a broad front, preceded by a naval and artillery bombardment. The primary force consisted of the British 29th Division and the Royal Naval Division, supported by two brigades from the British 42nd (East Lancashire) Division and the French Oriental Expeditionary Corps under General Henri Gouraud. Facing them was the revitalized Ottoman defense, with key sectors held by the 19th Division commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Mustafa Kemal. The Allied plan relied on sheer weight of numbers and a short, intense preparatory barrage, but it underestimated the depth and resilience of the Ottoman fortifications and the effectiveness of their Maxim and artillery fire.

Battle

The battle commenced at noon on 4 June following a 45-minute artillery bombardment. The initial Allied advance from their trenches was met with devastating enfilade fire from well-concealed Ottoman machine guns and shrapnel from field guns. Units like the Lancashire Fusiliers and the King's Own Scottish Borderers suffered appalling casualties within minutes of leaving their trenches. On the left, the French colonial troops, including the Senegalese Tirailleurs, managed some initial gains but were soon pinned down. A notable but isolated success was achieved by the Manchester Regiment and the Royal Fusiliers in the center, who captured a section of Ottoman trench known as the Boğaz Dere. However, without reinforcements and under constant counter-attack, these gains could not be held. By nightfall, the offensive had completely stalled, with Allied troops having advanced no more than a few hundred yards at immense cost.

Aftermath

The aftermath of the battle was a scene of profound Allied defeat and strategic stagnation. Casualties exceeded 6,500 men for the Allies, with Ottoman losses estimated at around 9,000. The failure definitively ended hopes for a rapid breakthrough at Helles and confirmed the campaign's descent into static trench warfare, mirroring the Western Front. The high casualties, particularly among experienced pre-war regulars from units like the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers and the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, crippled the offensive capability of the VIII Corps under General Aylmer Hunter-Weston. The battle reinforced the defensive reputation of Otto Liman von Sanders and Mustafa Kemal, and it contributed to the growing political crisis in London that would eventually lead to the dismissal of the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, and the ultimate Allied evacuation from Gallipoli.

Order of battle

**Allied Forces** ***British VIII Corps (Lieutenant General Aylmer Hunter-Weston) ****British 29th Division (Major General Henry de Lisle) *****86th Brigade *****87th Brigade ****British 42nd (East Lancashire) Division (Major General William Douglas) *****125th (Lancashire Fusiliers) Brigade ****Royal Naval Division (Major General Archibald Paris) ***French Oriental Expeditionary Corps (General Henri Gouraud) ****French 2nd Colonial Division *****4th Colonial Brigade **Ottoman Forces** ***Ottoman Fifth Army (General Otto Liman von Sanders) ****III Corps (Brigadier General Esat Pasha) *****5th Division *****19th Division (Lieutenant Colonel Mustafa Kemal) ****XV Corps (Colonel Kannengiesser)

Category:Battles of World War I Category:Battles of the Gallipoli Campaign Category:1915 in the Ottoman Empire