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Scenario Author:
RhinoBones
Author's E-mail Address:
RhinoBones@aol.com
Last Scenario Revision Date:
September 09, 1999
VERSION 1.1
Background
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In March of 1915 the British, with French assistance, attempted to force a passage of the Dardanelles Narrows using naval power. Little support was available from the army. This venture ended in failure partly due to the conservative nature of the allied command and partly by a failure of the allies to correctly judge the poor state of the Turkish defenses. Either way, the net effect was that the British fell back to regroup and wait for a stronger land force to deploy. In forty days the allies returned.
The Turks were not idle during the reprieve from attack. Turkish agents were active in the port at Alexandria where the British freely talked about the preparations. Although the Turks were uniformed as to the exactly locations of the proposed landings, they were none the less very well informed of the allied order of battle, the date the troops embarked and the expected time of the landings. Also, during this time period, the German Liman von Sanders was elevated as the supreme commander of all the troops. Liman wasted no time in concentrating the Turkish division for the defense and erecting obstacles on the obvious landing sites. Two divisions were concentrated in Thrace, two on the European side of the narrows and two on the Asiatic side of the narrows. Outposts were strung along the length of the defenses between the points of concentration.
The grand plan was to divert the Turk's attention with feints to the North and South while the main efforts were placed ashore at the tip of the peninsula and along the western shore. Naval gun fire was intended to make up for the lack or artillery, however, poor communications, the inability of capital ships to provide plunging fire and the threat of German submarines greatly reduced their effectiveness. The British expected that resistance on the peninsula would be swept away and that an advance up the entire length would be accomplished in a matter of days. Once the peninsula was secure the attack would continue on to Constantinople.
The British failed on two accounts. The first was the selection of slow, cautions and in many ways incompetent commanders and the second was the tenacity of the Turkish soldiers to hold their ground. On both accounts the allied cause floundered. After two months of hard fighting for just the beachheads, the British sent a force to outflank the Turkish right. The initial landings at Sulva Bay were a big success and the allies were quickly able to build up a 15 to 1 superiority in numbers but their field commander failed to move the force inland, squandering the last chance for victory. The battle would go on until the final evacuation in December. Much like Dunkirk, the final evacuation was the most successful part of the campaign.
This scenario picks up the action after the initial British, Australian
and French landings on April 25.
NOTE : For
more excellent background information look forGALLIPOL.TXTFile
inside the ZIP
Victory Conditions
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The Allied forces begin the scenario with strong forces supporting the
initial landings and a component of follow on forces to the rear.
It is the task of the Turkish army to stop any advance up the peninsula
and regain any lost objectives.
Remarks
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This scenario is designed to be played solitaire from the Turkish side. The allies are set to attack and will attempt to fight their way to Constantinople. For PBM games, reduce the allied prestige setting to -2.
Last Update Changes
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v1.0 06-22-99, Initial scenario release
v1.1 09-09-99, Added upgraded equipment file and replacement
units for the Turkish side.
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