Dardanelles Campaign 1915, 1/35 - ICM DS3520

At the beginning of 1915, the Allied command of the Entente decided to conduct a naval operation in the
Dardanelles Strait. The author of the plan was the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, and the goal
was to capture the Dardanelles and break through to Istanbul. According to the initial plan, this goal was to be
achieved solely through the use of warships. These vessels were expected to destroy the fortifications and
coastal batteries, which would compel the Turkish ground forces to retreat inland. However, everything did not
go according to plan, and in April 1915, the Allies were forced to start a landing operation. At the cost of
significant losses, they managed to capture a small piece of land in the strait, but the strong resistance from the
Turkish army did not allow them to develop further success. By the end of August 1915, it became clear that the
operation had failed, and a decision was made to evacuate the Allied ground units. The last military units were
evacuated in the winter of 1916. The British Empire's losses in this campaign amounted to 113,000 soldiers,
while the Turkish army lost about 250,000 soldiers.