The Dardanelles during the Byzantine period

The Dardanelles were vital to the defence of Constantinople during the Byzantine period.

Marble plate with 6th century AD law regulating payment of customs in the Dardanelles.

Also, the Dardanelles was an important source of income for the ruler of the region. At the Istanbul Archaeological Museum a marble plate contains a law by the Byzantine Emperor Anastasius I (491–518 AD), that regulated fees for passage through the customs office of the Dardanelles (see image to the right). Translation: gallipoli tours

... Whoever dares to violate these regulations shall no longer be regarded as a friend, and he shall be punished. Besides, the administrator of the Dardanelles must have the right to receive 50 golden Litrons, so that these rules, which we make out of piety, shall never ever be violated... ... The distinguished governor and major of the capital, who already has both hands full of things to do, has turned to our lofty piety in order to reorganize the entry and exit of all ships through the Dardanelles... ... Starting from our day and also in the future, anybody who wants to pass through the Dardanelles must pay the following: çanakkale sehitlik turu

– All wine merchants who bring wine to the capital (Constantinopolis), except Cilicians, have to pay the Dardanelles officials 6 follis and 2 sextarius of wine.
– In the same manner, all merchants of olive-oil, vegetables and lard must pay the Dardanelles officials 6 follis. Cilician sea-merchants have to pay 3 follis and in addition to that, 1 keration (12 follis) to enter, and 2 keration to exit.

– All wheat merchants have to pay the officials 3 follis per modius, and a further sum of 3 follis when leaving.

Since the 14th century the Dardanelles have almost continuously been controlled by the Turks.

Timeline of the Gallipoli Campaign

August 1914
3 – First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, confiscates two Ottoman battleships (i.e. HMS Agincourt and HMS Erin) under construction in the United Kingdom.
10 – German warships SMS Goeben and SMS Breslau, having evaded Royal Navy pursuit in the Mediterranean, reach the Dardanelles and are granted passage.
October 1914
28 – Ottoman navy raids Russian Black Sea ports including Odessa and Sevastopol.
November 1914
2 – Politics: Russia declares war on Turkey.
3 – Naval operations: Royal Navy squadron, including the battlecruisers HMS Indomitable and HMS Indefatigable, bombard the Turkish forts at the entrance to the Dardanelles.
6 – Politics: The United Kingdom declares war on Turkey.
December 1914
13 – Naval operations: British submarine B11 sinks the obsolete Ottoman ironclad Mesûdiye in the straits south of Çanakkale.
January 1915
13 – British War Council approves plans for a naval operation to force the Dardanelles.
15 – Naval operations: French submarine Saphir is lost after running aground in the straits.
February 1915
19 – Naval operations: First attack on the Dardanelles by battleships HMS Cornwallis, HMS Vengeance and French battleship Suffren.
25 – Naval operations: Second attack on the Dardanelles, led by Vice-Admiral John de Robeck aboard Vengeance.
March 1915
10 – Naval operations: Night attack in the straits led by Commodore Roger Keyes and the battleship HMS Canopus.
12 – General Sir Ian Hamilton is appointed commander of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force by the Secretary of State for War, Horatio Kitchener.
13 – Naval operations: Keyes conducts another night-time minesweeping operation with some success.
16 – Naval operations: Admiral Carden, commander of the Allied fleet, resigns due to nervous strain. Vice-Admiral de Robeck takes command.
18 – Naval operations: Turkey defeats the final attempt by the British and French fleet to force the straits. Three battleships are sunk by mines. Three battleships and the battlecruiser HMS Inflexible are badly damaged.
22 – At a conference between Hamilton and de Robeck aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth, it is decided to make an amphibious landing on the Gallipoli peninsula.
April 1915
17 – British submarine E15 runs aground in the straits.
25 – British Empire and French forces make amphibious landings on the Gallipoli peninsula.
Landing at Cape Helles made by the British 29th Division and elements of the Royal Naval Division.
Landing at Anzac Cove made by the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC).
French forces make a diversionary landing at Kum Kale on the Asian shore.
26 – Naval operations: Australian submarine HMAS AE2 becomes the first Allied vessel to pass through the Dardanelles into the Sea of Marmara.
27 – Anzac: Under the command of Mustafa Kemal, the Turks mount a counter-attack but fail to drive the Anzacs into the sea.
27 – Naval operations: British submarine E14 passes through the Dardanelles to start a successful three-week tour.
28 – Helles: First Battle of Krithia British and French forces suffer 4,000 casualties for little gain.
28 – Anzac: The Anzac landing is reinforced by four battalions from the Royal Naval Division.
May 1915
1 – Naval operations: French submarine Joule is mined and sunk in the straits.
6 – Helles: Second Battle of Krithia commences. British 42nd (East Lancashire) Division begins landing as reinforcements.
8 – Helles: Second Battle of Krithia ends.
12
Helles: HMS Goliath is sunk by the Ottoman torpedo boat Muavenet-i Milliye.
Anzac: Australian 1st Light Horse Brigade arrives as reinforcements.
13 – Anzac: New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade arrives as reinforcements. Royal Naval Division battalions rejoin the rest of the division at Helles.
15 – Anzac: Major General W.T. Bridges, commander of the Australian 1st Division is mortally wounded in the leg by a Turkish sniper. He dies at sea three days later.
18 – Naval operations: British submarine E11 passes through the straits into the Sea of Marmara.
18 – Anzac: Turkish forces mount a massive attack using 42,000 men but are repulsed, suffering 10,000 casualties.
19 – Anzac: Australian stretcher-bearer John Simpson Kirkpatrick is killed near Steele's Post.
20 – Anzac: The Australian 2nd Light Horse Brigade arrives as reinforcements.
21 – Anzac: The Australian 3rd Light Horse Brigade arrives as reinforcements.
22 – Anzac: Negotiations commence to arrange an armistice in order to bury the dead in no man's land.
24 – Anzac: An armistice is declared from 7.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. in which time Turkish and Anzac dead are buried.
25
Anzac: HMS Triumph is sunk by German U-boat U-21.
Naval operations: HMS E11 torpedoes Ottoman transport Stamboul in the Bosphorus, causing panic in Constantinople.
27 – Helles: HMS Majestic is sunk by U-21.
28-30 Battle for No.3 Post
June 1915
4 – Helles: Third Battle of Krithia British and French forces mount a limited attack but still fail to reach their objectives.
28 – Helles: Battle of Gully Ravine starts.
July 1915
5 – Helles: Battle of Gully Ravine ends with the British repelling a large Turkish counter-attack.
12 – Helles: British 52nd (Lowland) Division and Royal Naval Division attack along Achi Baba Nullah.
August 1915
3 – Anzac: Reinforcements for the forthcoming offensive begin landing, including the British 13th (Western) Division.
6 – Battle of Sari Bair, also known as the August Offensive, commences.
Helles: Battle of Krithia Vineyard diversion commences with an attack by the 88th Brigade of the British 29th Division.
Anzac: Battle of Lone Pine diversion commences at 6.30 a.m. with the Australian 1st Division capturing Turkish trenches. Fighting continues for six days in which time seven Victoria Crosses are awarded.
Suvla: At 10.00 p.m. the British 11th (Northern) Division, part of IX Corps, begins landing.
Anzac: Under cover of darkness, two columns of Anzac, British & Indian troops break out to the north, heading for the heights of Chunuk Bair and Hill 971.
7
Anzac: Battle of the Nek At 4.30 a.m. another futile diversion virtually wipes out two regiments of the 3rd Light Horse Brigade.
Suvla: The British 10th (Irish) Division begins landing.
Helles: Fighting at Krithia Vineyard continues with an attack by the 42nd Division.
Anzac: After a lengthy delay, the New Zealand Infantry Brigade attempts to capture Chunuk Bair but fails.
8
Anzac: Battle of Chunuk Bair Attacking at 3.00 a.m., New Zealand and British infantry gain a foothold on Chunuk Bair.
Naval operations: British submarine HMS E11 torpedoes the Ottoman battleship Barbaros Hayreddin off Bulair.
9 – Anzac: A general attack by the Allies on the heights of Chunuk Bair, Hill Q and Hill 971 fails.
10
Anzac: Battle of Chunuk Bair ends when the Turks, led by Mustafa Kemal, drive the Allies off the heights.
Suvla: British 53rd (Welsh) Division attacks Scimitar Hill, suffering heavy casualties.
12 – Anzac: Battle of Lone Pine ends.
13 – Helles: Battle of Krithia Vineyard ends.
15 – Suvla: General Sir Frederick Stopford is sacked as commander of IX Corps.
21 – Final British offensive of the campaign launched to consolidate Anzac and Suvla landings.
Suvla: Battle of Scimitar Hill IX Corps makes a final attempt to seize Scimitar and W Hills.
Anzac: Battle of Hill 60 begins.
29 – Battle of Hill 60 ends.
September 1915
12 – The 26th Infantry Battalion at ANZAC arrives as reinforcements, deployed to Taylor's Hollow.
19 – Royal Newfoundland Regiment arrives as reinforcements.
October 1915
15 – General Sir Ian Hamilton is sacked as commander of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force.
28 – General Sir Charles Monro arrives to assume command of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force.
30 – Naval operations: French submarine Turquoise runs aground while returning through the Dardanelles and is captured.
31 – Suvla: Destroyer HMS Louis runs aground in a storm and is wrecked.
November 1915
6 – Naval operations: British submarine E20 is ambushed and sunk in the Sea of Marmara by German U-boat U-14.
15 – Field Marshal Horatio Kitchener, the Secretary of State for War, visits Gallipoli.
22 – Kitchener recommends evacuation of Anzac and Suvla.
27 – A fierce storm and blizzard, lasting three days, strikes the peninsula.
December 1915
7 – Politics: The British Cabinet orders the evacuation of Anzac and Suvla.
18 – Start of final evacuation of Anzac and Suvla.
20 – Evacuation of Anzac and Suvla completed before dawn.
28 – Politics: The British Cabinet orders the evacuation of Helles.
January 1916
7 – Helles: British garrison reduced to 19,000. Turkish assault launched along Gully Spur.
9 – Helles: Last British troops depart the Gallipoli peninsula.

Lieutenant general

Lieutenant general, lieutenant-general and similar, (abbrev Lt Gen, LTG and similar), is a military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a captain general.

In modern armies, lieutenant general normally ranks immediately below general and above major general; it is equivalent to the navy rank of vice admiral, and in air forces with a separate rank structure, it is equivalent to air marshal. A lieutenant general commands an army corps, made up of typically three army divisions, and consisting of around 60,000-70,000 soldiers.

The seeming incongruity that a lieutenant general outranks a major general, (while a major outranks a lieutenant), is due to the derivation of the latter rank from sergeant major general, which was also subordinate to lieutenant general. In some countries, (e.g. France and Italy), the ranks of corps general or lieutenant colonel general are used instead of lieutenant general, in an attempt to solve this apparent anomaly – these ranks are often translated into English as lieutenant general.

In a number of states, the rank of lieutenant general is the highest army rank in use. In Latvia and Lithuania, the chief of defence is a lieutenant general, and in the Irish Defence Forces and Israeli forces, the Chief of Staff holds this rank. Gallipoli day tour from istanbul, it is perfect with our tour guides.

Lieutenant general ranks by country

Lieutenant general (Australia)
Lieutenant general (Bangladesh)
General de Divisão (Brazil)
Lieutenant-general (Canada)
Kindralleitnant (Estonia)
Kenraaliluutnantti (Finland)
Generalleutnant (Germany)
Altábornagy (Hungary)
Lieutenant general (India)
Letnan Jenderal (Indonesia)
Sepahbod (Iran)
Lieutenant general (Republic of Ireland)
Generale di Corpo d'Armata (Italy)
Luitenant-generaal (Netherlands)
Generalløytnant (Norway)
Lieutenant general (Pakistan)
Tenyente heneral (Philippines)
General dywizji (Poland)
Tenente-general (Portugal)
General de corp de armata (Romania) (see Général de corps d'armée (Fr))
Teniente general (Spain)
Lieutenant general (Sri Lanka)
Generallöjtnant (Sweden)
Pol tho (Thailand)
Lieutenant general (United Kingdom)[1]
Lieutenant general (United States)
Trung tu?ng (Vietnam)
Lieutenant general (Zimbabwe)

Otto Liman von Sanders

Generalleutnant Otto Liman von Sanders (February 17, 1855 – August 22, 1929) was a German general who served as adviser and military commander for the Ottoman Empire during World War I.

He was born in Stolp (now Slupsk) in Pomerania province of the Kingdom of Prussia. His father was a Jewish nobleman. Like many other Prussians from aristocratic families, he joined the military and rose through the ranks to Lieutenant General. Like several Prussian generals before him (e.g., von Moltke and Baron von der Goltz), he was appointed the head of a German military mission to the Ottoman Empire in 1913. For nearly eighty years, the Ottoman Empire had been trying to modernize its army along European lines. Liman von Sanders would be the last German to attempt this task.

On 30 June 1914, two days after the outbreak of the war in Europe, the Ottoman leaders agreed to form an alliance with Germany against Russia, although it did not require them to undertake military action, and on 31 October 1914, the Ottoman Empire officially entered the war on the side of the Central Powers. Britain and France declared war on 5 November, and the Ottomans declared a jihad (holy war) later that month.

The first proposal to attack the Ottoman Empire was made by the French Minister of Justice Aristide Briand in November 1914, which was rejected. Later that month Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty, proposed a naval attack on the Dardanelles, based in part on erroneous reports of Ottoman troop strength. An initial attempt to force the Dardanelles by sea failed on 18 March 1915, due to gunfire from Ottoman forts on both sides of the strait. The Allies then turned to planning amphibious operations to capture the forts and clear the strait, which led to the Gallipoli Battlefield Tours.

Liman had little time to organize the defences, but he had two things in his favor. First, the Ottoman 5th Army in the Gallipoli peninsula was the best army they had, some 84,000 well-equipped soldiers in six divisions. Second, he was helped by poor Allied leadership. On 23 April 1915, the British landed a major force at Cape Helles. One of Liman's best decisions during this time was to promote Mustafa Kemal (later known as Atatürk) to commander of the 19th division. Kemal's division literally saved the day for the Ottomans. His troops marched up on the day of the invasion and occupied the ridge line above the ANZAC landing site, just as the ANZAC troops were moving up the slope themselves. Kemal recognized the danger and personally made sure his troops held the ridge line. They were never forced off despite constant attacks for the next five months.

From April to November 1915 (when the decision to evacuate was made), Liman had to fight off numerous attacks against his defensive positions. The British tried another landing at Suvla Bay, but this also was halted by the Ottoman defenders. The only bright spot for the British in this entire operation was that they managed to evacuate their positions without much loss. However, this battle was a major victory for the Ottoman army and some of the credit is given to the generalship of Liman von Sanders.

Early in 1915, the previous head of the German military mission to the Ottoman Empire, Baron von der Goltz arrived in Istanbul as military advisor to the (essentially powerless) Sultan, Mehmed V. The old Baron did not get along with Liman von Sanders and did not like the three Pashas (Enver Pasha, Cemal Pasha and Talat) who ran the Ottoman Empire during the war. The Baron proposed some major offensives against the British, but these proposals came to nothing in the face of Allied offensives against the Ottomans on three fronts (the Dardanelles, the Caucasus Front, and the newly opened Mesopotamian Front). Liman was rid of the old Baron when Enver Pasha sent him to fight the British in Mesopotamia in October 1915. (Goltz died there six months later just before the British army at Kut surrendered).

In 1918, the last year of the war, Liman von Sanders took over command of the Ottoman army during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign, replacing the German General Erich von Falkenhayn who had been defeated by British General Allenby at the end of 1917.

Liman was hampered by the significant decline in power of the Ottoman army. His forces were unable to do anything more than occupy defensive positions and wait for the British attack. The attack was a long time in coming, but when General Allenby finally unleashed his army, the entire Ottoman army was destroyed in a week of fighting (see the Battle of Megiddo). In the rout, Liman was nearly captured by British soldiers.

After the war ended he was arrested in Malta in February 1919 on charges of having committed war crimes, but he was released six months later. He retired from the German army that year. You can visit his battlefield area on a perfect gallipoli day tour from istanbul.

In 1927 he published a book he had written in captivity in Malta about his experiences before and during the war (there is an English translation). Two years later Otto Liman von Sanders died in Munich at the age of seventy-four.