Landing at Suvla Bay

Suvla Bay, from Battleship Hill in the south

Date	6–15 August 1915
Location	Suvla, Gallipoli peninsula, Adrianople Vilayet, Ottoman Empire 40°18′19″N 26°13′42″E / 40.30528°N 26.22833°E / 40.30528; 26.22833Coordinates: 40°18′19″N 26°13′42″E / 40.30528°N 26.22833°E / 40.30528; 26.22833
Result	See Aftermath section

Belligerents

British Empire

Ottoman Empire

Commanders and leaders

Frederick Stopford

Otto Liman von Sanders,
Mustafa Kemal

Strength

2 divisions (initial)
3 divisions (final)

1,500 men (initial)

Casualties and losses

21,500

9,000–20,000

British Empire

The landing at Suvla Bay was an amphibious landing made at Suvla on the Aegean coast of Gallipoli peninsula in the Ottoman Empire as part of the August Offensive, the final British attempt to break the deadlock of the Battle of Gallipoli. The landing, which commenced on the night of 6 August 1915, was intended to support a breakout from the Anzac sector, five miles (8 km) to the south.

Despite facing only light opposition, the landing at Suvla was mismanaged from the outset and quickly reached the same stalemate conditions that prevailed on the Anzac and Helles fronts. On 15 August, after a week of indecision and inactivity, the British commander at Suvla, Lieutenant-General Sir Frederick Stopford was dismissed. His performance in command is often considered one of the most incompetent feats of generalship of the First World War.

On 7 June 1915, the Dardanelles Committee met in London and, under the guidance of Lord Kitchener, decided to reinforce the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force of General Sir Ian Hamilton with three New Army divisions. Two more Territorial Army divisions were allocated later in the month, giving Hamilton the numbers required to reinvigorate the campaign. A long-standing plan to break out of the Anzac bridgehead was adopted; it had first been proposed on 30 May by the commander of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, Lieutenant-General William Birdwood.

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Wikipedia