Second Battle of Krithia

Part of The First World War

Date	6–8 May 1915
Location	40°04′44″N 26°12′14″E / 40.07889°N 26.20389°E / 40.07889; 26.20389Coordinates: 40°04′44″N 26°12′14″E / 40.07889°N 26.20389°E / 40.07889; 26.20389 Helles, Gallipoli, Adrianople Vilayet, Ottoman Empire
Result	Ottoman victory

Belligerents

United Kingdom

India

Australia

New Zealand

France

Ottoman Empire

Commanders and leaders

Aylmer Hunter-Weston

Unknown

Strength

25,000
72 guns

20,000

Casualties and losses

6,300

2,000

The Second Battle of Krithia continued the Allies' attempts to advance on the Helles battlefield during the Battle of Gallipoli of the First World War. The village of Krithia and neighbouring hill of Achi Baba had to be captured in order for the British to advance up the Gallipoli peninsula to the forts that controlled passage of the Dardanelles straits. A small amount of ground was captured after two days of costly fighting but the objectives remained out of reach.

Following the failure of the First Battle of Krithia, the exhausted soldiers of the British 29th Division halted to consolidate their positions. They had to endure a number of Ottoman counter-attacks on 1 and 4 May. Similar counter-attacks were repulsed at the Anzac landing on 2 May so that General William Birdwood, commander of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps deemed his front sufficiently secure to enable two brigades to be moved to Helles for the next assault on Krithia. These were the Australian 2nd Infantry Brigade and the New Zealand Infantry Brigade, around 5,000 men.

Other British reinforcements included brigades from the Royal Naval Division and the 125th Brigade from the British 42nd (East Lancashire) Division. The 87th and 88th Brigades of the 29th Division would once again be at the forefront of the attack. The Anzac brigades and General Herbert Cox's 29th Indian Brigade (Indian Expeditionary Force G)would be in reserve. The commander at Helles, Major General Aylmer Hunter-Weston, was woefully lacking in shells for his artillery and those he did have were shrapnel shells which was ineffective against entrenched positions. The navy were somewhat ambitiously still hoarding shells for the anticipated assault on Constantinople.

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