European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 22, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                A Zine. It. A a rare Opportunity became a Nightmare the assault on Gallipoli British troops trying to break out their beachhead at the turkish held Peninsula of Gallipoli in Spring of 1915 during world War i god pity All us poor  a a Turk at Gallipoli by Don Tate staff writer he War was still Young. To those who did t know its dark Side it had an innocent almost Sportive air and they hit the beaches in Fine spirits full of naive Joy and Noble purpose. It was april 25,1915, the Date of the first great amphibious operation of modern times. But what began As the potential a Day of world War i would Progress through one of history s most controversial bloodletting to finish up a half million casualties later As its Dunkirk. This was Gallipoli a grim comedy of epic bungling in High and lower places a destroyer of grand reputations a Slayer of Cloud Riding poets and Quot poor soldiers Quot hugging the smoking Earth. One of the giants who would Tumble to seeming political death was 41-year-old Winston Churchill first lord of the British admiralty who saw attacking turkish Gallipoli As Quot a Way round Quot a Quot Back door into the fortress of the Central  As 1915 dawned the great War was turning into a great and Muddy stalemate on the Western front. Gentlemen soldiers had taken off the White gloves and plumed helmets and crawled Down into the elemental muck of trenches that stretched 500 Miles from Switzerland to the English Channel. Allied War leaders searched for a great coup a strike to break the deadlock in the West and steady staggering Russia which was running out of supplies and was under pressure from the turks in the East. Turkey whose Quot debauched government in the words of military historian . Marshall Quot behaved like the worst of the Chicago mobs during the prohibition Era Quot had Goose stepped into the War on Germany s Side in october. Soon Allied eyes especially Churchill a focused on that waiting Back door a the narrow Hilly turkish held Peninsula of Gallipoli. Jutting 50 Miles into the Aegean sea Gallipoli was flanked on the East by the Dardanelles the old Hellespont a legendary 40-mile-Long Strait separating Europe from Asia minor and the mystical ruins of ancient Troy. It funnelled from the Aegean to the sea of Marmara which led to russian ports blocked by the turks in the Black sea. So began the great fiasco. Lord Earl Kitchener the British minister of War originally in favor of a land sea invasion changed his mind ruling that All troops were needed on the Western front. But Churchill insisted that the allies should press on striking toward Gallipoli with naval forces alone. His forceful arguments critics said he was obsessed with the a Quot Hare brained Quot idea carried the Day and a task Force that included 16 old battleships and the super dreadnought Queen Elizabeth with her 16-Inch guns was dispatched to Quot Force the Straits. To bombard and take the Gallipoli Peninsula with constantinople As its  that seemed a lot to ask for a purely sea operation. For warships to capture land meant that the turks would have to be mesmerized by naval Gunpowder. The ships would have to blast their Way up the Straits past a line of turkish forts Mobile artillery pieces and minefields until constantinople came into the Range of their guns and then if All went Well proceed to open up the Black sea so russian shipping could flow. All did not go quite Well enough. Despite booming salvos from the sea beginning feb. 19 and thundering on and off through March 18, the Straits would not be forced not quite. Enough ships got sunk to turn the Fleet too easily around. The demoralized ammunition exhausted turks later admitted that they fully expected defeat that if the battleships had returned with guns blazing on March 19, Victory would have been Complete As Churchill believed. And Turkey might Well have been out of the War. Even one division could have occupied Gallipoli at that Point some analysts believed. But the ships did t return despite Churchill s prodding. Then changing his mind again about the use of troops Kitchener ordered the formation of the Mediterranean expeditionary Force born in confusion and destined to Wallow in it. Throwing together an invasion by april 25 was difficult. Historians have noted that the expedition Leader British Gen. Sir Ian Hamilton had no experienced expert in the logistics of the operation. Furthermore intelligence on enemy positions was meager maps were either non existent or erroneous tactical planning was based on Guesswork weapons were in Short Supply troops were mostly raw and loaded haphazardly on ships there was a shortage of ships Landing Craft were improvised and joint planning with the Navy was not introduced until the final stage. By All textbook precepts the invasion was off to a less than Brilliant Start. It would get worse. The Surprise element had been tossed away. The turks had the High ground Manning Bluffs and Cliffs continued on Page 14 sunday april 22, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 13