left aboard the " River Clyde " contrived to disembark. The resistance offered by the Turks had been most determined, and these could reckon upon receiving welcome reinforcements within a few hours; for as soon as the situation declared itself Liman von Sanders had hurried off one of the two divisions (the 7th) at Bulair by water with orders to repair to Helles.
In the meantime a French brigade had, after a tough struggle, effected a lodgment at Kum Kale. The Turks were in strong force in that quarter, and, as the hours passed and the defenders (3rd and nth Divs.) massed, the situation became such as to render any French advance out of the question; indeed, but for the fire of the warships the troops who had landed could barely have maintained themselves. Still, their presence on the Asiatic side of the Straits was for the time being indirectly helpful to their British comrades who were struggling for a grip on the extremity of the Gallipoli Peninsula.
The invaders of Helles had secured but a precarious foothold on Ottoman soil by the morning of the 26th, twenty-four hours after starting operations; but fair progress was made by them during the course of this second day. What was left of the force originally detailed for the landing at " V " beach contrived during the early hours by stern fighting to occupy some high .ground hard by, and also to join hands with the troops landed at " W " beach. Additional infantry was got ashore at " W" and " X " beaches, the first elements of the French division began disembarking at "V" beach in the afternoon, and before evening touch had been gained with the battalion that had made good at " S " beach. That night the French evacuated Kum Kale by arrangement. On the 2;th a general move forward took place, the Turks (gth Div.) offering little opposition, and by nightfall the Allies held a line stretching approximately from the north end of Morto Bay to " Gully " beach. But very heavy losses had been sustained by the 2Qth Division, large bodies of Turkish troops had arrived from Bulair and were being brought round from the Asiatic side of the Straits, 1 and after three days of strenuous combat the British and French had barely secured a depth of 2 m. of country, while their opponents had had time to concentrate their scattered forces. Realizing the urgent need of gaining ground before the enemy was gathered in full strength, and hoping to win the heights beyond Krithia and Achi Baba, Sir I. Hamilton ordered a further attack for the 28th. On this occasion the Turks made a determined resistance; but the Allies' line was advanced by a few hundred yards at most points, and a three days' lull then ensued in the Helles area.
While this embittered struggle had been in progress at the extremity of the peninsula, stirring events had been in progress on its outer coast-line. The arrangements for disembarking Bird- wood's Australasians differed from those made at Helles, in that here the whole force was to land at one point, and that an attempt was to be made to effect a surprise just before dawn (April 25). The surprise was effected, but in the darkness the force arrived at a locality about a mile N. of the beach immediately N. of Gaba Tepe which had been the selected goal. The beach on which the landing took place proved to be satisfactory, but it lay at the foot of a steep and rugged declivity, which was therefore a most unsuitable place for putting ashore the stores and impedimenta of an army. At the moment of approach of the first boats the defenders actually on the spot were few, so that the high ground overhanging the landing place (which came to be known as Anzac 2 Cove) was secured by the assailants at the first rush. But the enemy speedily brought effective flanking artillery fire to bear on the beach and on the boats; the troops, both officers and men, were inexperienced, the ground to be advanced over was hilly, scrub-clad and extremely broken, and considerable confusion arose. The advantage gained in the first instance by the surprise was lost, and the Turkish ipth Div. was able to gather in force during the critical hours of
1 The German commander of the 5th Div. (Lt.-Col. v. Sodenstern) was put in charge of the Helles front, Essad taking command on the Ari Burnei front.
2 The abbreviated designation of the " Australian and New Zea- land Army Corps."
the morning when the Australasians might, in virtue of their superior numbers, have secured a satisfactory sector of ground. At the end of the day, although the whole of Birdwood's infantry had been ashore for several hours, the position which these troops had taken up remained a haphazard one, no depth had been secured, losses had been heavy, and the situation seemed so threatening that the question of a withdrawal was even considered at one time.
Reinforced by parts of the two Bulair divisions the Turks delivered vigorous counter-attacks on the 26th; but these were beaten off, and on that day and on the morrow the Australasian troops dug themselves in so thoroughly that by the night of the 27th-28th the position which they had taken up, such as it was, was reasonably secure. On the other hand, the Turks, who were commanded by Essad, had likewise dug themselves in, and they could bring an effective artillery fire to bear on the Anzac trenches from three sides, the prospect of the landing force making any effective progress under the awkward conditions of ground in which it found itself was remote, and Birdwood's contingents had in reality been even less successful than had those detailed for Helles as regards securing an adequate area on the enemy's shores before the defence gathered strength. Their situation was unsatisfactory not only in the tactical sense, but also from the point of view of keeping the troops supplied, owing to their being perched on ridges with steep gradients behind them. Water also was found to be scarce, and was sure to become scarcer during the summer months. Lastly, the landing place was much exposed in the event of bad weather.
Although his adversaries had fought their way ashore in two sections of the Gallipoli Peninsula and he had had to give up his first idea of driving them back to their ships Liman von Sanders had no grounds for despondency when May opened. The Allies' plan was now unmistakably indicated, and con- centration of the defending forces had become possible in con- sequence. The marshal's Turks had fought gallantly in the strenuous encounters which had taken place, and large rein- forcements (2nd, 4th, i3th, isth, i6th Divisions) were on the move or preparing to move to his aid. His troops were entrench- ing themselves solidly in face of the invaders both at Helles and at Anzac, so that his antagonists would be obliged to storm lines of earthworks whenever they should attempt to make further progress. It is true that Hamilton was expecting the arrival of the 42nd Division and of the 2nd French Division within a few days; but his losses had been extremely heavy, there were no depots at hand from which these losses could promptly be made good, and he was inferior to the Turks in artillery both as regards calibre of guns and as regards ammunition. On three successive nights from the ist to the $rd the Turks delivered resolute assaults upon the Allies' position at Helles, but they were repulsed on each occasion; they also on the night of the 2nd3rd launched attacks upon the Australasians, the combat lasting into the next day, but here also they were beaten off.
Two brigades of Birdwood's force were thereupon temporarily transferred to Helles by night, and on the 6th and following two days a mighty effort was made by the invaders to push forward in this southern area and to win the high ground that stretches across the peninsula about 5 m. from its extremity; their front was, however, only advanced by a few hundred yards and a much more pronounced success was called for to render the Allies' position in this area at all a promising one. Much work was done in organizing the area and its communications and landing places, but the tactical situation at Helles remained stationary for the rest of the month. At Anzac similar work was done but the only tactical incident of much importance in that quarter was that Liman von Sanders personally directed a formidable attack upon Birdwood on the night of the i8th- igth, the assailants being defeated with severe loss.
The arrival of German submarines 3 during this month proved
3 Already a special German submarine command had been established in the Adriatic, with bases at Pola and Cattaro, and some small boats were sent thither by rail. Two of these (UBl, UBi5) were attached to the Austrian submarine force. Three
