General Liman von Sanders from "Dardanellen 1915" from the Reichsarchiv Series, published in Berlin in 1927. Von Sanders commanded Turkish forces on the Gallipoli Peninsula during the failed Allied invasion of 1915.
Wer überall Bedenken hatGelangt auf keinen Weg zur Tat!Liman von SandersAnyone who has reservationsWill fail to act in any way!Liman von Sanders
In December 1913 General Otto Liman von Sanders led a German mission to Turkey to reorganize and train its army. Among the improvements were the guns that defended the forts of the Dardanelles.On March 25, 1915, a week after the Allied naval assault in the Dardanelles Liman von Sanders was given command of the Gallipoli peninsula and a force six divisions totaling 84,000 men.Although the Allied invasions were at the end of the peninsula, Allied diversions at Bulair and in Asia left the Turks and Liman von Sanders unsure of where the primary assault lay. It was not until the second day that Sanders ordered most of his troops from Bulair to the western end of the peninsula.When the Allies launched another invasion on Gallipoli, on August 6, at Suvla Bay and an assault at Anzac Cove, Sanders again waited to understand where the main blow was falling. It was August 7 before he determined it was at Suvla and Gaba Tepe. His reinforcements at Gallipoli and Bulair, began their march.The hard-pressed German commander at Cape Hellas was prepared to abandon the tip of the peninsula. Von Sanders replaced him. He also replaced the Turkish commander at Suvla Bay with Mustafa Kemal, giving him command of the sector from Chunuk Bair to Suvla.After his successfull defense of Gallipoli, Liman von Sanders was transferred to Syria and Palestine. In March, 1918, he replaced General Erich Falkenhayn in Palestine, March, 1918.
National Affiliation: Germany
