Zweibund — the Dual Alliance — Germany and Austria-Hungary united, were the core of the Central Powers, and here join hands. The bars of Germany's flag border the top left, and those of the Habsburg Austrian Empire and ruling house the bottom right.
Schulter an SchulterUntrennbar vereintin Freud und in Leid!'Shoulder to shoulderInseparably united in joy and in sorrow!
". . . the operations in the Dardanelles were drawing to a close. On the 3rd November the newly constituted War Committee of the Cabinet met for the first time. It was opposed, as General Joffre found, to the Balkan operations, and the following day Lord Kitchener himself proceeded to the Gallipoli peninsula. The Cabinet on the 7th December agreed to the evacuation of Anzac and Suvla, and this was completed on the 20th of that month. On the 27th the abandonment of the peninsula was agreed to and the evacuation of Helles was completed on the 8th January 1916."
The operations in the Dardanelles, both naval operations and the Gallipoli invasion, had failed to meet their objectives. In a failed attempt to aid Serbia which was unable to withstand an invasion by the combined forces of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Bulgaria, French and British forces had landed at Salonika in Greece. Although driven by the Bulgarians, some in France, including Commander-in-Chief Joffre, saw value in keeping an active front in the Balkans. British War Minister Kitchener visited both Greece and Gallipoli to take stock of the situation. He recommended evacuating Suvla Bay and Anzac Cove, two of the three positions held by the Allies, the third being Cape Helles.
Military Operations France and Belgium, 1915, Vol. II, Battles of Aubers Ridge, Festubert, and Loos by J. E. Edmonds, pp. 406, 407, copyright © asserted, publisher: Macmillan and Co., Limited, publication date: 1928
1915-12-07, 1915, December, evacuation, Gallipoli
