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The capture of the governor of Warsaw. The Germans entered Warsaw on August 5, 1915 as the Russians continued to retreat before the joint German-Austro-Hungarian Gorlice-Tarnow Offensive launched on May 2, 1915.
Map of the Gallipoli Peninsula from Suvla Bay to Anzac Cove from 'Gallipoli' by John Masefield. In landing at Suvla Bay on August 6, 1915, the Allies hoped to open a new sector on Gallipoli that, with a simultaneous advance from Anzac Cove, would break the stalemate that had held since the April 25 invasion. The plan failed. Locations shown include Suvla Bay, the Salt Lake, dry in summer, Ari Burnu or Anzac Cove, named for the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps that held it, Chunuk Bair, where the New Zealanders suffered devastating casualties, and Battleship Hill, deadly to the Australians.
Embossed postcard of the flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand, the first flag of New Zealand, used until the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840.
Photograph of a village on Lake Van, an area of Turkey populated largely by ethnic Armenians. The area was one of the first targeted on a large scale when Turkey turned on its Armenian citizens. Photo from Ambassador Morgenthau's Story by Henry Morgenthau, American Ambassador to Turkey from 1913 to 1916.
"This was the summer of 1915, a time of great tribulation for the Russian Army, as every student of the World War is aware. Grand Duke Nicholai Nicholaievitch was pursuing a policy which rightly disturbed the Emperor, who constantly complained that the commander in chief of his armies sent the men forward without proper ammunition, without artillery support, and with no adequate preparations for safe retreat. Disaster after disaster confirmed the Emperor's fears. Fortress after fortress fell to the Germans. Kovno fell. Novogeorgiesk fell, and finally Warsaw itself fell. It was a terrible day when the Emperor, white and trembling, brought this news to the Empress as we sat at tea on her balcony in the warm autumn air." ((1), more)
"The Corps Commander turned to me and said, Where will the enemy come from?' Pointing with my hand in the direction of Ari Burnu, and along the whole shore as far as Suvla, I said, 'From here.''Very well, supposing he does come from there, how will he advance?' Again pointing towards Ari Burnu, I moved my hand in a semi-circle towards Koja Chemen Tepe. 'He will advance from here,' I said. The Corps Commander smiled and patted my shoulder. 'Don't you worry, he can't do it,' he said. Seeing that it was impossible to convince him I felt it unnecessary to prolong the argument any further. I confined myself to saying, 'God willing, sir, things will turn out as you expect.'" ((2), more)
"Heavy fighting has been going on since yesterday in the Dardanelles. The situation is obviously critical. Should the Dardanelles fall, the World War has been decided against us." ((3), more)
"Tell him some scarecrows called Wellington Infantry have taken Chunuk Bair. No. Tell him, God damn it, that New Zealand has taken Chunuk Bair. Tell him New Zealand is holding Chunuk Bair." ((4), more)
"In the stalemate of Quinn's we knew there was no way forward, that we had to break out of the trap in another direction, through fresh country. That was how the assault on Chunuk Bair, the most tragic event in the entire campaign, came about. It was planned of course, in conjunction with the landing of a division of British troops in Suvla Bay. The intention was to cut the Gallipoli peninsula in two, right across to the Narrows. But we knew perfectly well that Chunuk Bair was the key — the key, that is, to victory or defeat on the peninsula. That hill was vital. It dominated the middle of the peninsula and commanded ground right down to the Narrows. And in the August offensive Chunuk Bair was the objective of the New Zealand Infantry Brigade. Victory or defeat was in our hands." ((5), more)
(1) Extract from the memoir of Anna Viroubova, confidant to the Empress Alexandra, and one of the few people, other than Rasputin, the Empress associated with. Of German birth, the Empress was suspected of German sympathies, as were those about her. Warsaw was one of the largest cities of the Russian Empire, and the principle city of Polish Russia. After the German-Austro-Hungarian breakthrough of the Gorlice-Tarnow Campaign, it was one of the greatest losses of the long Russian retreat through the summer and into the fall of 1915. Viroubova writes that the fall of Warsaw made it clear to Tsar Nicholas that he needed to take command of the Russian Army himself, relieving Grand Duke Nicholas.
Memories of the Russian Court by Anna Viroubova, page 123, copyright © 1923 by The MacMillan Company, publisher: The MacMillan Company, publication date: 1923
(2) Excerpt from the account by Mustafa Kemal, later Ataturk, of his experiences in the Gallipoli campaign, as retold by Alan Moorehead in his classic Gallipoli. Kemal reported this exchange took place two months before the Allied attack that began the night of August 6, 1915, at Ari Burnu, at the northern end of Anzac Cove, where Australian, New Zealand, and Turkish troops had battled under horrendous conditions since the invasion of April 25, and Hill 971, which the invaders hoped to reach from Suvla Bay, several miles north of Anzac, where a thin Turkish defense awaited the most recent invasion.
Gallipoli by Alan Moorehead, page 251, copyright © 1956 by Alan Moorehead, publisher: Perennial Classics 2002 (HarperCollins Publications 1956), publication date: 2002 (1956)
(3) German Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz in his diary after the August 6, 1915 Allied landings at Suvla Bay, on the Gallipoli Peninsula, opened a new sector in the campaign from which to attack the Turkish defenders, attempt to cross the peninsula, and cut them off. South of Suvla, additional troops had bolstered those at Anzac Cove to launch a simultaneous attack. For two days, during which the Turks strengthened their defenses, the new troops at Suvla Bay did little. At Anzac, the Australian and New Zealand forces tried to advance against a well-entrenched enemy, and were slaughtered.
The First World War, a Complete History by Martin Gilbert, page 183, copyright © 1994 by Martin Gilbert, publisher: Henry Holt and Company, publication date: 1994
(4) Colonel Connolly to Bassett, his telephone operator, in response to Brigadier-General Johnston asking for Connolly's situation. Connolly was speaking from the summit of Chunuk Bair in Maurice Shadbolt's play Once on Chunuk Bair. On August 8, the New Zealanders were ordered to take Chunuk Bair, the high point of the Gallipoli peninsula. Some who made the summit saw the Narrows of the Dardanelles, the gateway to Constantinople. Most of the New Zealanders never left the hill.
Once on Chunuk Bair by Maurice Shadbolt, page 68, copyright © 1982 by Maurice Shadbolt, publisher: Hodder and Stoughton, publication date: 1982
(5) Excerpt from Maurice Shadbolt's 1980's interview with Dan Curham, a soldier of New Zealand's Wellington Battalion, tasked with taking the hill of Chunuk Bair on August 8, 1915. Between August 4 and 6, men had been landed furtively each night so the Turks would have no advance notice of a new offensive. By the 6th 25,000 men had joined those already holding the position at Anzac Cove. Further north, the British would open a new front at Suvla Bay, advancing quickly to join the ANZACs and cut across the Gallipoli Peninsula, isolating the Turkish defenders and finally breaking the stalemate the Gallipoli campaign had become. As with so many other efforts at Gallipoli, and in the war itself, nothing but more death and ruin came of it. Expecting the worst at a virtually undefended Suvla Bay, the commanders and men did little for two days. By the time they were ordered to advance, the Turks had bolstered their defenses. At Anzac, the Turks held their positions against the strengthened attackers who had struck at Quinn's Post. On August 8, the New Zealanders were ordered to take the high point of Chunuk Bair. Some who made the summit saw the Narrows of the Dardanelles, the gateway to Constantinople. Most of the men never left the hill.
Voices of Gallipoli by Maurice Shadbolt, page 45, copyright © 1988 Maurice Shadbolt, publisher: Hodder and Stoughton, publication date: 1988
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