The Allied forces – invasion

Firing 60-pounder field gun The campaign began with an unsuccessful naval attack by British and French ships on the Dardanelles Straits in February-March 1915, followed by a major land invasion of the Gallipoli Peninsula on April 25.

Maj Fawcett over the Dardanelles straits The assembled Mediterranean Expeditionary Force (MEF) consisted of troops from Britain, the French Oriental Expeditionary Force, which included troops from France and French Colonial Africa, and the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC).

Overall control of the MEF lay with General Sir Ian Hamilton (1853-1947). Despite suffering heavy casualties, they managed to establish two beachheads: at Helles on the peninsula's southern tip, and at Gaba Tepe on the Aegean coast, later dubbed Anzac Cove.

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