Picto Diary - 13 June 2015 - Sea Assault Dardanelles
"Essentially the great question remains: Who will hold Constantinople?"
Napoleon
Above: Buildings along highway from Istanbul going west along north coast of Sea of Mamara. Istanbul, Turkey. 13 June 2015.
Scenes of such new construction and growth are not isolated in Istanbul.... or Turkey, for that matter. Last year we noted much new sea side construction from Trabzon, along the Black Sea coast, into Georgia.
One gets the impression of vibrancy and progress in Turkey.
Above: Highway heading south onto Gallipoli Peninsula. 13 June 2015.
I motorcycled this highway coming the opposite direction as shown, from the south, 10 years ago. Then, this section, now four lanes, was a well constructed two lane highway.
Again... progress... not stasis. In sharp contrast to what I saw in Cuba two years ago.
Above: Tour busses parked near Kilitbahir Castle fort located at Kilid Bahr on west side of Dardanelles "Narrows," the narrowest spot on the Dardanelles. 13 June 2015. Near Eceabat, Turkey.
The two sides of the Dardanelles Narrows are only a mile a part. The sister Narrows fort on the eastern (Asian) side is located in Canakkale.
Similar Ottoman era forts were also located at the European and Asian entrance points to the Dardanelles.
Any would-be invader by sea to Istanbul would have to get through the heavy Turkish guns found at these forts.
Turkish Tourist Busses
I'd like to have the tour bus concession for Turkey. All of the manufacturers make what seems like the same model bus, and most of the tour busses are white like the ones seen here. Our bus was a well appointed Mercedes Benz.
There are no jalopy tourist busses. The Turkish government licenses only tourist busses that are less than five years old.
The Sappers Gallipoli Centenary Tour with over one hundred participants fills up three of these busses. Each bus has an Anzac battlefield guide - in our case, a retired Australian infantry Colonel, and a Turkish guide. The three groups operate independently of one another.
Note "The Narrows."
In March 1915, during World War I (1914-18), British and French forces launched an ill-fated naval attack on Turkish forces in the Dardanelles in northwestern Turkey, hoping to take control of the strategically vital strait separating Europe from Asia. The failure of the campaign at the Dardanelles, along with the campaign that followed later that year in Gallipoli, resulted in heavy casualties and was a serious blow to the reputation of the Allied war command, including that of Winston Churchill, the British first lord of the admiralty, who had long been a proponent of an aggressive naval assault against Turkey at the Dardanelles. (History Channel)
An invader from the sea, trying to get to Constantinople, would not only have to get past the guns at forts guarding the entrance and The Narrows of the Dardanelles, but also an extensive mine field.
"Britannia Rules the Waves" took a hiatus in the Allied March 1915 campaign to force the Narrows. The defeat broke a 200 year old string of British naval victories.
The Ottoman empire at the time was called "the sick man of Europe." The Turks had lost a war in 1912 in the Balkans. They were losing influences in far flung reaches where they had been dominant for 400 years... Egypt, the Levant, and the Caucasus. British war planners... arrogant in hindsight.... thought capturing the Dardanelles and pushing on to Constantinople would be a push over.
The March 18 naval victory was a shot in the arm for the Turks. National esprit de corps took an upswing, troops were amassed to meet an expected land assault on
Gallipoli, and "self confidence" of leaders was bolstered to an extent that they initiated an ill conceived genocidal campaign against their minority Armenian population whom they believed to be sympathetic with the allies. The border between Armenia and Turkey remains closed to this day. Armenians seethe to this day, 100 years later.
Above: Sapper Gallipoli Centenary tour goers from Bus One, our bus, listen to Rod Margetts, battlefield tour guide, explain the 18 March 1915 failed attempt by the allies to "force the Narrows." Kilitbahir Castle fort. Near Eceabat, Turkey. 13 June 2015.
Beyond are the Narrows of the Dardanelles, and the city of Canakkale on the Asian side.
Above: Artists rendition of The Queen Elizabeth, England's newest battle ship, trying to force the Narrows on 18 March 1915. The Queen Elizabeth and the allied flotilla turned back after three capital ships were lost to newly placed mines in locations not anticipated by the Allies.
Over the previous six weeks, the British had tried to eliminate Dardanelles mines using private fishing boats brought from England. The process had worked for them in the English channel... but, there, there was no one shooting at them from forts and gun emplacements. The Dardanelles fishing boat captains had no problem trying to get rid of the mines... a relatively easy job... but, they said they didn't sign up for being shot at.
Above: French battleship Bouvet sinking after hitting a mine in the Dardanelles.
Above: Turkish gun emplacement at European side Dardanelles Turkish fort. 13 June 2015.
Malcolm is standing on platform - blue shirt.
The statue at "7:00 o'clock" from Malcom, at the base of the gun steps, is a representation of Seyit Ali Cabuk, carrying an artillery shell on his back. He is usually called Corporal Seyit. He is famous for having carried three live shells, otherwise seemingly impossible for one man to accomplish, to an artillery piece during the Allied attempt to force the Dardanelles on 18 March 2015.
As the story goes, most of the soldiers manning the fort gun seen here were killed by Allied shelling from battleships entering the Dardanelles. The rail cart and rail system used to transport shells from the nearby magazine to the gun were also destroyed. Corporal Seyit, seeing an Allied battleship making its way up the strait, took it on himself to bring shells to the gun, and knock out the ship. Or.... so the story goes.
A country needs uplifting examples of heroism to bolster and sustain national pride. Corporal Seyit, whether he truly single handedly took out an Allied battle ship or not, seems to have penetrated deeply into the Turkish psyche in this regard. We watched Turk tourists reverently touch the statue of Corporal Seyit. Some were crying.
Above: Turtles waiting for a feed. Kum Hotel, Eceabat, Turkey. 13 June 2015.
Addendum:
very cool. thanks Steve.
Brand Man,
Venice, CA
Taylor, a closet Muslim?
Privateer,
Hancock, ME
great Steve.
thanks.
(for me, english spoken in parts of england are the most difficult to understand :)
Brand Man,
Venice, CA
Above: Drums and Mynduveroan on trail ride.
Image by FeeBee.
U forgot Ataturk's famous line.....I am in Kanab; jealous as usual.
Comic Mom,
Kanab, UT
Well... I haven't got to that yet!
Above: An Imperial pint of Caledonia Best Bitter and a dram of 15 yr. old Mortlach Single Malt from Speyside in the Highlands.
All for £7.10 or roughly $11.70 in the Corner House in Tarbert, Scotland.
Exceptional!
Keith, Riding somewhere in Scotland.
Steve,
Thanks for sharing this very intriguing story.
Was a pleasure getting to know you.
Keep the stories coming.
Lynn,
Boise, ID
Thought you might enjoy these...
Keith, Riding somewhere in Scotland
Steve, I am sure the elusive meaning could possibly be found in an IoM side hack doing triple digits with one returning to primate roots as a monkey.
Jay, San Angelo, TX
Good on ya, mate! Pls give our best to ANZAC Jack’s grandson!!!
Morgan, Chicago, IL
Really enjoying the Isle of Man TT through your picto diary also on velocity TV. Also I don't think enlightenment/meaning of life can be found in the bank or money. I hope to say hello to you in Park city sometime next month. Keep up the excellent reporting we all enjoy.
Jay, San Angelo, TX
Keep me posted on your schedule. Love to see you.
E – none of these.
Being as bereft of any sense of judgment as you are, you are inevitably going to be looking in the wrong place.
It’s too bad that you don’t grasp this, because you are basically a very nice and decent person.
Jack Aroon, Mahwah, NJ