Sidney George Brookman

August 16, 2020

Sidney George Brookman

The Helles Memorial, the war memorial, located near Sedd el Bahr, Turkley, on the headland at the tip of the Gallipoli peninsula. The obelisk is 98 ft tall, bears the names over 20,900 missing servicemen, whom have no known grave who were killed during the Gallipoli campaign, February 1915-January 1916.

The Gallipoli campaign, was badly conceived, was poor executed debacle. Winston Churchill was credited to have committed the British, French, the untested Australian and the New Zealand forces in this campaign. The campaign was trying to seize control of the Dardanelles Straits and western Turkey.

The Straits was chosen, as it was thought that it had great strategic value, seizing control would give to the Entente Powers. The Straits were linked to the Mediterranean Sea, the Sea of Marmora. Also, it would give access to Constantinople, and provide a lane to the Black Sea.

Even though these opportunities, the Straits, were heavily defended, chiefly by natural geography.

The initial date for the first attack, was 19^th February 1915, which was provided by the navy, was given its approval.

The initial attack between 19^th – 25^th February 1915, was provided by combined British and French navies. Pounding the outer fortresses proved ineffective. In the face of the Turkish defensive system and with the poor Allied gunnery.

18^th March 1915, there was another failed naval attack to clear The Narrows, and this followed preparation of a Ground Attack, under the command of Ian Hamilton. Hamilton had been appointed by Lord Kitchener on the 12^th March, and under his command of a force of 75,000 troops.

25^th April 1915, the landing of the troops, was going to be at Gaba Tepe. The landings had been mismanaged, leading to huge number of casualties. Gaba Tepe, was renamed in honour to the Australians and the New Zealanders killed there to Anzac Cove.

After establishing the beach head, attacks were directed to Krithia and between 28^th April and 4^th June, there were three failed attacks at Krithia.

By late May, the British contingent on the Cape Helles, there were three division, and a brigade.

The plan for the battle which involved, the Royal Naval Division, was that they would attack up Achi Baba and they were supported by armoured cars on Krithia Spua.

On 4^th June, The Royal Naval Division's advance was led by the 2nd Naval Brigade which managed to reach and capture the Ottoman trenches. When the second wave—the Collingwood Battalion—attempted to continue the advance, they were caught in enfilade fire from Kereves Dere to the right where the French advance had failed. The battalion, one of the newly arrived reinforcements, was utterly annihilated and was never reformed. Further attempts to reach the second objective were successful, but the position was untenable, so within a couple of hours the RND units had retreated to their starting positions. 1060 officers and men were dead in the attack. One of those men was Sidney G. Brookman.

August 1915, the Allied landed at Suvla Bay. By the December, the Allied evacuation of Anza Cove and Sulva Bay had been completed. The British casualties amounted to 205,00 and the Dardanelles Campaign had been a failure.