At the onset of World War 1 in 1914, the ‘sick man of Europe’ known as Turkey, or the Ottoman Empire, sought foreign financial aid after the stress of the Balkan Wars. The belligerents of World War 1 saw an opportunity in the Ottoman misfortune, as a Turkish alliance equated to control of the Dardanelles Strait near the peninsular city of Gallipoli. To the Allies consisting of Russia, Britain, and France, the Dardanelles was Russia’s primary contact route, and also facilitated the movement of 90% of Russia’s grain exports and 50% of Russia’s exports overall. Conversely, to the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary, control of the strait posed a major threat to the Allies. When Britain failed to deliver two battleships which Turkey requested, Germany was quick to deliver a gift of two German battleships to the Dardanelles Strait. Turkey accepted Germany’s gifts, closed the strait, and secured their active role in the war. The Allies would soon arrive to regain access to the strait, and Turkish Soldiers bore the responsibility of its defense. Of all Turkish military leaders, the young Lieutenant Colonel Mustafa Kemal earned a reputation as the most competent leader at driving the operations process. Mustafa Kemal effectively understood, visualized, described, directed, and led operations at the battle of Gallipoli to defeat Allied forces.
Kemal possessed an unparalleled understanding of the situation in Gallipoli. Just two years prior to the Battle of Gallipoli, Mustafa Kemal served in the Balkan Wars as Chief Operations Officer of the Gallipoli Army, where understanding operational and mission variables of the area was part of his everyday job. He knew the vulnerabilities of the coast and the key terrain on the...
... middle of paper ...
...ed as the main forces. Throughout the entire battle, Kemal continued to provide the purpose, direction, and motivation that only his leadership style could achieve.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Çelik, Gülseren. "The Gallipoli campaign: a Turkish perspective." United Service 64, no. 3 (2013): 25-29. http://www.rusinsw.org.au/Papers/20130430.pdf (accessed December 13, 2013).
Erickson, Edward J. Gallipoli: the Ottoman campaign. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Military, 2010.
Haythornthwaite, Philip J. Gallipoli, 1915: frontal assault on Turkey. London: Osprey, 1991.
Roberts, Mark. "Ataturk: Lessons in Leadership from the Greatest General of the Ottoman Empire. By Austin Bay. (New York, N.Y.: Palgrave- McMillan, 2011)." Journal of Strategic Security 5, no. 1 (2012): 89-92.
US, Department of the Army. ADRP 5-0, The Operations Process. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. May 2012.
In order to receive a victory in the Battle of the Bulge, General Patton used Mission Command Analysis in order to understand how he can be successful for this mission. The first thing of understanding t...
Here is a question — how did the ANZAC legend develop? The legend of Anzac was born on 25 April 1915, and was reaffirmed in eight months' fighting on Gallipoli. Although there was no military victory, the Australians displayed great courage, endurance, initiative, discipline, and mate-ship. Such qualities came to be seen as the Anzac spirit. The ANZAC book written and illustrated in Gallipoli by the men of Anzac —- The Anzac book became the finest “trench publication” produced during the Great War, and was an instant bestseller when first released in 1916. Created by soldiers under enemy fire and in extreme hardship, the illustrations, stories, cartoons, and poems were intended as a Christmas and New Year diversion for soldiers facing a harsh winter in the trenches on Gallipoli.
HQs, Department of the Army. Field Manual 5-0, The Operations Process. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 2010.
General Blaskowitz, Commander of German Army Group G had an extremely challenging task of balancing operational factors to achieve his organization’s assigned objectives. The German leader, Adolf Hitler, and his German armed forces high command OKW had a desired end state of German dominance of Europe. In order to achieve this desired end state the theater strategic objective for OB West, the German theater command was the defense of France, both from the ongoing Allied invasion in Normandy and an anticipated Allied amphibious assault in Southern France. General Blaskowitz’s operational objective, as directed from Hitler and the German high command, was to defend Southern France, with the mission of “holding the coast at all costs.” (pg. 16)
Melksham, Trevor. “What Manner of Men are These? Peter Weir’s Gallipoli as an Expression of Australian Civil Religion.” Diss. University of Sydney, 2005. Web. 1 May 2014.
Prior to my research, there were two interesting articles that have struck my attention regarding the states and issues that are being discussed in this essay. The first article is A Survey of the Turkish Empire by Sir William Eton. In the article, Eton discusses his admiration of the glorious army that had once belonged to the Ottoman Empire. He describes the Turkish army as “formidable”, and organized. Eton tune quickly changes by criticizing their faults and ultimately what led to their demise. Eton states that “it is a mob assembled rather than an army levied.” This article had great impact because while researching the topic, I was able to better understand the role of the military in the Ottoman Empire.
as India. Not just as a threat of them taking them over but it would
Michael, Michalis N. “Local Authorities and Conflict in an Ottoman Island at the Beginning of the Nineteenth Century.” Turkish Historical Review 2, no. 1 (May 2011): 57-77. EBSCO.
Warfare was in a state of transition. Older commanders and generals in the French and British militaries were very cavalry and infantry focused. These commanders believed that cavalry, infantry, and artillery would assure victory in any circumstance, against any foe. They clung to the static tactics of the bygone World War I era. World War I had been fought primarily on French soil, and the military as well as the government never wanted that to happen again, therefore they wanted to reinforce their main border against any future German. Little did they know that only twenty two years later they would be bested by German forces in a way that would shock the world. This research will be analyzing many important assumptions, oversights,...
Turkish-Syrian relations have almost always been soured and hostile in some fashion, dating back as early as the 1500’s. With a perpetual tit-for-tat policy and retaliation method that has been in effect between the two nations, it wasn’t until around 2003 or so in which Turkish relations to Syria had turned mostly friendly in response to the United States’ invasion of Iraq and Assad growing concerned over Syria being invaded as well. To gain more allies and help deter against this, Assad looked to Turkey for support, who was not only happy to better their ties with Syria, but was also in strong disagreement with the United States’ decision to invade Iraq as well. That is until the last five years in which the acting government in Syria has become increasingly more violent and hostile to it’s own people; essentially forcing the Turkish government to reject the growing friendly ties in the name of democracy. The geographic placement of Turkey in relation to the Middle-East and Europe, and particularly Syria, puts the country as a whole in a precarious situation from multiple powerful influences, such as NATO, the EU as well as the UN, and on the inverse, major Islamic figures and traditions held in the region. Because of this, Turkish history has been shaped and formed from the two major influences pulling on the country in very contrasting ways: The west, and the benefits of modernity and non-secularism in the state, and the East, and the fundamental religious beliefs of many who reside there who do not wish to break tradition or stray from their fundamental beliefs. Today is no different, although Turkey is increasingly leaning to the western state of mind and politics as a result of the shaky rela...
In the era of my rule, a king was not someone who simply delivered orders to his “men” while he sat on his throne awaiting confirmation of a victory. Men admired their leader for: outstanding courage, selflessness to his tribe, personal valor, and ability to survive despite the toughest opposition. Heroism and leadership are characteristics that brought my fellow men to abide by my side despite the situation, which in response led me to become such an aspiring leader, and in the end a hero – the demonstration to attain glory through brawls. Traditions, natural laws, and religion are descriptions of my heroism and leadership.
French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte is remembered as one of the greatest minds in military history. His revolutionary approach to warfare changed the course of history and the principles which governed his style of leadership are still valued today. Although he had an illustrious career of over 25 years and expanded the French Empire from Portugal to Russia, his reign came to end at the hands' of his enemies. The Battle of Waterloo was Napoleon's last stand as a military commander and will be examined for his use of the principles of the operations process. Napoleon failed to implement these activities effectively and is ultimately responsible for the loss of the battle. Napoleon was able to lead his men, but was unable to overcome his failures. He failed to understand the operational environment which affected his subordinates ability share an understanding of the environment. He failed to direct his forces and functions which lead to the loss of initiative and lacked in violence of action. Finally, Napoleon failed to assess the battle continuously and accurately which kept him from adapting when necessary. After a hard fought battle at Waterloo, Napoleon was defeated.
In November of 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined World War I. In one of its first major battles, it fought Russia and lost miserably. The Young Turks began blaming Armenians for their lack of dedication. They started a campaign of anti-Armenian propaganda, with sayings such as ?The Armenians are in league with the enemy?. Finally, in 1915, the Temporary Law of Expropriation and Confiscation was...
The Battle of Gallipoli took place on the Gallipoli peninsula during World War I in the Ottoman Empire. The Gallipoli peninsula provided a sea route to the Russian Empire. Russia´s allies, Britain and France, wanted to secure it by launching a naval attack followed by amphibious landing. Britain and France wanted the peninsula to capture Constantinople, the Ottoman capital. That attack failed, with causalities on both sides. The Gallipoli campaign was the final defense of the Ottoman Empire as it began to
What is leadership, and how do we attain the best and most effective leaders? These are questions that are as old as civilization itself. Bass (1974) wrote that, “from its infancy, the study of history has been the study of leaders” (as cited in Wren, 1995, p. 50). Since the study of history in the West is commonly held to begin with Herodotus of ancient Athens, it is not surprising that we should examine the historical views of leadership through the eyes of two titans of Greek thought: Plato and Aristotle.