12 November 2014
The Dardanelles campaign, beginning with the Gallipoli landing, is treasured by New Zealand and Australia as a sentinel moment. Invading Turkey has become a symbolic of nationhood. New Zealand’s war against Turkey began as a consequence of the British declaration of hostilities against the Ottoman Empire on 5 November 1914. Those hostilities were brought to a conclusion before the armistice on the Western Front. Although Allied armies were chased off the Gallipoli Peninsular in December 1915, by late 1917 the Ottoman Empire was collapsing, with the success of Allied campaigns in Mesopotania and Palestine. We all know about the first engagement with Turkish forces on 25 April 2015. Few know about Turkey’s surrender on 30 October 1918.
On 30 October 1918 the signing of the Treaty of Mudros ended Turkish participation in the war. Austria surrendered soon after on 3 November 1918. Bulgaria had already surrendered on 24 September 2014.
On 12 November 1914, the day after fighting ended on the Western Front, a Royal Navy flotilla sailed through the Dardanelles to Constantinople. The Dardanelles and the Sea of Marmora, where three British battleships sank in 1915, when a combined British and French fleet attempted to force a passage, were international waters again.
Turkey is now at 86th place overall on the Legatum Prosperity Index published last week. Placement in the component parts surveyed are:
Entrepreneurship 48th
Education 95th
Governance 81st
Economy 66th
Health 95th
Personal Freedom 114th
Safety and Security 134th
www.history.com/this-day-in-history/allied-fleet-enters-dardanelles
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