A lunchtime lecture on the Gallipoli Campaign 1915

By Christmas 1914 the Western Front had developed into static trench warfare, whilst on the Eastern Front the Russians were in trouble engaged by both the Austro-Hungarians and the Ottoman Turks.  In an effort to both assist the Russians and force Turkey out of the war, an ambitious, yet ill-fated plan was hatched for a naval assault on the Dardanelles; the aim was to enter the Sea of Marmara and place Constantinople under the guns of the allied fleet.

The Gallipoli campaign involved over 500,000 Allied personnel, including 350,000 British and Empire troops – including the 4th, 5th, 6th and 10th Gurkha Rifles – 50,000 Australians, New Zealanders and 80,000 French.  Defending their homeland against the infidel invaders were over 300,000 Ottoman troops advised by a small retinue of German commanders.  Despite flawed allied planning, execution and leadership there remain many knife-edge, close-run and what-if moments that perhaps could have delivered a significantly different outcome.

This lecture is delivered by Stephen Chambers, and we hope subject to UK visa approval, Adem Biçer. 

Stephen is one of the leading English military historians and battlefield guides on the Gallipoli campaign.  He has written several books about the subject, and he is also Trustee of the Gallipoli Association, a member of the Western Front Association and Orders and Medals Research Society.  He is also a director of Great War Digital Ltd., home of the WW1 mapping Linesman GPS product, and also manages to juggle a career in IT.   

Adem is a graduate from Selçuk University having studied tourism, history, archaeology and mythology.  He is now the leading local tour guide on the Gallipoli peninsular, as well as the ancient cities of Troy and Assos.  Based in Çanakkale he is the President of the Chamber of Tour Guides in the region. He will bring an amazing local historical and cultural perspective to the Gallipoli campaign, so often missing from western narratives.

After listening to the lecture involving two expert perpectives, enjoy a Gurkha bhat (curry) and debate with fellow diners at The Gurkha Museum.

Details
1030 hrs – Arrival
1100 hrs – Lecture
1215 hrs – Question and Answer session
1230 hrs – Bhat (Curry lunch)

We are grateful to Boomerang Media Group for sponsoring this lecture.