to be an event of lasting importance. Two British battleships
were sunk off the peninsula (" Triumph " May 25, " Majestic "
May 27), and owing to the risks run by warships and transports
while in the open the Allied troops on shore were thenceforward
almost deprived of support from naval gunfire, while reinforce-
ments and stores were mostly brought from Mudros to the vari-
ous landing places in small craft. Hamilton made Imbros his
headquarters, and troops also were sometimes collected there
owing to its vicinity both to Helles and to Anzac. Within the
Dardanelles the battleship " Goliath " had been torpedoed by
the Turkish destroyer " Muavenet-i-Milliye " on May 13; on
the other hand British submarines were performing invaluable
service, diving under the mine-fields, causing havoc amongst
enemy craft in the channel itself and higher up, and threatening
Ottoman communications with the peninsula.
That the position of affairs had become one virtually of stalemate was fairly evident to all authorities on the side of the Entente before the end of May. A Russian army destined for the Bosporus, which had been gathered near Odessa, obliging the Porte to keep strong bodies of troops about Constantinople, had been called to Galicia, thus liberating several Turkish di- visions for service at the Dardanelles. Only by dispatching very substantial reinforcements in men, munitions and war material to the scene could the Entente achieve its object. But the military situation elsewhere forbade the alloc tion of strong British or French contingents to this secondary theatre of war, and there was much delay in London in forming a decision. The 52nd Division was, however, under orders to proceed from England to th? Aegean; it arrived at Helles early in June, where there was some severe fighting during that month by which the Alh'es somewhat improved their position.
But trench warfare was the order of the day, and the British and French were trying to carry this on without that ample artillery support which is almost indispensable when earth- works have to be stormed under modern tactical conditions.
others (UB3, UB;, UB8) sailed for the Straits in the latter part of April. UB3 was lost en route but nos. 7 and 8 reached the Straits about the middle of May. They proceeded to Constantinople, and were chiefly employed against the Russian Black Sea fleet. Four small boats of the mine-laying class were also dispatched, of which three (UCl4, UCl3, UCis) made their way to Constantinople, carrying important technical stores, in the summer months after an intermediate base had been established at Orak near Budrun. Another small boat (UBl4) on its way from Orak -to the Straits, torpedoed the British transports " Royal Edward " off Cos (Aug. 14), and " Southland " in the Aegean (Sept. 2). Other British transports sunk in the Aegean were the " Ramazan " (Sept. 19) and the " Marquette" (Oct. 26). Of the ships named only the " Southland " was brought into harbour.
More important work was done by the seagoing boat U2I, Lt.- Comm. Otto Hersing. This left the Ems after special preparation for the long voyage, on April 25, and reached Cattaro with only half a ton of fuel left on May 13. After replenishing at that base, Hersing sailed on the 2Oth for the Dardanelles, where, on the 25th and 27th he sank the battleships " Triumph " and " Majestic." L'2i then proceeded to Constantinople. On July 4 he came out and sank the French transport " Carthage " off Helles; later after a cruise in the Aegean he tried to reenter the Straits, but finding the British mine defences too formidable, he sailed to Cattaro to take part in the general commerce-destroying warfare in the Mediterranean. This was by now active, four other seagoing boats having followed U2I from the North Sea, and it is claimed that 50,000 tons of shipping were sunk in the Mediterranean and Aegean during Sept. 1915. At the end of that month the Germans had nearly one-third of their total available submarine force in this theatre 14 boats out of 44 of which 5 seagoing, 2 small and I mine-laying boats, were working in the open, and 3 small (UB7, 8, 14) and 2 mine-laying (UCi3, 15) at Constantinople. In addition, the Austrian boats numbered about II, large and small, and one of these torpedoed the French cruiser " I^eon Gambetta " in Ionian waters on April 27.
Submarine activity in the open Mediterranean and Aegean had no small influence in determining the final abandonment of the Gallipoli enterprise and in preventing its resumption in the later stages of the war. But locally and tactically, no real success was obtained by the new arm after the departure of U2I. Liman von Sanders expresses the opinion that the German submarines on the spot were of no assistance to him, and that the British boats, in spite of their frequent raiding of the Sea of Marmora, did not seriously interfere with his water movements.
A general attack was delivered on the Ottoman positions on the 5th, by which some little ground was gained along most of the front. Then on the 2ist the French, who were on the right next to the Straits, pushed their line forward as the result of a well- planned local offensive, and this achievement was followed up on the 28th by a successful operation on the part of the British on the extreme left, by which the line at that end was advanced to nearly abreast of Krithia. Satisfactory as were the results of these two affairs at the end of the month from the point of view of the Allies, they did not render their situation at the extremity of the peninsula much less discouraging than it had been before. The front occupied by the invaders at the end of June was indeed for all practical purposes to represent the line that was to be held up to the night of Jan. 8 in the following year. The Turks still occupied all the high ground. They continued to enjoy all the topographical advantage in respect to position. Ottoman guns dominated the entire territory which the invaders had succeeded in the course of two months in conquering, as well as " V " and " W " beaches which were the landing-places chiefly used by them. This Turkish artillery was bearing upon Helles not merely from the uplands facing the Allies' front line, but also from the Asiatic side of the Dardanelles on the Allies' flank. At Anzac the situation remained stationary during June, although there was some sharp fighting at the end of the month.
Both sides, it should be mentioned, were suffering much from sickness, and continued to suffer all through the summer. The heat was great. Flies swarmed. The dust caused much annoy- ance whenever there was any wind. The British hospital arrange- ments were not beyond criticism. The water question caused no great difficulty at Helles, but the very limited local supply found within the contracted area occupied by Birdwood's force gave out almost entirely when the dry season set definitely in, and much of that which was brought by sea or condensed had to be conveyed up steep inclines to the trenches. As a result of disease, and of casualties in action and from bombardment, the British divisions recruited in the United Kingdom were con- stantly far short of establishment, no proper provision having been made for keeping them up to strength. The two Australa- sian and the two French divisions were better off in this respect; but the number of divisions under Sir I. Hamilton's orders eight now that the 52nd had arrived in reality gave a very misleading impression of the strength of the force; his Majesty's Government had, however, during the course of the month decided to dispatch large reinforcements to this theatre of war, and the Allied commander-in-chief had been cheered by the tidings that five further divisions, the loth, nth, i3th, 53rd and 54th, had been placed under orders for the Aegean, and would join him between July 10 and Aug. 10. The number of Turkish divisions within the peninsula and in reserve on the Asiatic side of the Straits had, however, grown, and by the end of June Liman von Sanders appears to have had nine under his orders.
July, in so far as the Allies were concerned, was in the main a month of preparation. In view of the anticipated arrival of sub- stantial reinforcements from England there was no great tempta- tion to embark on offensives; and owing to the shortage of artillery ammunition, what there was of it had to be jealously husbanded, although the French divisions were not suffering from this disability so much as the British. A general attack was, however, delivered by the Helles force on the i2th and i3th along the right half of its front, and some little ground was con- quered; but the situation was not appreciably modified. To- wards the end of the month the i3th Division, the first of the new divisions to arrive, disembarked in this southern area as a temporary measure, bringing welcome relief for the troops in the trenches. At Anzac July passed off quietly. There the rival forces were in close contact, the Turks everywhere enjoying the advantage of command; some sections of the Australasian line were, indeed, completely overlooked by ground in Ottoman occupation. Liman von Sanders was joined by reinforcements from other parts of the Empire early in the month, and the num- ber of Turkish divisions in the peninsula swelled; but, aware that additional British troops were arriving, he felt obliged to
