LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Dardanelles: Dardanelles Strait
built 133 days ago
The Dardanelles campaign is a good example of how the Admiralty could not adjust its way of thinking towards a new weapon - by the Dardanelles campaign, the submarine had been in use by the Royal Navy for just thirteen years. When the decision was taken by the Admiralty to send submarines into the Sea of Marmora, five 'B' class submarines were sent from Gibraltar to Mundros on the isle of Lemnos. Three French submarines joined them. The Submarine Service were baffled by the choice of B-class submarines. It was well known that the currents that led into the straits to the Sea of Marmora were very fast, unpredictable and treacherous. Despite this, the Admiralty sent in submarines that weighed just 313 tons when submerged and had engines that generated just 600 hp which gave them limited endurance.
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The Dardanelles is the narrow strait that lies between the Aegean Sea and the Sea of Marmara. Its northern shore is formed by the Gallipoli Peninsula, part of the European land mass, and its southern by Turkey's Asiatic coast. The strait is 61 kilometres long and a strong surface current flows in the direction of the Aegean, which is echoed by an undercurrent flowing toward the Sea of Marmara. The Dardanelles have always been of great strategic importance because they link the Black Sea with the Mediterranean Sea and provide the only seaward access to the ancient city of Constantinople (Istanbul). During the First World War, Turkey heavily fortified the Dardanelles with both minefields and shore batteries. British and French vessels made an attempt to force their way through these defences on March 1915 but were thwarted by the Turkish guns and mines.
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After Turkey's defeat in 1917, the Dardanelles became part of a neutral zone of straits, which was under control of the League of Nations. In 1923 the Treaty of Lausanne returned the region to Turkey. At first Turkey was denied the right to fortify the straits, but in 1936 another treaty restored this right and ... permitted Turkey to close the straits to belligerent ships in wartime.
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Churchill had originally tried to force passage through the Dardanelles Strait by ships alone. When this failed, landings became inevitable. Allied troops went ashore on April 25, 1915, and suffered heavy losses. This photograph depicts the beachhead and hints at the rugged terrain of the Gallipoli Peninsula that contributed to the failure of subsequent operations.
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The Dardanelles are prominent in Greek legend and have been famous in history since early times. The ancient name, Hellespont, is said to have been derived from Helle, who was drowned in the strait when she fell from the back of the ram Chrysomallus. Leander ... supposedly perished in the Hellespont during one of his nightly crossings to visit his beloved Hero. The legend inspired the English poet Lord Byron to swim the strait in 1810.
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On 18th March 1915, at the beginning of the Dardanelles campaign, the commander of the Allied fleet, Admiral de Robeck divided the fleet into three sections. The first section entered the straits at 10.30 am. and penetrated as far as the row of mines. The Intepe batteries started a heavy fire.
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Dardanelles Strait