4

Battle of Gallipoli, LTC Kemal Leadership

Summary

LTC Mustafa Kemal is one of the prominent leaders of the 20th Century as he played a pivotal role in the creation of the modern-day Turkey republic. Kemals role in the establishment of this republic is attributable to his astute leadership and decisive actions in the Battle of Gallipoli. This battle was a campaign of World War I that occurred in the Gallipoli peninsula (or Gelibolu in modern-day Turkey). Kemal mobilized his troops and made crucial decisions without orders when the Gallipoli peninsula was attacked by Allies. The successful and effective leadership of LTC Kemal is linked to his application of some of the principles of mission command including a clear commanders intent, mutual trust, shared understanding, and disciplined initiative.

He provided a clear commanders intent to his subordinates, which spurred them into action by using inspiring words and themes that resonated with them. While he carried out several combined operations, the key decisions were made in collaboration with Halil Sami, the 9th Division Commander. Through the shared understanding, they launched coordinated counter-attacks supported by artillery against the Allies. Kemal created mutual trust among his subordinates by leading from the front, taking initiative, and putting his life in danger. He created disciplined initiative among his subordinates by taking initiative and setting and example.

Kemals use of these principles of mission command has significant impacts on the outcome of the Battle of Gallipoli. In this regard, he galvanized the Ottoman resistance to counter-attack Allies resulting in victory for the Ottoman Empire. Through his astute leadership, Kemal collaborated with other Ottoman regiments to ensure that the Allies did not achieve their plans and objectives for attacking the Gallipoli Peninsula. The war ended in defeat for the Allies and played an important role in the formation of the Turkey republic.

Battle of Gallipoli, LTC Kemal Leadership

LTC Mustafa Kemal Ataturk is regarded as one of the most prominent figures linking the final days of Ottoman to the beginning of todays Turkish republic.[footnoteRef:1] Hes renowned as a leader, statesman, strategist, and soldier who displayed great moral and physical courage. LTC Kemal played an important role in the Gallipoli Campaign, which is largely viewed as one of the greatest disaster for the Allies during the First World War. He effectively utilized the mission command principles in the crucible of the Battle of Gallipoli. As a result, LTC Kemals actions during the Gallipoli Campaign provide enduring leadership lessons and principles that changed the course of history. This paper analyzes LTC Mustafa Kemals performance in the Battle of Gallipoli...

The analysis includes a discussion of how he executed Mission Command and the Warfighting Functions during the battle as well as how his use of the mission command principles and decisions affected the outcome of the battle. [1: Mark Roberts, Ataturk: Lessons in Leadership from the Greatest General of the Ottoman Empire. By Austin Bay. (New York, NY: Palgrave-McMillan, 2011), Journal of Strategic Security, 5, no. 1 (2012): 89]

Summary of Events

The Battle of Gallipoli, which is also known as the Gallipoli Campaign, the Dardanelles Campaign, or the Battle of Canakkale, was a campaign of World War I that occurred in the Gallipoli peninsula (or Gelibolu in modern-day Turkey).[footnoteRef:2] Prior to this campaign, the Ottoman Empire had entered the First World War on the Central Powers side in November 1994. The first attack on the Dardanelles started after few months when the Anglo-French taskforce instituted a long-range assault of ottoman coastal artillery batteries. This task force included the British battleship HMS Queen Elizabeth. The attack took place between 19th February 1915 and 9th January...

…achieving the plan.

Battle Outcomes

Kemals use of the principles of commanders intent, mutual trust, disciplined initiative, and shared understanding contributed to the success of the Gallipoli Campaign. He executed each of these principles well and helped to prevent Allies from achieving their goals in the Battle of Gallipoli. Through the principle of commanders intent, Kemal successfully coordinated night attacks on the ANZAC by clearly expressing his plan and inspiring his subordinates. He successfully turned back the adversaries by providing a clear intent to his subordinates. His creation of a shared understanding resulted in successful counter-attacks against the Allies. Moreover, this shared understanding enabled him to rebuild and supply the 8th Division that withdrew following heavy losses.[footnoteRef:12] His creation of mutual trust and disciplined initiative set an example for his subordinates who were motivated and inspired to commit to his intent and plan. As a result, Kemals use of these principles and decisive actions contributed to the Ottoman Empires victory in the Battle of Gallipoli. Under his leadership, the Ottoman resistance ensured that the Allies did not achieve their objectives in this battle. The Allies failed in the entire war at Chunuk Bair as Kemals action facilitated the establishment of todays Turkey republic. [12: Ibid., 2]

In conclusion, LTC Kemal is regarded as one of the most influential statesmen of the 20th Century due to his leadership in the Battle of Gallipoli. His influential leadership and decisive actions played a pivotal role in the final days of Ottoman and the beginning of the modern-day Turkey republic. Kemal effectively applied different principles of mission command including commanders intent, mutual trust, shared understanding, and disciplined initiative. His use of these principles galvanized the Ottoman resistance to ensure the Allies did not achieve their objectives. Consequently, the Allies were defeated in the entire campaign partly because of…