Mustafa Kemal's leadership at the Battle of Gallipoli

Battle of Gallipoli was a pivotal military encounter in World War I. It largely pitted the military leadership of LTC Mustafa Kemal, who oversaw the forces of Turkey, against a widespread opposition of the Allied Powers including troops from Britain, Austria, New Zealand, India, and other countries. Gallipoli is on the shores of Turkey and was attacked by the Allies on the morning of April 25, 1915, in hopes that they could catch Turkey by surprise (Goodall, 2015, p. IV), capture Constantinople, and eventually take Turkey (which had fairly recently joined the Central Allied powers (out of the war). Plagued by insufficient knowledge about the terrain and substandard intelligence, the Allies quickly lost whatever advantage they had hoped to gain by surprise and found themselves engaged in trench warfare with the Turks until December. The superior military abilities of Kemal and his knowledge of the situation helped to actuate the Turkish forces in such a way that the Allied efforts were eventually rebuffed, and Istanbul remained unconquered.

Perhaps the most salient way in which Kemal was able to rebuff the Allied forces due to his knowledge of the military situation in which he found himself took place during the first few moments of the Allied landing when he evinced a valued propensity to lead his men well. The Allies, of course, were attempting to leverage their surprise landing for all it was worth and, initially, members of the Turkish force were willing to retreat at their sudden appearance in Turkey. However, Kemal was able to abate any efforts towards retreating on the part of his forces and convince his men to stay and fight while reinforcements were called for. He was able to do so by reinforcing the conviction that his men had in their deity (Allah), and in the fact that they were defending their Turkish homeland, which soon purged of Armenians 2. His ability to lead this particular morning was tested by the fact that his men knew that a large phalanx of soldiers of disparate nationalities and entities to supply them was approaching. However, Kemal had resolved to stave off these foes, and he was able to impart his leadership ability in such a way that he got his men to form a similar resolve. Lesser leaders might not have been able to convince their men of their ability to win in such a situation -- especially since at the outset of the invasion, the Turkish forces were vastly outmanned. However, Kemal was able to convince his men via his superior leadership qualities, and they were able to successfully hold off the Allies until additional Turkish reinforcements could arrive.

Another trait that enabled Kemal to hold his ranks and prevent the Allied from occupying Istanbul was his ability to understand the situation he faced and exploit that knowledge to his advantage. Specifically, the Turkish leader understood the advantages that the terrain surrounding Gallipoli presented for his defensive position 3. That terrain includes sheer cliffs, high peaks and ridges, and relatively narrow beaches. The Allied forces were enclosed in this area for a significant portion of this months-long battle, particularly during its outset. As such, there were several key instances in which the Allied forces were in a position to try to occupy or take Turkish terrain that left them vulnerable to machine gunfire. Kemal quickly understood that (especially early on in this encounter), he merely needed to maintain his aerial advantage and gun down the enemy as they attempted to invade Turkish territory. Thus, there were numerous times in which the Allies tried to gain the heights which the Turks had, yet all the latter had to do was to pick them off as they attempted to gain the higher ground. Moreover, Kemal was not only able to defend turkey, but also to attack the Allies at various points in this martial encounter. For instance, the allies were finally able to overcome their difficulty with surmounting higher ground when they managed to take the hill of Chunuk Bair relatively early on in August. However, Kemal proved his worthy understanding of the situation once again by forcing the Allies down from the hill with a successful counterattack. In doing so he evinced the fact that not only could he defend well but attack with skill too. That combination, and the way that he was able to retain his superior aerial advantages, demonstrates how effectively he was able to understand his situation and utilize it to his advantage to repeatedly beat back the Allies.