The landing at Suvla Bay, part of the August Offensive,
commenced on the night of 6 August 1915. It was intended to support a breakout
from Anzac
Beach. Despite early hopes
from a largely unopposed landing, Suvla was a mismanaged affair that quickly
became a stalemate.
The newly formed IX Corps, commanded by Lieutenant General Sir
Frederick Stopford, failed, not for lack of sacrifice of its New Army and
Territorial’s, but for failure of generalship. Opportunities were thoughtlessly
wasted due to lethargy. Suvla not only signalled the end of Stopford and many of
his Brigadiers, but also saw the end of the Commander in Chief, Sir Ian
Hamilton. It was the beginning of the end of the Gallipoli gamble and in its own
right created a catalyst of disaster that would come to represent the failed
campaign.
This book adds to the Gallipoli story by recounting the Suvla Bay landing through a mix of official
accounts intertwined with a rich collection of the participants’ letters,
diaries, personal accounts, photographs and maps.
