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The Graveyards of Gallipoli; A Digger History Associate Site |
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A Tribute to the Men of all the Nations that took part in the Gallipoli Campaign of 1915 |
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V Beach and surrounding areas Gallipoli. |
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Bomb crater in the foreground and township in the background. V Beach. The landing at V Beach soon after 6 am on 25 April was one of the bloodiest and most heroic episodes in the campaign. Two thousand men were hidden aboard the SS River Clyde which was run aground at the foot of the Seddulbahir fort. Six Victoria Crosses were awarded on the first morning. Those reaching the shore took shelter beneath the sandbank at the water's edge. The troops remaining on board landed after nightfall. The following day more died when the Seddulbahir fort, the village and a fort (Fort Ertugral - Fort No 1) at the top of a slope from the beach were assaulted and captured in hard fighting. A further three Victoria Crosses were earned. V Beach was then handed over to the French, in whose hands it remained for the remainder of the campaign. To appreciate V Beach as a battlefield it is best to approach it from the Helles Memorial, 900m to the west. From the heights above the beach there is a splendid view of the ruins of Seddulbahir , Seddulbahir village, Ertugral Bay (where a line of rocks marks the position of the SS River Clyde), and, in the foreground, V Beach Cemetery. In the background, to the east, across the straits is the old fort of Kumkale. |
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| Bomb craters, probably made by naval shells of the British fleet, are reminders of 1915 when the British and French stormed ashore. |
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| The two battalions that had landed at V Beach — the 1st Royal Dublin Fusiliers and 1st Royal Munster Fusiliers — had been so badly mauled during the landing that they were combined to form a composite battalion, known as the "Dubsters". The battalions were reformed following the evacuation. Of the 1,100 Dubliners, only 11 would survive the entire Gallipoli campaign unscathed. |
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Cliff faces & remains of Seddulbahir Fort, near V Beach |
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In a few places the cliffs are daunting but the beaches lead onto flat ground. |
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| In some cases the natural cliffs have been augmented with man made construction/s. |
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Between the cliff faces are flat sandy beaches. |
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Looking back to the Helles lighthouse |
