130 ISLAM AT WAR
developed elaborate trench systems. The Allies attempted to break this
with further landings on April 25 and again on August 6, but the Turks
sealed off those landings as well.
During the August 6 operations the Allies launched an attack with
thirteen divisions, approximately 120,000 men. That day alone seven
Victoria Crosses were won and more than 4,000 Allied soldiers killed.
In the crucial Anafarta sector (Chunuk Bair), Mustafa Kemal stood in
command. His 19th Division took the first shock of the New Zealanders’
attack and demolished the Australian light horse. They then turned on
the British 32nd Brigade and all but annihilated it as it attempted to move
up to the crest of Tekke Tepe. As the lead company went forward, the
Turks broke over the rise above them. The Turks charged and cut the
brigade to pieces. Within minutes all British officers were killed, battal-
ion and brigade headquarters overrun, and the British soldiers scattering
in wild disorder.
The Allied attack on Gallipoli was a complete failure. Even the confi-
dent soldiers of England began to speak respectfully of “Johnny Turk.”
The Turks had held their heartland, but the sultan’s armies faced other
theaters.
The war in the region around the Suez Canal had been stagnant from
the beginning of the war until September 19, 1918. Because of the critical
importance of the canal, the British had amassed a huge force of 95,000
men that included 15,000 cavalry, 80,000 infantry, and 500 guns. On Sep-
tember 19, 70,000 men, supported by 540 guns, advanced eastwards out
of Egypt against a force of 20,000 Turks and Germans in Palestine.
Despite the preponderance of strength on the British side, their com-
mander, General Allenby, had made two abortive attempts to seize Am-
man and Es Salt in early 1918. The British force, in corps strength, was
beaten back by a tiny force of Turks and Germans under the command of
Jemal Pasha (Kuchuk). To disguise their failure, the British disingenu-
ously called these the First and Second Transjordan Raids.
Grim fighting also occurred in the Arabian Peninsula as the local princes
revolted against the hated Turkish foreigners. But even here, in the depths
of the desert, the outnumbered Ottomans held on grimly, defending their
garrisons and supply lines until forced to withdraw by Allenby’s offensive
into Palestine in September 1918.
The British had also landed forces at Fao, on the Shatt alÛArab (modern
Kuwait) at the head of the Persian Gulf on November 7, 1914, and main-
tained forces in the region until the end of the war. This foothold was
slowly expanded and pushed up the Tigris and Euphrates. The strategic
city of Kut-al-Amara was taken in late September 1915. From here Gen-