second, he was given only 13 divisions—some 490,000
men—to the Turks’ 20 divisions, led by General Liman
von Sanders. An initial bombardment by British and al-
lied ships on Gallipoli and the other Turkish holdings
did not dislodge the enemy, and the landing went ahead.
Historian George Bruce writes:
Eventually, on 25 April [1915], some 75,000
men were landed on the Peninsula’s southern tip,
another 35,000 at Cape Helles plus 35,000 AN-
ZACs further up the west coast, but the Turks
held their main positions and under Colonel
Kemal (later Kemal Ataturk), counter-attacked.
By 8 May Hamilton had lost about a third of
his men in fierce fighting and there were signs
of a stalemate, but resisting calls for evacuation
he ordered his army to dig in. Another landing
of 25,000 men at Sulva Bay on 6 August 1915
failed largely owing to the apathy of General [Sir
Frederick] Stopford, who slept on a ship at the
critical time. A stalemate like that of the west-
ern front developed. Hamilton was replaced on
22 November by General [Charles] Munro, and
finally the Cabinet in London agreed to with-
drawal. Suvla Bay and Anzac Cove were evacu-
ated by the Navy on 20 December and Cape
Helles on 9–10 January, after another general
action, but no lives were lost in the skilful with-
drawal, the only success in the entire campaign.
British and French casualties were about 250,000
and those of Turkey probably about the same.Birdwood had opposed the Gallipoli campaign’s
continuation once he saw it was to be a failure, but he
was overruled. On 19 November 1915, he took com-
mand of the Gallipoli force, replacing General Munro.
Many historians credit Birdwood for the evacuation and
withdrawal from the Dardanelles, and it is for this rea-
son that his military career was not adversely affected by
the horrific loss at Gallipoli.
Birdwood then served as commander of the Aus-
tralian forces on Europe’s western front from September
1916 until the end of the war in November 1918. He
clashed repeatedly with his superiors, Sir Douglas haig,
commander of British forces in France, and Sir Hubert
Gough, commander of the British Fifth Army. Once
again, despite his warnings and protestations, Birdwood’s
forces were sent into several battles he felt were unnec-
essary, including the ones at Pozieres Ridge (23 July–
4 August 1916) and Fromelles (19–20 July 1916), both
of which proved to be disastrous for the Allied forces. At
the Somme (1 July–18 November 1916), he moved his
men into battle despite his misgivings; the loss was more
than 6,300 killed and wounded. When Gough moved
his men under his immediate command to that of Sir
Herbert Plumer’s, Birdwood felt his views should be
taken into account. In the third battle of Ypres (17 June
1917), his advice was accepted, but even so, the British
lost more than 250,000 dead and wounded, with negli-
gible land gains.
On 23 October 1917, Birdwood was promoted to
general. In the final push of the war, starting in April
1918 at the Somme, his cautious leadership helped gain
territory for the Allies. On 31 May 1918, he was pro-
moted to commander of the British Fifth Army, suc-
ceeding Plumer. However, in the final battles of the war,
he was passed over by his superiors and did not take an
active role in the final offensive that ended the conflict
in November 1918.
Following the war, Birdwood went to Australia
with the men he commanded and was widely acclaimed;
he was made a baronet in 1919. In 1920 he was named
commander of the northern army of India, where he
served until 1924, after which he was promoted to the
rank of field marshal and placed in command of all
forces in India. He retired from the army in 1930.
In 1931, when John Lawrence Baird, first baron
of Stonehaven, retired as governor-general of Austra-
lia (at that time a part of the British Commonwealth),
Birdwood hoped to succeed him. However, Australian
prime minister James Henry Scullin wanted an Austra-
lian for the post, and Sir Isaac Alfred Isaacs was named
instead. Birdwood returned to England, where he was
made Baron Birdwood of Anzac and Totnes in 1938.
He wrote two books of memoirs: Khaki and Gown: An
Autobiography (1941) and In My Time (1946). He died
in Cambridge on 17 May 1951.References: Birdwood, Field Marshal Lord Birdwood
of Anzac and Totnes, In My Time: Recollections and An-
ecdotes (London: Skeffington & Son, Ltd., 1946); Hud-
son, Derek, “Birdwood, William Riddell, first Baron
Birdwood,” in The Dictionary of National Biography, 22
vols., 8 supps., edited by Sir Leslie Stephen and Sir Sidney
Lee, et al. (London: Oxford University Press, 1951–60),
II:112–114; Bruce, George, “Gallipoli,” in Collins Dic-biRDwooD, SiR williAm RiDDell, bARon biRDwooD oF AnzAc AnD totneS