Remembering the Naval Battles around ANZAC Day

ANZAC Day, commemorated each year on 25 April, is Australia’s national day of remembrance. It honours the service and sacrifice of Australian and New Zealand forces, and all Australians who have served in wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations.

 

On 25 April 1915, Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) troops landed at ANZAC Cove on the Gallipoli Peninsula. Alongside other Commonwealth forces, they faced a determined Ottoman defence in unforgiving terrain. For the next eight months, the ANZACs endured extraordinary hardship under conditions that tested human endurance, courage, and mateship. Among the many tragic dimensions of the Gallipoli campaign is a lesser‑known but crucial link between the ANZAC landing and naval mine warfare—a factor that decisively shaped the course of events.

 

The Dardanelles Plan

The Gallipoli campaign began as a naval strategy. The Allied concept was for the Royal Navy to force a passage through the Dardanelles Strait, attack Constantinople, and remove the Ottoman Empire from World War I. Success was expected to shorten the war and relieve pressure on Allied forces elsewhere.

The naval force assembled for this task was formidable:

• 8 Dreadnought battleships
• 3 cruisers
• 15 destroyers
• 4 submarines, supported by auxiliary vessels including mine‑sweepers

Leading the fleet was HMS Queen Elizabeth, at the time the most powerful battleship in the world.

 

The Turkish Defence: Mines and Guns

Defending the narrow straits, Ottoman forces laid ten rows of naval mines across key channels of the Dardanelles. These minefields were covered by fixed and mobile coastal artillery batteries, carefully concealed along the shore and heights of the peninsula.

Individually, neither mines nor shore guns were decisive. Together, they became a devastating force multiplier, exploiting the confined waters and limiting Allied freedom of manoeuvre.

 

18 March 1915: The Naval Defeat

At 1100 hours on 18 March 1915, the Anglo‑French fleet commenced its assault. Within hours, the operation began to unravel.

• At 1345, the French battleship Bouvet struck a mine and sank in just three minutes, taking over 600 sailors with her.
• At 1611, HMS Inflexible was badly damaged by a mine and narrowly escaped destruction, beaching itself on Tenedos.
• Minutes later, HMS Irresistible was mined and lost.
• By 1900, HMS Ocean also struck a mine and sank.

In a single afternoon, naval supremacy had been undone not by enemy battleships, but by well‑placed mines and coordinated coastal fire.

 

A Fateful Decision

Following the losses, senior commanders met aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth. Their conclusion was stark:

“…the battleships could not force the straits until the minefields had been cleared… the minefields could not be cleared until the guns defending them were destroyed… and the guns could not be destroyed until the Gallipoli Peninsula was in our hands.”

The naval campaign was abandoned. The task would pass to the army.

 

The Land Campaign

The resulting landings at Gallipoli drew the ANZACs into what has been described as one of the most gruelling and costly campaigns of the First World War. The Allies suffered enormous casualties for minimal strategic gain. By January 1916, the campaign ended in evacuation.

 

Enduring Lessons

Gallipoli remains a powerful reminder that simple weapons, employed intelligently, can shape history. Minefields alone rarely replace mobile forces, but when integrated with other capabilities, they can decisively influence outcomes across the maritime, land, and air domains.

On ANZAC Day 2026, we remember not only the courage and sacrifice of those who served at Gallipoli, but also the enduring lessons of warfare, leadership, and resilience—lessons written at great human cost.

 

Lest We Forget

 

 

 

 

 

Soldier at Dawn (Photo credit: Supplied).