The Battles at Krithia (Apr 28, May 6-8, Jun 4, 1915)
24 players start
The French and British were to land in unison on the beaches at the southernmost tip of Gallipoli. The French were to hold a front, while the British performed a pinwheel rotation around the front, sweeping up victory.
Round 1: April 25
Three beaches were taken by the British. On two beaches, heavy casualties were suffered. However, a third beach was abandoned (and the next 2 objectives). Unfortunately, the soldiers had no orders to advance or to fortify, so they just evacuated the beach. The British have a very distinct method of what to do with no orders given. It is the phrase: "if it moves, salute it, if it doesn't move, paint it white". The Russians have a much more useful variation which translates to: "dig a trench from here to evening". Trench digging is generally more useful than painting things white when on contested territory.
Some similar looking territory is found in San Marino.
5 games, 4 player Terminator, San Marino, Trench, Flat Rate, Adjacent, Fog
Round 2: April 28
Operation Pinwheel (not the real name) was doomed to failure. For one thing, the terrain isn't an even chessboard. Some troops had to scale ravines and mountains, while others faced heavy resistance. Instead of one smooth, advancing arm, the British army became isolated pockets of troops outflanked completely. This is not a recipe for success.
5 games, 8 player Terminator, 4 Star Meats, Escalating, No Reinforcement, Fog
Round 3: May 1-5
The ground-artillery was almost out of ammunition. The navy still had some, but were hoarding it for the next attack on Constantinople. Little did they know that victory was going to be measured in yards, rather than cities. Aerial reconnaissance had not yet figured out the fortifications of the Ottomans. What bombardment did happen was mostly wasted (unless you think blasting rocks into smaller rocks is a worthwhile exercise).
5 games, 8 player Terminator, Feudal Epic, Escalating, Chained, Fog
18 players continue
Round 4: May 6-8
The new plan of the Allied forces may seem similar to the last plan. Everyone is to advance one mile. The french are then to hold a front, while the British begin yet another pinwheel. The advancement of the mile is what proved to be difficult. After the first day, some troops had almost advanced 400 yards. During the dark, they slept and the entire process was repeated twice more. The furthest advance was never more than 600 yards, and still nobody knew where the Ottoman trenches were. One third of allied combatants died in this battle.
5 games, 2 Players, Trench Warfare, Trench, Nuclear, Adjacent, Fog
15 players continue
Round 5: Late May
Hunter-Weston, the brilliant designer of operation pinwheel and the broad daylight advance into entrenched forces, went from Major General to Lieutenant General, presumably for something unrelated to these battles. The tide seemed to be turning for the British. They were advancing their trenches by night-time stealth missions, and more troops were arriving daily. However, the Ottomans were also advancing their trench system.
5 games, 5 Player Terminator, WWI Ottoman Empire, Flat Rate, Parachute, Sunny
12 players continue
Round 6: June 4
The Third Battle had more realistic plans. Instead of taking the regional centre, they were hoping to advance to the Turkish trenches, take them, and then establish new trenches 500 yards further. Only one of the fronts managed to reach the opponents trench, but had to retreat after a Turk counterattack. In the end, the trench and front had advanced 200 yards. This is classed as a major British victory.
5 games, 6 Player Terminator, Gallipoli, No Spoils, Chained, Fog
Some notes about technology: most of the British were still using pith helmets at this point, the Brodie not really coming into circulation yet. Some armored car advances were attempted in the third offensive, but in general everyone had to walk at the enemy machine guns. Lord Kitchener replied to the news of the casualties by promising to send more troops.
-- DY
http://www.firstworldwar.com/battles/krithia1.htm
http://www.firstworldwar.com/battles/krithia2.htm
http://www.firstworldwar.com/battles/krithia3.htm