Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Turkey, is a transcontinental country in Eurasia, mainly in Anatolia in Western Asia, with a smaller portion on the Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. Turkey is a democratic, unitary, parliamentary republic with a cultural heritage. The country is encircled by seas on three sides, the Aegean Sea is to the west, the Black Sea to the north, and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. The Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles, Ankara is the capital while Istanbul is the countrys largest city and main cultural and commercial centre. Approximately 70-80% of the countrys citizens identify themselves as ethnic Turks, other ethnic groups include legally recognised and unrecognised minorities. Kurds are the largest ethnic minority group, making up approximately 20% of the population, the area of Turkey has been inhabited since the Paleolithic by various ancient Anatolian civilisations, as well as Assyrians, Thracians, Phrygians and Armenians. After Alexander the Greats conquest, the area was Hellenized, a process continued under the Roman Empire.
The Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm ruled Anatolia until the Mongol invasion in 1243, the empire reached the peak of its power in the 16th century, especially during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent. During the war, the Ottoman government committed genocides against its Armenian, following the war, the conglomeration of territories and peoples that formerly comprised the Ottoman Empire was partitioned into several new states. Turkey is a member of the UN, an early member of NATO. Turkeys growing economy and diplomatic initiatives have led to its recognition as a regional power while her location has given it geopolitical, the name of Turkey is based on the ethnonym Türk. The first recorded use of the term Türk or Türük as an autonym is contained in the Old Turkic inscriptions of the Göktürks of Central Asia, the English name Turkey first appeared in the late 14th century and is derived from Medieval Latin Turchia. Similarly, the medieval Khazar Empire, a Turkic state on the shores of the Black.
The medieval Arabs referred to the Mamluk Sultanate as al-Dawla al-Turkiyya, the Ottoman Empire was sometimes referred to as Turkey or the Turkish Empire among its European contemporaries. The Anatolian peninsula, comprising most of modern Turkey, is one of the oldest permanently settled regions in the world, various ancient Anatolian populations have lived in Anatolia, from at least the Neolithic period until the Hellenistic period. Many of these peoples spoke the Anatolian languages, a branch of the larger Indo-European language family, in fact, given the antiquity of the Indo-European Hittite and Luwian languages, some scholars have proposed Anatolia as the hypothetical centre from which the Indo-European languages radiated. The European part of Turkey, called Eastern Thrace, has been inhabited since at least forty years ago. It is the largest and best-preserved Neolithic site found to date, the settlement of Troy started in the Neolithic Age and continued into the Iron Age
Palermo
Palermo is a city of Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence, Palermo is located in the northwest of the island of Sicily, right by the Gulf of Palermo in the Tyrrhenian Sea. The city was founded in 734 BC by the Phoenicians as Ziz, Palermo became a possession of Carthage, before becoming part of the Roman Republic, the Roman Empire and eventually part of the Byzantine Empire, for over a thousand years. The Greeks named the city Panormus meaning complete port, from 831 to 1072 the city was under Arab rule during the Emirate of Sicily when the city first became a capital. The Arabs shifted the Greek name into Balarme, the root for Palermos present-day name, eventually Sicily would be united with the Kingdom of Naples to form the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies until the Italian unification of 1860. The population of Palermo urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 855,285, in the central area, the city has a population of around 676,000 people.
The inhabitants are known as Palermitani or, panormiti, the languages spoken by its inhabitants are the Italian language, Sicilian language and the Palermitano dialect. Palermo is Sicilys cultural and touristic capital and it is a city rich in history, art and food. Palermo is the main Sicilian industrial and commercial center, the industrial sectors include tourism, commerce. Palermo currently has an airport, and a significant underground economy. In fact, for cultural and economic reasons, Palermo was one of the largest cities in the Mediterranean and is now among the top tourist destinations in both Italy and Europe. It is the seat of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Arab-Norman Palermo. The city is going through careful redevelopment, preparing to become one of the major cities of the Euro-Mediterranean area. Roman Catholicism is highly important in Palermitano culture, the Patron Saint of Palermo is Santa Rosalia whose Feast Day is celebrated on 15 July. The area attracts significant numbers of each year and is widely known for its colourful fruit and fish markets at the heart of Palermo, known as Vucciria, Ballarò.
Palermo lies in a basin, formed by the Papireto, the basin was named the Conca dOro by the Arabs in the 9th century. The city is surrounded by a range which is named after the city itself. These mountains face the Tyrrhenian Sea, Palermo is home to a natural port and offers excellent views to the sea, especially from Monte Pellegrino
Aerodrome
An aerodrome or airdrome is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither. Aerodromes include small general aviation airfields, large airports. The term airport may imply a certain stature that an aerodrome may not have achieved and that is to say, all airports are aerodromes, but not all aerodromes are airports. Usage of the term aerodrome remains more common in the UK and Commonwealth nations, a water aerodrome is an area of open water used regularly by seaplanes or amphibious aircraft for landing and taking off. The word aerodrome derives from Ancient Greek ἀήρ, and δρόμος, road or course, an ancient linguistic parallel is hippodrome, derived from ἵππος, and δρόμος, course. In Canada and Australia, aerodrome is a term of art for any area of land or water used for aircraft operation. International Civil Aviation Organization documents use the aerodrome, for example, in the Annex to the ICAO Convention about aerodromes, their physical characteristics.
However, the airfield or airport mostly superseded use of aerodrome after World War II. The city of the first aerodrome in the world is a French commune named Viry-Chatillon, the unimproved airfield remains a phenomenon in military aspects. The DHC-4 Caribou served in the U. S. military in Vietnam, landing on rough, the Ju-52 and Fieseler Storch could do the same, one example of the latter taking off from the Führerbunker whilst completely surrounded by Russian troops. An airport is an aerodrome certificated for commercial flights, an air base is an aerodrome with significant facilities to support aircraft and crew. The term is reserved for military bases, but applies to civil seaplane bases. An airstrip is an aerodrome that consists only of a runway with perhaps fueling equipment. They are generally in remote locations, many airstrips were built on the hundreds of islands in the Pacific Ocean during World War II. A few airstrips grew to become full-fledged airbases as strategic or economic importance of a region increased over time.
An Advanced Landing Ground was an airstrip used by the Allies in the run-up to and during the invasion of Normandy. A water aerodrome is an area of water used regularly by seaplanes or amphibious aircraft for landing and taking off. It may have a building on land and/or a place where the plane can come to shore
Nieuport
Nieuport, Nieuport-Delage, was a French aeroplane company that primarily built racing aircraft before World War I and fighter aircraft during World War I and between the wars. During this time, their first aircraft were built, starting with a small single-seat monoplane, Nieuport had trouble obtaining suitable engines for their early designs and resorted to making their own. In 1910 a twin-cylinder horizontally-opposed type producing 28 hp was fitted to the Nieuport II, in 1911, the company was reformed specifically to build aircraft under the name Nieuport et Deplante. In 1911, Edouard Nieuport died after being thrown from his aircraft, and the company was taken over by Henri Deutsch de la Meurthe, Schneider left Nieuport in late 1913. With Schneiders departure, Gustave Delage took over as chief designer in January 1914 and he began work on a sesquiplane racer - a biplane whose lower wing was much narrower in chord than its top wing and relied on a single wing spar instead of the usual two.
The performance of the Nieuport 10, and the more powerful Nieuport 12, Nieuport developed an improved design specifically intended as a fighter - the Nieuport 11, which was regarded as the baby of the 10, which it closely resembled, except in size. As horsepower increased, the V-strut Nieuports began to suffer from the limitations of the sesquiplane wing form, and required careful piloting to avoid the risk of wing failures. Even while still in service, Nieuports of all types were being used at French and American flight training facilities. Some pilots, notably Albert Ball and Charles Nungesser preferred the Nieuport due to its sensitive controls, Pilots Eddie Rickenbacker and Billy Bishop flew Nieuport aircraft to some of their first victories, with Bishop achieving his when the Nieuport 23 he flew was already obsolescent. Due to a shortage of SPAD S. XIIIs, the first fighter squadrons of the United States Army Air Service, used the Nieuport 28 on operations. While only in service with the USAAS for a short time.
Nieuports were widely used by the Allied air arms, and various models were built under licence in Italy and Russia, in Italy, the modern firm of Aermacchi was originally formed as Nieuport-Macchi for the purpose of building various Nieuports under licence. They started with the Nieuport IV, but built the Nieuport 10,11,17, in Russia several companies, notably Dux, built Nieuports of several types including the IV,10,11,16,17,21,23 and 24bis. In Scotland, the William Beardmore and Company built the Nieuport 12 under licence, by the end of 1918, Nieuport had two new fighter types flying, the Nieuport 29 biplane and the Nieuport 31 monoplane both of which had evolved in parallel from the Nieuport 28. They differed from earlier Nieuports in having streamlined wooden monocoque fuselages, a 300 hp Hispano-Suiza engine, and dispensed with the vee-strut sesquiplane wing used previously. Specially modified Nieuport 29 and 31 aircraft set speed and height records, at this time, Tellier was absorbed, and for a brief time the name Nieuport-Tellier was used.
This design first saw light as a racer, as single-seat and two-seat fighters for the French Air Force though none of these would see service. The French bought large numbers of the 62 series which was derived from the NiD.42 to equip the bulk of the French fighter units until replaced by newer designs in the late 30s
Infantry
Infantry is the general branch of an army that engages in military combat on foot. As the troops who engage with the enemy in close-ranged combat, infantry units bear the largest brunt of warfare, Infantry can enter and maneuver in terrain that is inaccessible to military vehicles and employ crew-served infantry weapons that provide greater and more sustained firepower. In English, the 16th-century term Infantry describes soldiers who walk to the battlefield, and there engage, the term arose in Sixteenth-Century Spain, which boasted one of the first professional standing armies seen in Europe since the days of Rome. It was common to appoint royal princes to military commands, and the men under them became known as Infanteria. in the Canadian Army, the role of the infantry is to close with, and destroy the enemy. In the U. S. Army, the closes with the enemy, by means of fire and maneuver, in order to destroy or capture him, or to repel his assault by fire, close combat. In the U. S. Marine Corps, the role of the infantry is to locate, close with, and destroy the enemy fire and maneuver.
Beginning with the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century, artillery has become a dominant force on the battlefield. Since World War I, combat aircraft and armoured vehicles have become dominant. In 20th and 21st century warfare, infantry functions most effectively as part of a combined arms team including artillery, Infantry relies on organized formations to be employed in battle. These have evolved over time, but remain a key element to effective infantry development and deployment, until the end of the 19th century, infantry units were for the most part employed in close formations up until contact with the enemy. This allowed commanders to control of the unit, especially while maneuvering. The development of guns and other weapons with increased firepower forced infantry units to disperse in order to make them less vulnerable to such weapons. This decentralization of command was made possible by improved communications equipment, among the various subtypes of infantry is Medium infantry.
This refers to infantry which are heavily armed and armored than heavy infantry. In the early period, medium infantry were largely eliminated due to discontinued use of body armour up until the 20th century. In the United States Army, Stryker Infantry is considered Medium Infantry, since they are heavier than light infantry, Infantry doctrine is the concise expression of how infantry forces contribute to campaigns, major operations and engagements. It is a guide to action, not a set of hard, doctrine provides a very common frame of reference across the military forces, allowing the infantry to function cooperatively in what are now called combined arms operations. Doctrine helps standardise operations, facilitating readiness by establishing common ways of accomplishing infantry tasks, doctrine links theory, history and practice
Reconnaissance
In military operations, reconnaissance is the exploration outside an area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about natural features and enemy presence. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops, ships or submarines, manned/unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, espionage normally is not reconnaissance, because reconnaissance is a militarys special forces operating ahead of its main forces, spies are non-combatants operating behind enemy lines. Often called recce or recon, the verb is reconnaître. Traditionally, reconnaissance was a role that was adopted by the cavalry, speed was key in these maneuvers, thus infantry was ill suited to the task. From horses to vehicles, for warriors throughout history, commanders procured their ability to have speed and mobility, to mount and dismount, skirmishing is a traditional skill of reconnaissance, as well as harassment of the enemy. Reconnaissance conducted by ground forces includes special reconnaissance, armored reconnaissance, amphibious reconnaissance, aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance carried out by aircraft.
The purpose is to weather conditions, map terrain, and may include military purposes such as observing tangible structures, particular areas. Naval forces use aerial and satellite reconnaissance to observe enemy forces, navies undertake hydrographic surveys and intelligence gathering. Reconnaissance satellites provide military commanders with photographs of enemy forces and other intelligence, military forces use geographical and meteorological information from Earth observation satellites. A tracker needs to pay attention to both the environment and the psychology of his enemy. Knowledge of human psychology and cultural backgrounds is necessary to know the actions of the enemy and this is almost as necessary as to know the physical character of the country, its climate and products. Certain people will do certain things almost without fail, certain other things, perfectly feasible, they will not do. There is no danger of knowing too much of the habits of an enemy. One should neither underestimate the enemy nor credit him with superhuman powers and courage are latent in every human being, though roused into activity by very diverse means.
Types of reconnaissance, Terrain-oriented reconnaissance is a survey of the terrain, force-oriented reconnaissance focuses on the enemy forces and may include target acquisition. Civil-oriented reconnaissance focuses on the dimension of the battlespace. The techniques and objectives are not mutually exclusive, it is up to the commander whether they are carried out separately or by the same unit, some military elements tasked with reconnaissance are armed only for self-defense, and rely on stealth to gather information. Others are well-enough armed to deny information to the enemy by destroying their reconnaissance elements, reconnaissance-in-force is a type of military operation or military tactics used specifically to probe an enemys disposition
No. 13 Squadron RAF
No.13 or XIII Squadron is a squadron of the Royal Air Force formed on 10 January 1915 and most recently disbanded on 13 May 2011. It reformed on 26 October 2012 flying the MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle from RAF Waddington. Aircraft operated by the squadron included the Martinsyde G.100, the Royal Aircraft Factory F. E.2, the SPAD VII and SPAD XIII, from 1990 it operated the Panavia Tornado, initially the GR1A at RAF Honington and the GR4/4A at RAF Marham. XIII Squadron formed at RAF Gosport on 10 January 1915 and moved to France on 19 October 1915, initially on Army co-operation duties and subsequently on bombing raids, pioneering formation bombing. Aircraft types operated during the war included the Martinsyde G.100, the Royal Aircraft Factory F. E.2, the squadron disbanded on 31 December 1919. By January 1939 the squadron was equipped with Lysanders and moved to France on 2 October until late May 1940 when it withdrew to UK bases. XIII Squadron changed role and theatre, flying a variety of aircraft including the Bristol Blenheim.
Peace heralded the return to duties, originally with Mosquito Meteors and Canberras, operating from Egypt, Cyprus. During the 1956 Suez Crisis, the squadron flew reconnaissance flights over Syria from Cyprus, the squadron reformed at RAF Honington on 1 January 1990 equipped with reconnaissance Tornado GR. 1A aircraft. The complete system is carried and allows the Navigator to either view the imagery in real time or in the mission, as a result, on 15/16 January 1991, immediately before hostilities commenced,6 aircraft were deployed to Saudi Arabia. During the first nights of the War, the Reconnaissance Wing successfully discovered several of the elusive Scud sites, the majority of sorties were however, tasked into Central and Eastern Iraq to identify the disposition of the various Iraqi ground forces in preparation for the ground offensive. By the end of the War, some 128 reconnaissance sorties had flown by the detachment. However, this was not XIII Sqns only contribution to the coalition victory, in December 1990, the GEC-Ferranti TIALD pod existed in prototype form when it was decided to accelerate the development for possible use in the Gulf.
4 XIII Sqn crews began the work-up from mid-January and, after encouraging results, by the end of the War,72 successful TIALD missions had been flown. On 1 February 1994, No XIII Sqn moved to RAF Marham, since that time, the Sqn has taken part in a number of successful exercises around the world from Yuma in America to Penang, Malaysia. XIII Sqn crews joined the Ali Al Salem Combat Air Wing in early 2003, the squadron flew the last sortie by a Tornado in support of Operation Telic in 2009. A few weeks later, on 13 May 2011, the squadron was disbanded as part of the reductions announced in the Strategic Defence, XIII Squadron was reformed on 26 October 2012 at RAF Waddington. Subsequently, the Squadron flew the first remote operational mission from UK soil towards the end of April 2013, list of RAF squadrons Halley, J. J
Lille
Lille is a city in northern France, in French Flanders. On the Deûle River, near Frances border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, archeological digs seem to show the area as inhabited by as early as 2000 BC, most notably in the modern-day quartiers of Fives and Vieux Lille. The legend of Lydéric and Phinaert puts the foundation of the city of Lille at 640, in the 8th century, the language of Old Low Franconian was spoken here, as attested by toponymic research. Lilles Dutch name is Rijsel, which comes from ter ijsel, the French equivalent has the same meaning, Lille comes from lîle. From 830 until around 910, the Vikings invaded Flanders, after the destruction caused by Norman and Magyar invasion, the eastern part of the region was ruled by various local princes. The first mention of the dates from 1066, apud Insulam. At the time, it was controlled by the County of Flanders, the County of Flanders thus extended to the left bank of the Scheldt, one of the richest and most prosperous regions of Europe.
A notable local in this period was Évrard, who lived in the 9th century and participated in many of the days political, there was an important Battle of Lille in 1054. From the 12th century, the fame of the Lille cloth fair began to grow, in 1144 Saint-Sauveur parish was formed, which would give its name to the modern-day quartier Saint-Sauveur. Infante Ferdinand, Count of Flanders was imprisoned and the county fell into dispute, it would be his wife, Countess of Flanders and Constantinople and she was said to be well loved by the residents of Lille, who by that time numbered 10,000. He pushed the kingdoms of Flanders and Hainaut towards sedition against Jeanne in order to recover his land and she called her cousin, Louis VIII. He unmasked the imposter, whom Countess Jeanne quickly had hanged, in 1226 the King agreed to free Infante Ferdinand, Count of Flanders. Count Ferrand died in 1233, and his daughter Marie soon after, in 1235, Jeanne granted a city charter by which city governors would be chosen each All Saints Day by four commissioners chosen by the ruler.
On 6 February 1236, she founded the Countesss Hospital, which one of the most beautiful buildings in Old Lille. It was in her honour that the hospital of the Regional Medical University of Lille was named Jeanne of Flanders Hospital in the 20th century, the Countess died in 1244 in the Abbey of Marquette, leaving no heirs. The rule of Flanders and Hainaut thus fell to her sister, Margaret II, Countess of Flanders, to Margarets son, Lille fell under the rule of France from 1304 to 1369, after the Franco-Flemish War. The county of Flanders fell to the Duchy of Burgundy next, after the 1369 marriage of Margaret III, Countess of Flanders, Lille thus became one of the three capitals of said Duchy, along with Brussels and Dijon. By 1445, Lille counted some 25,000 residents, Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, was even more powerful than the King of France, and made Lille an administrative and financial capital
German Army (German Empire)
The Imperial German Army was the name given to the combined land and air forces of the German Empire. The term Deutsches Heer is used for the modern German Army, the German Army was formed after the unification of Germany under Prussian leadership in 1871 and dissolved in 1919, after the defeat of the German Empire in World War I. When operating together, the units were known as the Federal Army, Prussia formed the North German Confederation and the treaty provided for the maintenance of a Federal Army and a Federal Navy. Further laws on military duty used these terms, through these conventions and the 1871 Constitution of the German Empire, an Army of the Realm was created. The contingents of the Bavarian, Saxon and Württemberg kingdoms remained semi-autonomous, the Constitution of the German Empire, dated April 16,1871, changed references in the North German Constitution from Federal Army to either Army of the Realm or German Army. After 1871, the armies of the four kingdoms remained relatively distinct.
German Army was used in legal documents, such as the Military Penal Code. Württemberg and Saxon units were numbered according to the Prussian system, the commander of the Imperial German Army, less the Bavarian contingent, was the Kaiser. He was assisted by a Military Cabinet and exercised control through the Prussian Ministry of War, the Chief of the General Staff became the Kaisers main military advisor and the most powerful military figure in the Empire. Bavaria kept its own Ministry of War and General Staff, saxony maintained its own Ministry of War and the Ministry of War of Württemberg continued to exist. Command of the Prussian Army had been reformed in the wake of the defeats suffered by Prussia in the Napoleonic Wars, the General Staff system, that sought to institutionalize military excellence, was the main result. It provided planning and organizational work during peacetime and wartime, the Prussian General Staff, proven in battle in the Wars of Unification, became the German General Staff upon formation of the German Empire, given Prussias leading role in the German Army.
During wartime, the staff of the Army inspectorates formed field army commands, during World War I, a higher command level, the army group, was created. Each army group controlled several field armies, Germany was divided into army inspectorates, each of which oversaw three or four corps. There were five in 1871, with three more added between 1907 and 1913, the corps consisted of two or more divisions and various support troops, covering a geographical area. The corps was responsible for maintaining the reserves and Landwehr in the corps area. By 1914, there were 21 corps areas under Prussian jurisdiction, besides the regional corps, there was a Guard Corps, which controlled the elite Prussian Guard units. A corps usually included an infantry battalion, a heavy artillery battalion, an engineer battalion, a telegraph battalion
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and in the German Empire and Nazi Germany. It was established by King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia in March 1813 backdated to the birthday of his late wife Queen Louise on 10 March 1813 during the Napoleonic Wars, Louise was the first person to receive this decoration. The recommissioned Iron Cross was awarded during the Franco-Prussian War, World War I, the Iron Cross was normally a military decoration only, though there were instances of it being awarded to civilians for performing military functions. The design of the symbol was black with a white or silver outline. It was ultimately derived from the cross pattée occasionally used by the Teutonic Order from the 13th century, the black cross patty was used as the symbol of the German Army from 1871 to March/April 1918, when it was replaced by the Balkenkreuz. In 1956, it was re-introduced as the symbol of the Bundeswehr, the Black Cross is the emblem used by the Prussian Army, and by the army of Germany from 1871 to present.
It was designed on the occasion of the German Campaign of 1813, from this time, the Black Cross featured on the Prussian war flag alongside the Black Eagle. The design is due to neoclassical architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel, based on a sketch by Frederick William, the design is ultimately derivative of the black cross used by the Teutonic Order. This heraldic cross took various forms throughout the history, including a simple Latin cross. When the Quadriga of the Goddess of Peace was retrieved from Paris at Napoleons fall, an Iron Cross was inserted into her laurel wreath, making her into a Goddess of Victory. The Black Cross was used on the naval and war flags of the German Empire, the Black Cross was used as the symbol of the German Army until 1915, when it was replaced by a simpler Balkenkreuz. The Reichswehr of the Weimar Republic, the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany, the traditional design in black is used on armored vehicles and aircraft, while after German reunification, a new design in blue and silver was introduced for use in other contexts.
The ribbon for the 1813,1870 and 1914 Iron Cross was black with two white bands, the colors of Prussia. The non-combatant version of this award had the same medal, but the black, the ribbon color for the 1939 EKII was black/white/red/white/black. Since the Iron Cross was issued several different periods of German history. For example, an Iron Cross from World War I bears the year 1914, the reverse of the 1870,1914 and 1939 series of Iron Crosses have the year 1813 appearing on the lower arm, symbolizing the year the award was created. The 1813 decoration has the initials FW for King Frederick William III, the final version shows a swastika. There was the 1957 issue, a replacement medal for holders of the 1939 series which substituted an oak-leaf cluster for the banned swastika
Otto Liman von Sanders
Otto Viktor Karl Liman von Sanders was a German general who served as an adviser and military commander to the Ottoman Empire during the First World War. In 1918 he commanded an Ottoman army during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign, Liman von Sanders was born in Stolp in the Pomerania province of the Kingdom of Prussia. He joined the military in 1874 and rose to the rank of General of Cavalry, in 1913, like several other Prussian generals before him, he was appointed to head a German military mission to the Ottoman Empire. For nearly eighty years, the Ottomans had been trying to modernize their army along European lines, Liman von Sanders would be the last German to attempt this task. Britain and France declared war on it on 5 November, the first proposal to attack the Ottoman Empire was made in November 1914 by the French Minister of Justice Aristide Briand and was rejected. Later that month Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty, proposed an attack on the Dardanelles. An initial attempt to force the Dardanelles by sea failed on 18 March 1915, the Allies turned to planning amphibious operations to capture the forts and clear the strait, which led to the Battle of Gallipoli.
Liman had little time to organize the defences, but he had two things in his favor, the Ottoman 5th Army in the Gallipoli peninsula was the best army they had, some 84,000 well-equipped soldiers in six divisions. Second, he was helped by poor Allied leadership, on 23 April 1915, the British landed a major force at Cape Helles. He was convinced that Allied landings would take place at Saros Bay and did not believe for a time the landings at Arıburnu was the main assault. He did not release the main troops in the critical first day of the landings, One of Limans best decisions during this time was to promote Mustafa Kemal to command the 19th division. Kemals division was crucial to the Ottomans defense and his troops marched up on the day of the landings and occupied the ridge line above the ANZAC landing site, just as the ANZAC troops were moving up the slope themselves. Kemal recognized the danger and personally made sure his troops held the ridge line and they were never forced off despite constant attacks for the next five months.
From April to November 1915, Liman had to fight off numerous attacks against his defensive positions, the British tried another landing at Suvla Bay, but this was halted by the Ottoman defenders. The only bright spot for the British in this operation was that they managed to evacuate their positions without much loss. However, this battle was a victory for the Ottoman army. Early in 1915, the head of the German military mission to the Ottoman Empire, Baron von der Goltz, arrived in Istanbul as military advisor to the Sultan. The old Baron did not get along with Liman von Sanders, the Baron proposed some major offensives against the British, but these proposals came to nothing in the face of Allied offensives against the Ottomans on three fronts
