Anzac Day 2011

Anthems
are sung – New Zealand gets three verses one in Maori and two in English
to Australia’s single chorus. Hymns are sung with embarrassed and tremulous
Australian accents. The service, my first for about 60 years, is lead without
apparent irony by a Vietnamese minister; there is a moving address in a Scottish
accent, bugles call, three volleys ring out, and three small clouds of smoke
rise and dissipate into the early morning sun. A long and inclusive list of
wreathe layers; politicians both federal and state, mayors, councillors, rotary
clubs, schools both public and private, schools junior and secondary, even an
amateur theatre group.
‘Lest We Forget’
Gallipoli, a tragic and unnecessary campaign, forged the Anzac legend. But it
is often forgotten how we came to have Turkey as an enemy in the first place
and how the actions of a few led to the deaths of many. It took one man and
two ships.
In the early morning of August 4th 1914 Admiral Souchon received a wireless
message from the German Admiralty which read : ‘Alliance with Turkey concluded
August 3. Proceed at once to Constantinople’. Although soon retracted
the Admiral with his two new fast ships, the battlecruiser Goeben and the light
cruiser Breslau decided anyway to proceed as initially directed to Constantinople.

When the war started Turkey had many enemies and no allies. For a hundred years
the Ottoman Empire has been considered only as the ‘Sick Man of Europe’
whose demise would be the signal for dismemberment by the great powers anxious
to access the great possessions still held by the fading power.
Crucially the Turkey controlled Russia’s strategic access through the
Black Sea to the Mediterranean, without which Russia, as the third member of
the Entente Cordiale with England and France, would be starved of both food
and munitions. The Dardanelles eighty kilometres long and nowhere more than
five kilometres wide was Russia’s only year round sea access to the rest
of the world.
The Young Turks had overthrown the Sultan ‘Abdul the Damned’ in
1908 and the country was being rejuvenated under Enver Bey and Talaat Bey but
the British, French and Russians took no joy in their success preferring a weak
and feeble state .
Britain had been Turkey’s traditional protector but had now tired of supporting
what Winston Churchill had called ‘scandalous, crumbling, decrepit, penniless’
country. Churchill had disdainfully turned down a request by Turkey for a permanent
Alliance in 1911 not considering that a neutral or friendly Turkey would be
of any value.
Germany with dreams of a Berlin to Baghdad axis decided to become Turkey’s
patron. Whilst there were divisions of opinion within the government the Young
Turks they knew that Turkey had no chance of surviving as a neutral force in
a war between the great powers. The choice was invidious. If the Entente powers
won Turkeys Empire and possessions would crumble. If Germany won the country
would become a German slave state.
In July 1914 German desperately sought an alliance with Turkey ready to agree
to any terms to secure their consent. Whilst Turkey haggled with the Germans
over terms the English gave a helpful push by ‘requisitioning’,
without mention of compensation, two Turkish battleships being built under contract
in British shipyards. The ships had cost Turkey an immense sum all which had
been raised by popular subscription from humble Anatolian peasants upwards.

The British Governments telegram, expressing regret at Turkey’s financial
loss from their seizing the ships was sent on August 3rd. On that very same
day Turkey signed an Alliance with Germany.
However Turkey did not declare war on Russia as she was pledged to do nor take
any action compromising an apparent strict neutrality as she was anxious to
see which way the war might go.
The British and French Admiralties had their eyes on the Goeben and Bresla,
the only German navy vessels in the Mediterranean, and a threat to the French
need to move the 80,000 men of the XIX Army Corps back to France from North
Africa. The French had the largest Mediterranean fleet sixteen battleships,
six cruisers and twenty four destroyers. The British Mediterranean fleet, based
in Malta, was headed by three battle cruisers, Inflexible, Indomitable and Indefatigable,
each of 18,000 tons, with an armament of eight 12-inch guns and a speed of 27-28
knots. They were designed to annihilate anything that floated except a battleship
of the Dreadnought class. The British also had four modern light cruisers and
a flotilla of sixteen destroyers
The Goeben was a battle cruiser of 23,000 tons as large as a battleship with
a design speed equal to the British battle cruisers. She was captained by Admiral
Souchon, who was described by an American diplomat in Constantinople as “a
droop-jawed, determined little man in an ill-fitting frock coat, looking more
like a parson than an Admiral.’. However after two years duty of constant
steaming without dry docking had taken her toll. Her bottom was fouled and she
had leaking boilers reducing her speed.
Nevertheless, through a startling combination of appalling timidity, poor communication
and bad judgement, the British completely lost the German ships, even though
they had them in sight more than once and had engaged them. Admiral Troubridge,
at whose feet the blames was sheeted, was not exactly popular. The First Sea
Lord, Lord Prince Louis of Battenberg wrote ”….the escape of the
Goeben must forever remain a shameful episode of this war. The flag office….
responsible…. cannot be trusted with any further command afloat and his
continuance in such a command constitutes a danger to the state.”
Though not convicted a court martial Troubridge never again served at sea.
On the afternoon of August 10th Souchon and his ships, having completely eluded
their pursuers, anchored under the guns of the fortress of Chanak at the heavily
mined entrance to the Dardanelles. With his ships at action stations Souchon
signalled to ‘Send a Pilot’.
Enver Pasha, who as War Minister had control over the minefields, had Lieutenant
Colonel von Kress, a member of the German Military Mission with him. After a
silence of several minutes he said, ”They are to be allowed to enter.”
Kress then asked if English warships followed them in were they to be fired
on. A long pause followed and finally Enver answered, “Yes.”
Perhaps even at this stage all was not lost until the Germans in stroke of some
poetic justice signed both boats over to the Turkish navy. The Goeben and Bresla
became the Jawus and Midilli , flew the Turkish flag and their still German
crew donned fezzes to the wild enthusiasm of the populace.
For three months the British and the French blustered and bargained until with
one master stroke Souchon, under the Turkish flag, sailed into the Black Sea
and shelled Sevastapol, Odessa and Feodosia. As act of war having been committed
in Turkey’s name Russia declared war on November 4th followed by Britain
and France a day later.
As Churchill sombrely summarised e Souchon had brought ‘more slaughter,
more misery and more ruin than has ever before been borne within the compass
of a ship’.

I am heavily indebted to the book ‘August 1914’
by Barbara Tuchman, a truly great and most accessible works of history. And
also ‘Castles of Steel’ by Robert K Massie who also wrote the
fascinating book ‘Dreadnought’.