National Experiences - British Commission for Military History

328 ai r p o w e r in 20 t H Ce n t u ry do C t r i n e s a n d em p l o y m e n t - nat i o n a l ex p e r i e n C e s
edge of Gallipoli peninsula
on 25 April 1915 necessitated
new air reconnaissance.
In the morning of
25 April as predicted by
Lieutenant Colonel Mustafa
Kemal the English
powers started a landing
operation from Sedd-el
Bahr with the Australians
and from the north
of Kaba Tepe with the
New Zealanders. At the
same time they executed
two delaying manoeuvres. While the French were launching a surprise attack on
Anatolian side the Royal Navy Division were performing a demonstration attack in
Bolayır.
Von Sanders was mistaken by this demonstration attack and thought that the Entente
Powers wanted to cut off the peninsula on its narrowest part to stop his army.
So he sent one of the divisions to the north and by doing this he removed his forces
from the real combat area. Although he sent Esat Pasha, Army Corps Commander to
resist the possible attack from the south, they were left without reinforcement. 12
While General von Sanders was determining the defence of Çanakkale in accordance
with his own ideas the Flight Company in this area was under the command
of the Fortress Area Command subordinate to the General Command of the Straits.
When the landing operation started in the morning of April 25 with an intense sea
bombardment second lieutenant (pilot) Garber and Lieutenant (Navy) Hüseyin Sedat13
Naval Airplanes Gotha.
started a reconnaissance flight. In a reconnaissance flight of 3 hours starting
from Saroz Bay to the Anatolian coast 45 transports were identified. It was identified
that the warships were leaving and that they were having a landing rehearsal. This
very important reconnaissance report couldn’t be conveyed to the 5th Army on time
and no other flights could be achieved, as the aircraft were broken. The reconnaissance
achieved on 27, 28, 29 April showed that the real forces of the enemy were in
Sedd-el-Bahr and Arıburnu and that the other operations in Beşike Port, Kumkale
and Bolayır were demonstration landings.
12
Lord Kinross; Rebirth of a nation with Atatürk, Translated by Necdet Sander, İstanbul, December
1994, p 100.
13
Lieutenant Hüseyin Sedat served many flights in Çanakkale. He was an experienced Ottoman officer
in observing at offshore. He served as chief engineer (Charkchibashi) in ʻRefahʼ ship that was sank
after being torpedoed by a submarine on 22 January 1941. Among the crew of Refah, who lost their
lives. there were aviation personnel, who were selected for an education in England, as well.