30 December 1914. Russian Commander in Chief, Grand Duke Nicholas Nokolaievich, asks the Allied Powers to join Russia in a campaign against the Ottoman Empire, often more simply called Turkey. Although Turkey was the dominant country with the empire, the Allied Powers were at war with the entire Ottoman Empire, not just Turkey. The campaign will be to threaten and capture Constantinople, the capital of Turkey and the empire. The campaign is intended firstly to relieve pressure on Russia and secondly to knock the Ottoman Empire out of the war. This request will come to show very large consequences during 1915, because from it will come the naval and then land forces engagements that will be known as the Dardanelles and Gallipoli campaigns. Pictured below are the Russian Grand Duke Nicholas and Ottoman Sultan Mehmed V. The map shows the strategic importance of the three seas, Aegean, Marmara and Black, that separate southern Europe from the western borders of Asia. The waterways of the Bosporus, from the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles, from the Sea of Marmara to the Aegean Sea, link the three seas. Routes through the waterways are essential to Russian access to warm water ports, and were totally controlled by the Ottoman Empire in 1914.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Dec 2014 12:59:37 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015