Gallipoli Quiz Challenge - How Much Do You Know?

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The first ship to be sunk in the Dardanelles during the campaign of 1915 belonged to which country?

Answer: France

The Bouvet, which hit a mine, belonged to France. On 18th of March, it sank in less than 2 minutes taking down 600 French sailors with it. Following The Bouvet, HMS Irresistible and HMS Ocean sank in the same area. The area had been declared safe before the attack but the Ottoman mine ship "Nusret" had placed the mines just two weeks before.

This is an example of how the lack of proper intelligence for the allied forces caused serious problems and why the number of lives lost were much higher than expected in all battlefronts.

2. Four days after the attack with the ships was unsuccessful, the Allied forces changed their plans and decided to support the naval units by landing their armies. Which is NOT true about the location of these land attacks?

Answer: The ANZACS would land in the northeast

The ANZAC forces were planning to land in Kabatepe in the northwest and to proceed eastwards. While the French were securing the Asiatic side, the British forces would land on five different beaches on the southern tip, proceed Northeast to secure the shoreline and invade the area to provide safe entrance for their fleets.

3. On 25th April at 3am, the Australian forces began to land. What unexpected thing caused confusion when they landed?

Answer: The beach was very narrow so they had to land on a front of 750 yards

The beach was very narrow and followed by high cliffs and gullies hard to pass. The units were mixed up because the area was very small and there was general confusion. However, there were only 200 Ottoman soldiers in the area and after few hours only 10 remained. The nearest reinforcements were 7 kilometres southeast and would only meet the Allied forces two hours later.

4. The five beaches in the south, where the British landed, were called S, V, W, X. Three of these - Y, V and W - saw exceptionally high Allied casualties. Why?

Answer: The beaches were well protected

The casualties were very high on these beaches. On V beach 70% of all the forces were lost although only a single Turkish company were defending. Snipers hiding behind dunes shot the boatsmen and the boats began to drift while machine guns killed many of those on board the boats. Those who reached the shore had to pass the barbed wire. Major Mahmud Sabri of the Ottomans stated in one of his letters that each one of their bullets hit the targets even killing two or more British soldiers with one bullet. 60% of the soldiers were either killed or injured W beach.

5. When the Australian forces heading east almost completely destroyed the reinforcements which had arrived from southeast, heavy fighting took place to gain control of a small hill. What was the name of this hill?

Answer: Baby 700

Baby 700 changed hands five times during the battles. 4000 Turkish troops managed to hold the hills against an ANZAC force of 3 times their size because the Anzac attacks were poorly organised: Reinforcements were delayed and commanders were not informed in time. The place was unmapped and thousands lost their lives in an open ridge where they were in the line of fire of the Turks.

6. On May 6, the allied forces at Helles attacked the Turks to get hold of the hill called Achi Baba. General Aylmer Hunter-Weston repeated the unsuccessful attacks 5 times, each killing hundreds of men. How many men were sacrificed for gaining 600 yards in 3 days?

Answer: 6,000

The plans for this battle were overambitious and the opposition was underestimated. Turkish machine guns were waiting for soldiers leaving the trenches. The British forces were joined by the Anzacs after the second day but still in vain. Turkish casualties were around 2,000 during the "Second Battle of Krithia".

7. In a letter he sent home, Lieutenant-Colonel Dr Percival Fenwick accused his commanders by saying: "This seems to be an absent-minded war". What wasn't one of his accusations?

Answer: "Our allies are not helping us enough"

Among the many heartbreaking letters sent home, this one by Fenwick once again shows how difficult the situation was for the soldiers thousands of miles away from home. He also states in his letter that he would really like to know "Why" but won't try to do anything to find out.

8. Life in the trenches got worse as the weather got warmer. What was the most common disease affecting the soldiers?

Answer: Dysentery

Almost all the soldiers had some form of dysentery due to the lack of sanitation. Latrines were really very unhealthy and the sick soldiers had to use them 10-20 times a day with no toilet paper. Jaundice, cardiac disorders and typhoid were also widespread.

9. When was the only 8-hour truce made?

Answer: May 24th

40,000 Turks attacked on May 19. Their losses reached 10,000 in just a few hours ... 3,000 Turks lay in No Man's Land. The stench was so great that many soldiers got sick, so a truce was made on May 24 to bury the dead. The truce changed the attitude of soldiers on both sides, since they had a chance to see their enemies close.

Some soldiers even shook hands during the truce. When the truce ended, they went back to their trenches and they started firing again.

10. At ANZAC cove, whose commemorating speech is inscribed on a monument?

Answer: Mustafa Kemal

Mustafa Kemal, who later went on to become the first president of the newly founded Turkish Republic, stated: "Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives... You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets where they lie side by side here in this country of ours... You the mothers who sent their sons from far away countries, wipe away your tears. Your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. Having lost their lives on this land, they have become our sons as well."

Source: Author aylin_n

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Gallipoli Quiz Challenge - How Much Do You Know? | World War I

Gallipoli witnessed the bravery of thousands from different nations. This quiz covers many different aspects of the campaign.

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