5 - Fighting Overseas

Summary

Dardanelles, Gallipoli, and the Eastern Mediterranean

The international conflagration that the Great War became soon carried fishermen to conflicts on coasts far removed from the shores of the British Isles: not least, and from quite early on, the waters of the eastern Mediterranean. In January 1915, as British and French plans for a naval assault on the Dardanelles were being formulated following Turkey's entry into the conflict on the side of Germany and Austria-Hungary in late October 1914, an initial flotilla of 13 Auxiliary Patrol trawlers was sent out from England. By 21 February, 21 trawlers had reached Malta, and some of the vessels with their fishermen crews had already embarked on the next stage of the voyage to the Dardanelles.

The initial allied strategy involved forcing a passage through the Dardanelles, the narrow straits that divide Europe from Asia, by reducing Turkish defences at the entrance to the passage. The trawler minesweepers were required to clear a way for large warships to move in and bombard the enemy's coastal positions, the outer defences of which included two forts on the Dardanelles Peninsula and two others on the Asiatic side, as well as several minefields. The whole strategy depended heavily on the creation of a swept and marked channel for the warships to close in.

The first trawlers arrived and commenced sweeping on 19 February, working to within 5,000 yards of Gaba Tepe, and they managed to buoy a channel after encountering no mines. Bad weather then prevented operations for nearly a week, but on the night of the 25th the minesweepers renewed their efforts, sweeping the entrance to the Straits, cover being provided by a couple of battleships and a number of destroyers. Once again, no mines were encountered, and the battleships entered the Straits the next day and began bombarding the forts. After dusk fell, the trawlers entered the Straits once more and made a four-mile sweep, but again found no mines. Then bad weather disrupted the task once more; but on the moonlit evening of 1 March, the trawlers renewed their efforts, managing to sweep to within 3,000 yards of Cape Kephez. They came under fire from Turkish batteries once abreast of the Suandere River and had to withdraw under the protection of a smokescreen made by accompanying destroyers.