Rare and important: a complete set of maps of the Gallipoli Peninsula produced under the direction of T.E. Lawrence in Cairo and based on captured Ottoman maps.
In June 1915, working on the basis of a partial set of maps found on a captured Turkish soldier, T.E. Lawrence’s Arab Bureau produced this series of six maps, each separately mapping the entire length of the Gallipoli Peninsula in a format designed to be issued to officers fighting in the field.
The maps are as follows: Kurija Dere; Bogali; Anarfarta Saghir; Chanak; Krithia; and Damler.
Of these, Kurija Dere (now Kocadere) is the most important, being an advanced topographical rendering of the Ari Burnu sector (named after the sea point located in the centre of the map), in the north-western part of the Gallipoli Peninsula. It was issued in the summer of 1915 while the Gallipoli campaign was still ongoing. It adds the toponyms Anzac Cove, Brighton Beach, Hell Spit, and Maclagan’s Ridge, while noting the critical battles of August, 1915: Lone Pine and Chunuk Bair.
The maps provide a clear understanding of the extreme difficulty that both the ANZACs and the Ottoman defenders faced while operating in such rugged territory. Soldiers often had to climb slopes of over 45° in gradient while enduring enemy fire. A series of red numbered grids, all orientated to the magnetic north to aid the use of the map in the field, have been added as Allied troops previously encountered severe orientation problems using the old maps of Gallipoli. The text panel to the right of the maps explains, in both English and French, how to use the grid reference as well as providing chart for converting feet to metres. A “reference” translates Turkish topographical terms into English.
In the event that they were captured, the importance of these maps were such that officers were generally given only the sector relevant for them. While the campaign was vital to the history of both Australia and New Zealand, it also made the name of Ottoman Colonel Mustafa Kemal, better known as “Atatürk.”
The Gallipoli Campaign ran from 17 February, 1915 to 9 January, 1916 and involved a force of 490,000 Allied soldiers (British, Indian, Australian, New Zealand, and French troops) who were deployed in a series of landings along the Gallipoli Peninsula which was defended by 325,000 Ottoman troops. The Allies were hampered by misguided assumptions regarding the strength of Turkish forces, as well as poor geographic intelligence, notably relying on an Admiralty chart published in 1908 which was both inaccurate and at an unhelpful scale of 1 : 50,000, as well as a French map dating from the Crimean War.
While individual maps appear on the market from time to time, complete sets are very rare indeed. Brought together, they clarify the impossible demands of the entire campaign.
Oral, H., Gallipoli through Turkish Eyes (Istanbul, Bahçesehir University Press, 2012), pp.219-37.
