The Gallipoli campaign

Page 8 – Gallipoli timeline

Timeline showing key events related to New Zealand's involvement in the Gallipoli campaign.

1914

  • 4 August: Britain declares war on Germany
  • 16 October: NZEF Main Body departs Wellington
  • 29 October: Ottoman Empire enters the war as an ally of the Central Powers
  • 3 December: NZEF disembarks at Alexandria, Egypt
  • 8 December: NZEF combines with Australian Imperial Force to form the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC)

1915

  • 18 January: New Zealand and Australian Division established
  • 3 February: Ottoman forces attack Suez Canal
  • 11 March: Lieutenant-General Sir Ian Hamilton given command of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force (MEF)
  • 18 March: Naval attack on the Dardanelles; battleships Queen, Irresistible and Bouvet sunk
  • 15 April: New Zealand troops join the MEF at Lemnos to prepare for the invasion of the Gallipoli Peninsula
  • 25 April: Gallipoli landings; the ANZAC lands near Ari Burnu in bay now known as Anzac Cove
  • 27 April: Battle for Walker’s Ridge involving Wellington and Canterbury battalions
  • 28 April: First Battle of Krithia at Helles
  • 2-3 May: Otago Battalion’s attack on Baby 700 fails
  • 5-6 May: NZ Infantry Brigade sent to Helles
  • 6 May: 3rd NZ Reinforcements arrive at Anzac; sent to Helles
  • 8 May: NZ Infantry Brigade takes part in Second Battle of Krithia; attacks defeated
  • 12 May: NZ Mounted Rifles Brigade arrives at Anzac from Egypt; they fight as infantry for the remainder of the campaign
  • 19 May: Major Ottoman attack at Anzac defeated; NZ Infantry Brigade returns from Helles
  • 20 May: Otago Mounted Rifles arrives at Anzac
  • 24 May: Armistice at Anzac to bury dead
  • 7 June: 4th NZ Reinforcements arrive at Anzac
  • 29-30 June: Major Ottoman attack on Anzac perimeter fails
  • 6-7 August: British attack at Cape Helles; Australians attack at Lone Pine, Quinn’s Post and Russell’s Top at The Nek; Old No. 3 Post retaken and Table Top and Bauchop’s Hill taken by NZ Mounted Rifles Brigade
  • 7 August: British land at Suvla Bay; Rhododendron Ridge taken by New Zealanders; Auckland Battalion attack on Chunuk Bair fails
  • 8 August: Wellington Battalion captures Chunuk Bair; reinforced by Auckland Mounted Rifles and two British battalions during the day; relieved by Otago Battalion and Wellington Mounted Rifles that night. The 5th NZ Reinforcements reach Anzac and go into the firing line
  • 9 August: Gurkha battalion reaches saddle between Hill Q and Chunuk Bair; New Zealanders holding Chunuk Bair are relieved at night by British units
  • 10 August: British troops driven from Chunuk Bair by Ottoman counter-attack
  • 11 August: Stalemate at Suvla
  • 21 August: Canterbury and Otago Mounted Rifles take part in attack on Hill 60
  • 26 August: NZ hospital ship Maheno arrives off Anzac
  • 27-29 August: Renewed fighting for control of Hill 60
  • 14 September: NZ brigades evacuated to rest camp at Sarpi on Lemnos
  • 14 October: Bulgaria enters the war on the side of the Central Powers
  • 16 October: Lieutenant-General Sir Ian Hamilton relieved of command of the MEF
  • 30 October: Hamilton’s replacement, Lieutenant-General Sir Charles C. Monro, arrives at Gallipoli
  • 8-9 November: NZ brigades return to Anzac Cove
  • 28 November: Big snowstorm hits Anzac
  • 8 December: Monro orders Lieutenant-General William Birdwood to evacuate Anzac and Suvla
  • 10-11 December: Sick, wounded and surplus troops and valuable stores removed
  • 15 December: Detailed orders issued for evacuation
  • 20 December: Evacuation of Anzac and Suvla completed by daylight; troops disembarked at Lemnos
  • 21-31 December: Troops transferred to Egypt from Lemnos 

1916

  • 9 January: Evacuation from Helles completed

1918

  • 6 December: Canterbury Mounted Rifles returns to Gallipoli

Source: ‘A Gallipoli Chronology’, in Christopher Pugsley, Gallipoli: The New Zealand story, Raupo, North Shore, 2008, pp. 360-2

How to cite this page

'Gallipoli timeline', URL: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/the-gallipoli-campaign/timeline, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 4-Dec-2019