Evacuation of Gallipoli

After the August offensive, Allied command believed success at Gallipoli was impossible. General Sir Charles Monro recommended withdrawal.

The withdrawal was carefully planned. Several clever tactics gave the impression Allies were preparing to defend their position through the winter, not evacuating. Most of the troops were evacuated over three weeks in December. On 20 December, the last of the Anzacs left Gallipoli. British and French troops completed their evacuation from Helles on 8 January 1916.

Some troops had departed Gallipoli before the evacuation. The Australian 3rd Brigade, for instance, arrived at Sarpi Rest Camp in late November. The evacuated Australians recuperated at Sarpi and at camps on the eastern side of the bay.

Around 50,000 Allied troops arrived on Lemnos in December. Some 14,000 went to Imbros, the Greek island around 25 kilometres west of the Gallipoli peninsula.

Many soldiers arrived in need of medical attention. One Private Roy Kyle recalled seeing ‘literally hundreds of men collapsed ... men lying on the ground tended by medical orderlies.’