Gallipoli's August offensive depended on too many linked successes

Les Carlyon's Gallipoli begins this assessment by warning against judging 1915 solely through later knowledge. Even with that allowance, the August offensive depended on too many linked successes. One hundred thousand troops would operate across five fronts, with separate commanders unable to follow events everywhere else. Some columns had to cross unscouted terrain at night and divide again near their objectives. Reinforcements encouraged commanders to enlarge the scheme until its timing and movements became increasingly tangled. Carlyon's criticism is that Hamilton did not provide the decisive central direction such a plan required. Hamilton's request for two howitzer batteries was also refused, limiting the artillery available to deal with Turkish guns.