HMS Goliath during the First World War IWM Q21299

Morto Bay is an inlet on the South West tip of

Cape Helles Cape Helles is the rocky headland at the southwesternmost tip of the Gallipoli peninsula, Turkey. It was the scene of heavy fighting between Ottoman Empire, Ottoman Turkish and United Kingdom, British troops during the landing at Cape Helles at th ...

on the

Gallipoli Peninsula The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. The bay is in the north west (European) coast of the

Dardanelles The Dardanelles (; tr, Çanakkale Boğazı, lit=Strait of Çanakkale, el, Δαρδανέλλια, translit=Dardanéllia), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli from the Gallipoli peninsula or from Classical Antiquity as the Hellespont (; ...

strait, which connects the

Sea of Marmara The Sea of Marmara,; grc, Προποντίς, Προποντίδα, Propontís, Propontída also known as the Marmara Sea, is an inland sea located entirely within the borders of Turkey. It connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea via the ...

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek language, Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish language, Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It ...

. The

is to the north of the bay. Administratively it is a part of

Çanakkale Province Çanakkale Province ( tr, ) is a province of Turkey, located in the northwestern part of the country. It takes its name from the city of Çanakkale. Like Istanbul, Çanakkale province has a European (Thrace) and an Asian (Anatolia) part. The Eu ...

. The width of the bay is about The name of the bay is probably of

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

origin. Cape Helles was the main landing area for the Gallipoli invasion and HMS ''Ocean'' sank in Morto Bay after failing to save HMS ''Irresistible''.

History

Morto bay is known for several military activities in the past.

Dardanelles Campaign

On 18 March 1915 during the naval operations in the Dardanelles Campaign, the British battleship was struck by a

naval mine A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, any ...

. It drifted to the Bay of Morto, and eventually sank. During the land battles of the Dardanelles Campaign, the

Allies of World War I The Allies of World War I, Entente Powers, or Allied Powers were a coalition of countries led by France, the United Kingdom, Russia, Italy, Japan, and the United States against the Central Powers of Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Em ...

landed at five different beaches of Hellespont. They were called S, V,W,X and Y by the Allies. The S-beach, which is known as ''Eski Hisarlık'' in

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

, is the east border of the bay and

Sedd el Bahr Sedd el Bahr ( tr, Seddülbahir, ota, سد البحر, meaning "Walls of the Sea") is a village in the district of Eceabat, Çanakkale Province, Turkey. It is located at Cape Helles on the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey. The village lies east of ...

, the tip of the peninsula is to the west. The V beach, the main landing point, which is known as ''Ertuğrul'' in Turkish is close to the west border of the bay. British troops landed at both beaches on 25 April 1915. However, after the French troops drew back from the

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

n side, the British troops in Eskihsarlık was replaced by the French troops. Now, the only French war cemetery in Gallipoli peninsula is to the north of Morto Bay. British battleship , which was situated in the Bay of Morto, was tasked to bomb Turkish positions. On the night of 12–13 May 1915, Ottoman destroyer ''Muavenet-i Milliye'' torpedoed her. This event caused the resignation of Admiral Jıhn Fisher from his post as

First Sea Lord The First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff (1SL/CNS) is the military head of the Royal Navy and Naval Service of the United Kingdom. The First Sea Lord is usually the highest ranking and most senior admiral to serve in the British Armed ...

, which was followed by the resignation of

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

from the cabinet.

1942

On 14 July 1942, Turkish submarine was struck by a World War I naval mine and sank.Submarine sailors page
/ref>

Maps

left, 500px, Cape Helles War Zone 1915. 500px, Gallipoli peninsula showing Cape Helles at the South West tip.

References

Bays of Turkey Landforms of Çanakkale Province Gallipoli Peninsula Gallipoli campaign World War I sites in Turkey 1915 in the Ottoman Empire Naval history of Turkey Dardanelles {{Çanakkale-geo-stub