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The Mediterranean Expeditionary Force (MEF) was the part of the
British Army during World War I The British Army during the First World War fought the largest and most costly war in its long history. Unlike the French and German Armies, the British Army was made up exclusively of volunteers—as opposed to conscripts—at the beginnin ...
that commanded all Allied forces at Gallipoli and
Salonika Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
. It was formed in March 1915, under the command of General Sir Ian Hamilton, at the beginning of the Gallipoli campaign of the First World War.


History

The Mediterranean Expeditionary Force included the initial naval operation to force the straits of the Dardanelles. Its headquarters was formed in March 1915. The MEF was originally commanded by General Sir Ian Hamilton until he was dismissed due to the failure of the 29th Division at Gallipoli. Command briefly passed to General William Birdwood, commander of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, but for the duration of the Gallipoli campaign it was General Sir
Charles Monro Charles Monro may refer to: * Sir Charles Monro, 1st Baronet (1860–1929), Governor of Gibraltar * Charles Monro (rugby union) (1851–1933), initiator of rugby union in New Zealand * Charles Henry Monro (1835–1908), English author, jurist and be ...
who led the MEF. While the Gallipoli theatre was the only active
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...
theatre, the MEF was used to refer to the forces at Gallipoli. With the opening of the Salonika front in October 1915, the forces at Gallipoli were referred to as the Dardanelles Army and the Salonika contingent became the Salonika Army on the Macedonian front (World War I). Once Salonika became the sole Mediterranean theatre the MEF was commanded by General Archibald Murray who was based in
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...
and whose command also involved defence of the Suez Canal from Turkish attacks. As the importance of the Sinai front grew, a separate headquarters called the
Egyptian Expeditionary Force The Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) was a British Empire military formation, formed on 10 March 1916 under the command of General Archibald Murray from the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force and the Force in Egypt (1914–15), at the beginning o ...
was formed (in March 1916). Supposedly when the British
Secretary of State for War The Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, which existed from 1794 to 1801 and from 1854 to 1964. The Secretary of State for War headed the War Office and ...
, Lord Kitchener, was preparing the Mediterranean expedition he intended to name the headquarters the
Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
Expeditionary Force but Hamilton suggested this might be a bit of a giveaway, and also noted in his diary, "I begged him to alter this to avert Fate's evil eye."


See also

* Order of battle for the Gallipoli Campaign * Gallipoli campaign * Dardanelles Army


References

{{reflist


External links



Parliamentary debates of 19 October 1915 in
Hansard ''Hansard'' is the traditional name of the transcripts of parliamentary debates in Britain and many Commonwealth countries. It is named after Thomas Curson Hansard (1776–1833), a London printer and publisher, who was the first official prin ...
Expeditionary units and formations Commands of the British Army Field armies of the United Kingdom Field armies of the United Kingdom in World War I Military units and formations of the British Army in World War I Egypt in World War I Middle Eastern theatre of World War I World War I orders of battle Military units and formations established in 1915 Military units and formations disestablished in 1916