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 Turkish and British troops during the landing at Cape Helles at the beginning of the Gallipo ...

on the

Gallipoli Peninsula The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

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

Dardanelles The Dardanelles ( ; ; ), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli (after the Gallipoli peninsula) and in classical antiquity as the Hellespont ( ; ), is a narrow, natural strait and internationally significant waterway in northwestern Turkey th ...

strait, which connects the

Sea of Marmara The Sea of Marmara, also known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea, is a small inland sea entirely within the borders of Turkey. It links the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea via the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, separating Turkey's E ...

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

. The

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

Çanakkale Province Çanakkale Province () is a province of Turkey, located in the northwestern part of the country. It takes its name from the city of Çanakkale. Its area is 9,817 km2, and its population is 559,383 (2022). Like Istanbul, Çanakkale province ...

. 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, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

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 weapon placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Similar to anti-personnel mine, anti-personnel and other land mines, and unlike purpose launched naval depth charges, they are ...

. 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 or the Entente (, ) was an international military coalition of countries led by the French Republic, the United Kingdom, the Russian Empire, the United States, the Kingdom of Italy, and the Empire of Japan against the Central Powers ...

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: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

, is the east border of the bay and

Sedd el Bahr Sedd el Bahr (, , meaning "Walls of the Sea") is a village in the Eceabat District, Çanakkale Province, Turkey. It is located at Cape Helles on the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey. The village lies east of the cape, on the shore of the Dardanelle ...

, 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 (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

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 John Fisher Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of th ...

from his post as

First Sea Lord First Sea Lord, officially known as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff (1SL/CNS), is the title of a statutory position in the British Armed Forces, held by an Admiral (Royal Navy), admiral or a General (United Kingdom), general of the ...

, which was followed by the resignation of

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

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