TNT History Archives: Italian Navy Probed Çanakkale Defenses (July 1915)/Part IV/FINAL

 //Ed. note: The famous Battle of Çanakkale in

1915 drew U.S. soldier-journalist Granville 

Roland Fortescue, the cousin of President 

Theodore Roosevelt, to Turkey.  Fortescue 

wrote a book about the battle, which was 

translated by the Ottoman General Staff.  

Three of the maps from Fortescue's translated 

book are included here to provide geographic 

and period context for the Italian torpedo 

boats' reconnoiter mission 3 years earlier.//

The Gallipoli Peninsula is in the inset at

right. At left is the southern area of the

Çanakkale Strait that the Italian boats

advanced and retreated through, after 

reaching the Kilitbahir-Çanakkale line

at the narrowest point.

We broke the single-line formation to allow each boat to avoid the 

searchlight beams and prevent the enemy cannon from focusing firing 

on our boats.  Consequently and thanks to good fortune, all of the 

boats emerged without any damage, passing through the enemy’s 

external batteries’ firing area at Kumkale and Helles and avoiding 

being hit during the Straits exit.   

Nevertheless, there was volley firing by enemy detachments with mid- 

and small-caliber guns but it seemed to me, based on where the shells 

fell, that the firing was somewhat random.  Subsequently, the large 

cannon at Helles and Kumkale began firing and some shells fell near 

the Spica.  The firing from Helles was more intense than Kumkale, 

with the enemy expending quite a bit of ammunition, none of which 

hit us, though.  After passing through the Straits opening at the 

Kumkale-Helles line, all of our torpedo boats rendezvoused with the 

Pisani, which I then boarded for the return to Stampalia. 

With regard to the damage inflicted by enemy firing on the five torpedo 

boats, none of ıt was significant.  In summary:

Spica: hits on the stack – one a 70 mm shell and the others of smaller 

caliber; the shells did not explode;

Astore: two hits, one of them 57 mm,  while there were some other 

hits on the boat’s upper portion and the deck;

Perseo:  ten 25 mm hits to boat and the deck;

There were no hits on the other two boats and there was no loss of life

or injury.

The aim of Capt. Millo's mission was to

observe the Strait's defensive situation

beyond (north of) the Kilitbahir-Çanakkale 

line (narrowest point, center-bottom).  The 

searchlights of the Ottoman ships he saw 

were at Nara, 2 miles, or 6 kilometers, 

north of  Çanakkale.

This reconnoiter mission resulted in important results vis-a-vis the 

status of the defense of the Çanakkale Strait.  After the mission was 

decided upon,  while we were on Leros Island, I informed the torpedo 

boats’ commanders how I envisioned the operation.  All the 

commanders immediately began to make the necessary preparations 

and I then went to inspect each boat, noting that the crews’ morale 

was high and being reassured that this difficult duty would be 

implemented  properly.

Under intense firing, all of those under my command acted better than

I could have imagined.  In addition, it is worth saying that the young 

sailors who had joined the torpedo boats only a few hours before the 

operation acted with valor under fire.  Also, the chief machinists and 

their  crews, some of whom were quite new to the job,  kept the 

machines and motors running without interruption and ensured top 

speeds.

Near Samandra the enemy searchlight kept its beam on me as our 

entire torpedo boat fleet passed amid the firing at 22 MPH, almost as 

if I was the star of a military parade.   I was so proud of my boats and 

my crew that the word “heroes” jumped from my lips.

 

The entrance to Çanakkale Strait - Helles Point

(Seddilbahir) is the northern point and 

Kumkale is the southern point.

When, at Kilitbahir, the Spica’s propellers were caught in the trapping 

cables and suffered some damage, the commander and the machinists’ 

success in resuming operations so quickly was astounding and truly 

praiseworthy.   It must be considered quite a stroke of good fortune  

that the boat did not sink there and then.

After achieving the anticipated aim of the reconnoiter mission and 

examining the status of the Strait’s defenses up close, I conclude that 

absent any hope and possibility of firing torpedoes at the enemy, there 

would be no chance of advancing beyond Kilitbahir and trying to do 

so would be futile.

Nevertheless, our courage never flagged and, in the end, the single 

aim of the mission was simply to determine with certainty the enemy’s 

situation at the Strait.

Torpedo Boat Inspector Navy Captain Enrico Millo

//END of PART FOUR/FINAL//