At the beginning of August, we can say that the expedition is marking time. During the five weeks during which the landing operations and the first battles took place, 60,000 men of the expeditionary force were put out of action, 40,000 British and 20,000 French.
The territorial gains are insignificant compared to these losses, but above all, the immobilized Turkish workforce, a hundred thousand men, does not relieve the Russian front in any way, especially since we are moving towards an entry into the war. of Bulgaria alongside the Central Powers.
Finally, it is clear that neither of the opponents, as in France, seems capable of winning a final decision.
In an attempt to reverse this situation, the British landed two divisions on August 6 in Suvla Bay, a few kilometers north of the positions held by the ANZACs.
Poorly commanded, unseasoned, these two divisions will waste precious time organizing the terrain, thus giving the Turks unexpected time to gather troops from Bulair.
They will hardly manage to emerge from their bridgehead and will have the greatest difficulty in operating their junction with the ANZAC army corps, following the coast towards Ari Burnu.
This is the moment that Bulgaria chooses to enter the conflict, upsetting London's plans. Lord Kitchener, after a quick inspection of the Gallipoli front, will recommend the evacuation of Suvla and the maintenance of a bridgehead at Cape Hellès.
Already a French division, that of General Bailloud, had been directed towards Salonica, soon followed by an English division. Because it is in the Adriatic that the fate of the war in the Balkans will now be decided.
Certainly the British and the French are considering another expedition to try to unblock the straits, but it is too late and all offensive operations in this sector will be abandoned.
The only problem is how the Allies can extricate themselves from this trap without the evacuation turning into a disaster.