With U.S. Marines headed toward the Persian Gulf, an operation aimed at controlling the Strait of Hormuz is possible. As the situation evolves, naval strategists may reflect on history’s most famous battle for control over a constricted waterway: the 1915 Battle of Gallipoli. Considering the complexity of sustained combat to open a very narrow strait to shipping in the Middle East, naval leaders would do well to review that failed British-French enterprise.
An operation in the Persian Gulf also would involve an advanced Western power undertaking expeditionary operations against a much less powerful country. Further, there are striking geographic similarities between the 1915 battlespace and that of the potential Hormuz campaign. Both would seek to open a key oceanic passage surrounded by challenging terrain.
It’s true that U.S. military strategists have been considering a Persian Gulf scenario for many decades. But the broader reluctance of allies to assist likely reflects an acknowledgement both of the apparent difficulties of an attack and of the shadow Gallipoli casts over any military attempt to seize control of the Strait of Hormuz.
Author
