Mudros
Updated - Sunday, 27 April, 2003

Mudros comprised a small Greek port on the Mediterranean island of Lemnos.  It gained wartime significance with the determination of the Allies - chiefly the British and largely through the enthusiasm of Winston Churchill - in the early part of 1915 to attempt to seize control of the Dardanelles Straits, some 50km away.

The harbour at Lemnos was certainly broad enough to sustain British and French warships, although it was recognised at an early stage that there was a potentially troublesome absence of suitable military facilities.

Nonetheless Lemnos gained instant importance with the decision to place the port under British control, specifically in the form of Admiral Rosslyn Wemyss, who was handed a brief to prepare the then largely unused harbour for operations against the Dardanelles.

In the event Lemnos proved as problematic as expected with regard to facilities and supplies.  Troops intended for Gallipoli were required to train in Egypt; similarly the port found it difficult to cope with casualties incurred during the ill-starred Gallipoli campaign.

Once the campaign was called off in evident failure at the close of 1915 Mudros' importance receded, although it remained the Allied base for the blockade of the Dardanelles for the duration of the war.

Renewed fame arrived in late October 1918 when the armistice between Turkey and the Allies was signed at Mudros.

The financial cost of the war is said to have amounted to almost $38 billion for Germany alone; Britain spent $35 billion, France $24 billion, Russia $22 billion, USA $22 billion and Austria-Hungary $20 billion.  In total the war cost the Allies around $125 billion; the Central Powers $60 billion.

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