The Army That Vanished
by In 1915 during the 1st World War a regiment marched through a cloud into battle and disappeared. Coincidence, or something more sinister?
In April 1915 Allied armies landed on the Gallipoli peninsula in Western Turkey. Their mission was to capture what was then the capital of the Turkish Empire (Now Istanbul).
They wanted to make contact with their Russian allies through the Black Sea. This would allow a safe route through the Dardanelles for supplies as most land routes had been blocked by enemy forces. Unfortunately for the Allies, Turk resistance was very stubborn, and the Allies were forced to withdraw after a long hard nine months, having lost hundreds of thousands of men.
The worst of the fighting took place in an area called Hill 60 near Sulva Bay. In August 1915 a British regiment, the first fifth Norfolk, were prepared to attack Hill 60. There was more than a thousand men in this regiment. The weather was warm with a slight breeze and visibility clear, however some observers noted a small group of low clouds over Hill 60. The clouds remained over Hill 60 even with the slight breeze present. The regiment marched uphill until the entire file of men disappeared into one of the clouds. It was then that the cloud moved away, vertically, leaving no trace of the regiment.
The disappearance of the regiment was duly reported to the British Government by the Commander in Chief of the Allied Expeditionary force in Gallipoli. He made no mention of the mysterious clouds, but reported that the regiment had separated from the main body of troops and had vanished. The whole regiment was subsequently posted as missing, the assumption being that all it’s men had either been killed or taken prisoner. When the war ended in 1918 the British asked the Turks about the missing regiment. The Turks replied that they knew nothing about it. Their armies had never made contact with the First Fifth Norfolk…
In 1920 the bodies of a number of soldiers belonging to the First Fifth Norfolk were found in Gallipoli. It was assumed that these men had died in battle after all, and that the remainder of the regiment probably perished in Turkish prisoner of war camps.
Today it is generally accepted that the men of the First Fifth Norfolk were victims of a bloody campaign in which all too many men were lost without a trace.
What of the strange clouds over Hill 60 on that fateful date? Why did the clouds move vertically once the regiment had passed into it?
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Post CommentOnflame
On October 8, 2007 at 11:48 am
Now THAT was some spine-chilling information! Really interesting and bizzare, which will make people like it all the more.
Awesome job,
Onflame
Geordie Janner
On October 8, 2007 at 11:59 am
Thanks Onflame,
Really appreciate your comments.
Cheers,
GJ
Jerry
On October 8, 2007 at 4:20 pm
Interesting story but it’s a myth. From Wikipedia:
The unit that took Hill 60 did not vanish into a cloud, but went on from Hill 60 to attack Turkish positions, and was wiped out behind Turkish lines. Their fate was not ascertained until 1919, when the Graves Registration Unit searched the battle site.
There are other errors in the cloud story: there is no official mention of any kind of strange cloud during the battle; the New Zealand observers, if they were even there, were over four miles from the area; the wrong battalion is named, and called a regiment; the date is given as 21 August instead of the true date nine days earlier; and the story is not even told until 50 years after the war
Geordie Janner
On October 8, 2007 at 4:42 pm
Thanks for the comments Jerry. I too have read the Wikipedia entry. As mentioned in my article – at the end – that it is generally accepted the men died in a bloody campaign, there are reports of a strange cloud.
I believe the wrong regiment in other accounts of this battle were the 1st 4th Norfolk, I have written about the 1st 5th, which I believe is the correct unit.
The exact dates vary depending on the sources used. Hence why I just said August 1915, rather than commit myself to an incorrect date!
Many sources discount the cloud element to the events, whilst others document it clearly. I think it adds a sinister twist to the story and it certainly caught my attention and gave me the interest into investigating the story and documenting it here.
I’m glad you found it interesting and once again many thanks for taking the time to add your comments.
Cheers,
GJ
Koyin
On October 10, 2007 at 1:28 pm
Interesting, Very strange too,
Koyin
Darlene McFarlane
On October 10, 2007 at 9:52 pm
A very interesting article. I have heard about this disappearing army before and have heard a couple of different versions as well. I like your version because it is eerie and leaves a lot to wonder about.
Great job!
IcyCucky
On January 19, 2008 at 9:05 am
Spine chilling article..and like Darlene said, it leaves me to wonder.
Moses Ingram
On January 28, 2008 at 12:50 pm
Very interesting.
Richard Harding
On April 25, 2008 at 2:45 am
It’s ANZAC day here in NZ.I just finished mouthing off about the british not doing much in Gallipoli,my dad always told me that.Coincidently,i was reading a Bermuda Triangle book called Without a Trace,and read about the missing regiment,and now i’m writing this.I’m more likely to believe a report by a kiwi than an american.We are not told much about the british troops in Gallipoli in our schools.Maybe we should start now.I like to think that this did happen,mystery or not.
Catherine South
On July 4, 2008 at 10:22 am
Interesting article. There are many mysterious incidents in history that are unexplained, but this one is by far one of the strangest.
Gail Nobles
On August 2, 2008 at 9:41 am
Interesting article.
murat
On April 19, 2009 at 12:28 am
UFO”S
scott richardson
On May 25, 2009 at 6:34 am
the 1/5 norfolks did not vanish in a weird cloud formation… they simply advanced to far, were encircled by the turks and those that were still alive and had run out of ammo surrendered.. they were then executed by bayonete of shot in the back of head..
Killer Smiley
On December 20, 2009 at 12:00 pm
Jacques Vallee wrote of this incident in his book “Passport to Mongonia”. It was very peculiar as the clouds were all identical in shape and dozens of witnesses signed affidavits as to what happened.
The Brits marched mechanically into one of the clouds that had ‘landed’, it then took off vertically into the sky and they were nowhere to be seen.
thekrazysystem
On February 20, 2010 at 11:43 pm
Its interesting because, its possible, just annoying because no hardcore facts.
Nice Job.
garry nowlan
On October 13, 2011 at 2:12 am
This is rubbish and pure fiction. The battles at Hill 60 were arguably the fiercest of the Gallipoli campaign, very well documented and witnessed by thousands of men. The first battle was 22 Aug 1915 and the second 27-29 Aug 1915. Casualties were extremely high in all participating armies British, Australian, New Zealand and Turkish. My great uncle was KIA at Hill 60 on 27 Aug with 18th Battalion AIF which experienced 639 casualties out of a force of 750 men during this battle. I have only recently returned from Gallipoli and have visited the Hill 60 war cemetary and read all the historic literature. Most Gallipoli cemetaries have very few graves as most of the bodied were never recovered or identifed. There are 788 bodies in a mass grave at Hill 60, 699 of which remain unidentified. At Lone Pine Cemetary 4935 ANZAC soldiers are commemorated as they have no known graves. So there is no mystery, no cloud or no UFO’s. All these men’s lives were simply wasted largely through the ineptitude and incompetence of British High Command and of a disastrous plan formulated by Winston Churchill as First Lord of the Admiralty. He was sacked after this debacle. The Turks suffered 218,000 battle casualties defending their country, many of which were never found. Yet they still make as welcome whebn we go there. If you want to know more about the massacre of the 18th Battalion at Hill 60, google ‘Slaughter of the Innocents: The destruction of the 18th Battalion at Gallipoli, August 1915′ by Tony Cunneen. It is very sobering reading. And that, is what happend to the soldiers of 5th Norfolk Regiment.
gökhan
On March 11, 2012 at 4:54 pm
Of course, God was at the side of innocents