In early 1915, in Egypt, a group of Australian and New Zealand soldiers were preparing to transfer to France. After the unsuccessful naval operation in the Dardanelles, the allied command decided to start land operations. The 1st Australian Division and the Australian-New Zealand mixed division, ANZAC (Australian and New Zeland Army Corps), was incorporated into General Hamilton’s group, which was also joined by the British 29th Division, the Royal Navy Division, the French Corps expéditionnaire d’Orient. The Turkish 5th Army (84,000 men), led by the German military adviser Otto von Sanders, stood in front of it. The ANZAC were to land north of Gaba Tepe on the Aegean coast, from where they would control the entire peninsula. The battle for the Galipolli peninsula lasted until January 1916 and ended with the withdrawal of the Allied troops.