 After the failure of naval attacks , it was decided that ground forces were necessary to eliminate the Turkish mobile artillery and allow minesweepers to clear the waters for larger vessels . The British Secretary of State for War , Field Marshal Lord Kitchener , appointed General Sir Ian Hamilton to command the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force ( MEF ) that was to carry out the mission . The MEF consisted of Birdwood 's ANZAC , British 29th Division , British Royal Naval Division and the French Corps expéditionnaire d 'Orient . Some 40 @,@ 000 Russian troops would participate in the capture or occupation of Constantinople . 
