Even though the Ottomans were a declining superpower back in the times of the First World War, this tactic proved to be very effective and even cost Winston Churchill his chair of First Lord of Admiralty after a major failure for allies at the Gallipoli Campaign in 1915-16. This event is considered to be the only major victory for the Ottomans during the First War and they were led by Colonel Mustafa Kemal himself, better known as the Father of modern Turkey, Kemal Ataturk. The success of these defenses became a basis for the independence of Turkey.