The smallest sea in the world is in Türkiye? See the map clearly

The largest sea in the world is the Coral Sea located in northeastern Australia, covering an area of ??approximately 4.79 million square kilometers. The Mediterranean Sea we are familiar with only covers an area of ??approximately 2.51 million square kilometers. So, where is the smallest sea in the world? Coincidentally, right on the Mediterranean Sea.

The Mediterranean Sea is the largest intercontinental sea in the world, bordering Europe to the north, Africa to the south, and Asia to the east. In addition to the "main sea", the Mediterranean Sea also has many subsidiary seas. For example, the Tyrrhenian Sea between southern Italy and Sardinia and Sicily, the Adriatic Sea between eastern Italy and the Balkan Peninsula, and the famous Aegean Sea is also an affiliated sea of ??the Mediterranean. The Black Sea and the Aegean Sea are separated only by the Black Sea Strait (also known as the Turkish Strait, with the Bosporus Strait in the northeast and the Dardanelles Strait in the southwest).

Generally speaking, the Aegean Sea is considered to be the water channel between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, but it is not. The Sea of ??Marmara, sandwiched between the Bosporus and the Dardanelles, is the water channel connecting the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea. Beyond the Aegean Sea is the Mediterranean Sea. The Sea of ??Marmara is the smallest sea in the world.

How small is the Sea of ??Marmara? It is about 11,000 square kilometers, with a width of about 70 kilometers from north to south and a length of about 270 kilometers from east to west. What is this concept? The largest freshwater lake in the world is Lake Superior between the United States and Canada, covering an area of ??approximately 82,400 square kilometers. In other words, the largest lake in the world is more than 7 times the area of ??the smallest sea in the world.

Needless to say, the strategic significance of the Black Sea is that it is the closest sea area for Russia (including Tsarist Russia, the Soviet Union, etc.) to the Mediterranean Sea, the Suez Canal, and the Indian Ocean. Tsarist Russia's southward expansion directly harmed the interests of Ottoman Turkey. In the ten Russian-Turkish wars (excluding the war between Tsarist Russia and Turkey during World War I), Turkey won more than it lost. However, Turkey is fortunate that the two straits of the Black Sea, including the Sea of ??Marmara, are still under complete control of Turkey. If Turkey controls the Sea of ??Marmara, it will be able to firmly hold the key to Russia's access to the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean, and it will be able to bargain with Russia and strive for the greatest interests for Turkey.

We all know that the Bosporus is very important, but even if Russia controls the Bosporus (including Istanbul), as long as Turkey still controls the Sea of ??Marmara, Russia will still be unable to leave the Black Sea. The Sea of ??Marmara, like the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea, is one of the geographical boundaries between Asia and Europe. The west coast of the Sea of ??Marmara is the southeastern corner of the European Balkan Peninsula, which is the European part of Türkiye. The east coast of the Sea of ??Marmara is the northwest of the Asia Minor Peninsula in Asia. To the northeast of the Sea of ??Marmara is Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey, and Constantinople, the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. It was once called the "Mother of Europe" by Europeans.

The coast of the Sea of ??Marmara is entirely Turkish territory, so the Sea of ??Marmara is an inland sea of ??Turkey, similar to my country's Bohai Sea. The name Sea of ??Marmara comes from Greek and means "marble". Turkey and Greece are feuding. Although the Sea of ??Marmara is commonly used internationally, in Turkey, the Sea of ??Marmara is called the Propontis Sea.

The Sea of ??Marmara is not large in area, but its depth is not low, with the deepest point being more than 1,330 meters. The Sea of ??Marmara was formed due to the continuous subsidence of faults in the Eurasian continent. Not only is the Sea of ??Marmara deep, but its coast is also very steep. Such geographical conditions are more conducive to military defense. In addition, the capital of the Ottoman Turkish Empire is in Istanbul, and the Sea of ??Marmara is the maritime gateway of Istanbul. Not only Turkey attaches great importance to the Sea of ??Marmara, but other powerful countries as well.

Which powerful countries? UK, France. In the 19th century (1801-1900), although the Ottoman Turkish Empire declined, as the old saying goes: a skinny camel is bigger than a horse, it was still a powerful enemy of Britain and France. By the time of World War I at the beginning of the 20th century, Britain, France, Tsarist Russia, and the United States formed the Allied Powers, while Ottoman Turkey stood with Germany. Tsarist Russia has a large area, but its economic strength is not very strong. The Black Sea has become the main sea channel for Britain and France to transport strategic materials to Tsarist Russia. Naturally, Turkey would not let Britain and France "feed" Tsarist Russia and blocked the Black Sea Strait (including the Sea of ??Marmara).

Britain and France decided to send troops to attack Türkiye and force Türkiye to give up its blockade of Tsarist Russia. From the perspective of Britain and France, the most ideal result is to capture Istanbul, the Ottoman Turkish capital north of the Sea of ??Marmara. Secondly, Türkiye must also be forced to withdraw from the Allied camp.

On March 18, 1915, the British and French combined fleets began to attack the Dardanelles Strait (also known as the Canakkale Strait) at the southern end of the Sea of ??Marmara. Send three warships of the United Fleet to the west.

Afterwards, Türkiye and the British and French forces (joined by Australia and New Zealand) were in a stalemate on the Gallipoli Peninsula. The Gallipoli Peninsula, also known as the Gallibolu Peninsula, is located on the northern shore of the Dardanelles Strait. To the east of the Gallipoli Peninsula is the Sea of ??Marmara. As long as the coalition forces can break through the Gallipoli Peninsula and then break through the Marmara Island to the west of the Sea of ??Marmara to the east, Istanbul will open its door.

Picture - Scenery of the Sea of ??Marmara

Ottoman Turkey deployed heavy troops near the Gallipoli Peninsula, but Britain had the most advanced submarines at the time. The Turkish army could not defend itself, and the submarines broke through The Turkish army defends the Dardanelles Strait and enters the Sea of ??Marmara.

Since the European part of Turkey is separated by the Sea of ??Marmara, if Turkey wants to transport supplies to the Turkish army on the Gallipoli Peninsula, it needs to pass through the Sea of ??Marmara. Coalition submarines "swimmed" in the Sea of ??Marmara, causing great damage to Turkey's transportation line. Of course, there were times when coalition submarines missed. One submarine was discovered by a Turkish torpedo boat and fired several shots that hit the coalition submarine. The military personnel on the coalition submarine attempted to sink the submarine and then swam to the coast, but were captured by the Turkish army.

However, due to the relative military and technological advantages of the coalition forces, more coalition submarines entering the Sea of ??Marmara not only threaten Turkey's support for the Gallipoli Peninsula, but also threaten the Ottoman Turkish capital Istanbul. Safety. Turkey is no longer able to transport supplies to the Gallipoli Peninsula through the Sea of ??Marmara. It can only use the Istanbul-European route, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive, and has caused a great loss to Turkey's national strength.

Picture - Sea of ??Marmara scenery

The Battle of Gallipoli also dealt a huge blow to the British and French forces. The coalition forces tried their best but failed to capture the Gallipoli Peninsula and control the Sea of ??Marmara, and they also paid a huge price in casualties. By early January 1916, the allied forces, which could no longer hold up, retreated, leaving behind a miserable place. In this battle, 10,000 French soldiers died, 21,000 British people died, more than 8,700 people died in Australia, and about 2,700 people died in the small country of New Zealand. Since Türkiye was fighting on its own territory, it had a certain advantage and suffered slightly smaller casualties, with more than 10,000 people killed in the battle.