Gallipoli’s 90th Anniversary

Today marks the 90th anniversary of the famous WWI battle of Gallipoli (Turkish: Gelibolu). On April 25th 1915, the Allied forces, represented mainly by the ANZACs (Australia New Zealand Army Corps) attempted to fight their way through the Dardanelles in order ulimately take Constantinople, the seat of the Ottoman empire. In addition, they hoped to control shipping from the Mediterranean through to the Black Sea while opening up a new supply line to the east. Map here!

There were close to 130,000 casualities total between both sides and around 260,000 wounded during the eight month campaign. According to many historians, and Australians themselves, it was the mass slaughter here which is credited with kicking off the independence movements in Australia and New Zealand where today is a national holiday known as ANZAC Day. In addition, it was during the battle of Gallipoli that a little known Turkish general, Mustafa Kemal, distinguished himself by refusing to follow orders and thereby successfully repelling the allied attack. After WWI, he went on to found the modern Republic of Turkey and take the name Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, or father of the Turks.

Part of working for Her Majesty’s Foreign Ministry entails travel and to this end, I was in Turkey last September and managed, between my many duties, to take a full day and tour the entire Gallipoli peninsula while staying in Ô¡anakkale. Here are some photographs from my unofficial visit:

Picture 1: ANZAC graves on the beaches of the Aegean.

Picture 2: Remains of a bunker.

Picture 3: Memorial featuring a dying Turkish soldier next to a dying ANZAC soldier outside the Gallipoli Museum.