Gallipoli

We were told by an Australian that Gallipoli is a very famous (in his words classic) movie that stars a young pre-Mad Max Mel Gibson.

Yesterday, we visited Gallipoli, the location of one of the greatest mistakes made during World War I. British Commonwealth and French troops landed on the peninsula to push back Turkish troops and take control of the Dardanelles (the river from the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara). The battle stalemated after three days,which led to nine months of trench warfare where little to no progress was made on either end. It was the first major battle that Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. (ANZAC) were involved in, so it has become an important location in their short history.

This location is a popular site for Australians and New Zealanders to visit, as they commemorate ANZAC Day every April. Gallipoli is similar to the D-Day invasion in terms of military legend, but quite the opposite in terms of military success. Emily and I both knew next to nothing about this event because we are American; in our high schools we briefly studied WWI. We mainly studied it as a lead-up to WWII, where the Americans were highly involved. This is unfortunate as the battle that happened here should be studied in most classrooms.

The Australian forces were the first to land in what has become known as ANZAC Cove. The New Zealanders followed on North Beach a few hours later. The British troops landed last at Helles Point. The Australians had the most initial success, because they landed on the wrong beach. This beach was much narrower and led up to gullies and ravines that were difficult to navigate. For this reason, there were only 160 Turkish troops garrisoned there. The Turks faced a force of over 1000 Australians. However, because of the steep ravines, the Turks were able to retreat and force the Australians to stop, but only 10 Turks remained at the end of the morning. The Turk commander, Ataturk, quickly sent reinforcements that stopped the Australian advance by late morning. Those lines remained the same for nearly nine months.

A memorial that quotes Ataturk, the commander of Turkish forces during the conflict. Click it to read it. It has a very nice sentiment.

ANZAC Cove

Cemetery with monument.

Most headstones had lovely inscriptions such as: "BELOVED SON." or "THE LORD GIVETH AND THE LORD TAKETH AWAY." This headstone reads, "WELL DONE TED."

The British had basically no success on the south end at Helles Point. They landed in a shooting gallery similar to Omaha beach. The Turkish machine guns were set up in a crossfire that made getting onto the beach nearly impossible. Only a sand bank saved the men that were able to get to it. Eventually, they were able to create a beachhead, but three out of every five men that attempted the landing were killed or wounded.

The major blunder happened a few months into the engagement. The British wanted to attempt a landing just south of ANZAC Cove. They used the ANZAC forces to create a diversion by attempting to take the Turk trenches. The initial drive was pushed back at a great loss, but the British did land. Instead of making the move forward, before the Turks could move to take the highland, the British commander waited three days. Over the course of those three days, the ANZACs, now reinforced by the British and the French tried to take the trenches four times. Each time they were repelled, and each time they lost a large number of men. The British reinforcements that landed south of them made no move inland, and lost position on the beach. The offensive was a failure, and it is what West Point cadets will likely study for generations.

A Turkish soldier carrying a wounded ANZAC officer back to his lines.

The Lone Pine cemetery.

The Turks attempted an offensive that would push the British and ANZAC forces off the island. It ended in monumental failure and over 10,000 dead and wounded. This offensive happened in the middle of the summer. They were already having problems with disease spread by flies and unsanitary conditions in the trenches. The bodies did what bodies do in high heat, so a miraculous nine hour truce was called to bury the dead. This led to the exchange of food and cigarettes between the soldiers, and a sort of bond formed between the men. That didn't stop them from killing each other, but it did lead to a deep respect. If it weren't for this respect, I doubt the Turks would have monument after monument to enemy dead on their own land.

A memorial wall listing the names of the dead.

An ANZAC tunnel. Near the end of the battle, they started tunneling under each other's trenches to set off mines to collapse them.

A Muslim grave site for Turkish soldiers.

The last Turkish survivor from the conflict is commemorated here. He died at the age of 104.

The trenches here were seven meters from the trenches on the other side.

The stalemate lasted until the battle became unpopular, and the British thought Turkey was no longer important, so they pulled out. This of course was after tens of thousands of casualties. This event is extensively studied by Australians and New Zealanders, and is an important part in the birth of their respective national identities.

Our trip to Gallipoli was mainly concerned with cemeteries of Turkish, Australian, British, and New Zealand troops, preserved trenches and tunnels, and lookout points. It was interesting to hear the history of this battle, considering Americans don't really know nor spend much time learning about it.