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| Battles at Gallipoli in the museum |
The First World War battlefields of Gallipoli are in Turkey. This was the site of very fierce fighting during the First World War. From the Allied side, most of the soldiers where from Australia and New Zealand - the Anzac forces. There were also some British soldiers involved. The other side were the Turkish soldiers. The battles at Gallipoli are widely regarded as the birth of the current Turkish nation. Before this time, Turkey was part of the Ottoman empire.The coming together of Turks from all over the country to protect their homeland from invasion, triggered the birth of modern Turkey. The leader of the Turkish forces also, is regarded as the farther of the nation. His name was Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. When you land in Turkey in Istanbul, you will be landing at the Ataturk International Airport.
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| The tour bus |
The Gallipoli campaign was from 17 February 1915 to 9 January 1916. The exact cost in human life is difficult to establish, but estimates are around 500 000, of which some 287 000 were Turkish. The Gallipoli campaign is also regarded as the development of consciousness for the Australian and New Zealand nations. This campaign is thus highly regarded by both the Turks and the Anzac group and has a prominent place in the history of all three nations.
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| Narrow strip of water. Ancient forts bear testament to the importance of this waterway. |
The main idea of the campaign was to capture Istanbul and ensure a sea route to Russia via the Bosphorus into the Black sea. Russia was a major ally in the overall war against Germany. The first stage was to capture the headland which dominates the Dardanelles strains. This is a very narrow waterway which was protected on both sides by Turkish forces and gun emplacements. Any Allied officer with half a brain cell and who had seen the waterways in real life and not just on a map would have realised that, even if the Allies captured the water ways, holding onto them would have been impossible. But I guess brain cells were in very short supply in the British top brass at that stage. Allied high command had many more soldiers than brain cells. Just think of the disaster of the Battle of the Somme, where the British High command managed to loose 60 000 men in one morning!
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| Naval gun emplacements. |
Anyway, back to the battle! The opening engagements was between the Allied navy and the Turkish shore batteries. One of the moments of the battle, from the Turkish point of view, happened when one of the guns was hit. The lift for loading the shells into the breech of the gun was damaged. One of the Turkish soldiers lifted up the shell, which was a super human feat, and loaded the gun. The shell struck one of the British ships, which caused it to move off course and into a row of waiting mines, which resulted in the sinking of the ship and turning the tide on the sea battle. This guy features heavily in all of the monuments to the war.
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| The guy lifting the shell |
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| Graves of the Anzac dead |
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| Actual Turkish trenches overlooking one of the beaches where the ANZAC troops landed. |
Thereafter was the start of the land battle and some of the worst fighting of the First World War. The Australian and New Zealand forces took the brunt of the invasion. Evidence of the landing can be seen in the many graveyards scattered along the coast. Of the estimated 500000 men who died, there are remarkedly very few actual graves. Many of the graves also do not have the date on which the soldier died and is listed as dying between certain dates. This was obviously the start of the attack and when a truce was called to collect the dead and wounded. Still, the vast majority of soldiers on both side are listed as missing.
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| Depiction of life in the trenches. |
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| From the display in Canakkale |
Much of the battlefields in the low lands have become farm lands again with no trace of the terrible battles which took place. However, in the steeply wooded headlands, which have again be reclaimed by the trees, the remains of the ANZAC and Turkish trenches can clearly still be seen. In some areas, no-mans land is no wider then a now tarred road, with evidence of opposing trenches on either side of the road. The silent hillside only bears the signs of the bitter close range battles which took place there more than100 years ago. These wooded hills are the unmarked graves of hundreds of thousands of soldiers from both sides.
Today, in the town of Canakkale, which is the closes city to the Galopolli battlefield sites as well as the archaeological site of Troy (another post), there are various monuments to the battles. One of the best of these is a a beautiful depiction of the trenches of both sides, with statues of the soldiers, showing life and death in the tranches. The size of no-mans land in this art work is about the same size as the actual no mans land in the hills. Canakkale is a city divided by the narrow waterway which is the Dardanelles.
As this is Turkey, the history of the battles is portrayed mainly from the Turkish point of view. There is a magnificent museum to the battle, very close to one of the beaches which were used for the landing of the ANZAC soldiers. Unfortunately, photography is not allowed in the museum, which is a great pity. The battles are depicted in beautiful models and is well worth the visit.
I am seriously running out of space on this post, so there will be at least one, or maybe even two more posts on my trip to Gallipoli and the visit to the battlefields.
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| Display in Canakkale |
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