"Those heroes that shed their blood
And lost their lives.
You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country.
Therefore rest in peace.
There is no difference between the Johnnies
And the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side
Here in this country of ours.
You, the mothers,
Who sent their sons from far away countries
Wipe away your tears,
Your sons are now lying in our bosom
And are in peace
After having lost their lives on this land they have
Become our sons as well."
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, 1934
As someone who has spent a considerable period of time researching the history of the British Empire, as well as European powers' interaction with the Ottoman Empire and subsequently the Turkish Republic in the 20th century, the site of the ill-fated Allied military campaign at Gallipoli is a must-see. To visit the Gallipoli Peninsula on a bitterly cold, windy and rainy February afternoon helped to make the experience all the more authentic - as it was during such treacherous days that large numbers of Anzac soldiers became casualties of the war.
The Gallipoli Campaign of April 1915- January 1916 has a special place in the national consciousness of many Australians and New Zealanders. April 25th, the day of the fateful Allied military campaign to seize control of the Dardanelles, is now known as the ANZAC Day to commemorate those from these two countries who fell during the ten-month trench warfares.
Every year in the early morning of April 25th, a memorial service known as the Dawn Service is held at a site above the Anzac Cove, near the landing place of the ANZAC Corps in 1915. (the beach and landing site known as the Anzac cove is pictured above).
Originally a private affair intended for war veterans only, nowadays the Dawn Service on the ANZAC Day has become a big publicity stunt, featuring guests of honours from all countries involved and elaborate ceremonies and speeches by politicians and diplomats. With Istanbul-based tour operators providing day-trips from Istanbul, and tens of thousands of independent overseas visitors arrived with their own transport, the whole Gallipoli National Park was turned into a huge car park the night prior to the Dawn Service.
The view of the site where the annual Anzac day Dawn Service is now being held.
There are several war cemeteries throughout the Gallipoli Peninsula, the most well-known of which are Ari Burnu Allied War Cemetery (pictured above), and the Lone Pine Commonwealth War Cemetery (pictured below).
According to a special treaty between the Allies and the Turkish Government, all Allied and Commonwealth war cemeteries within the Gallipoli National Park are under the administration of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGA), a non-profit organization set up to administer and maintain all Commonwealth war graves throughout the world.
It is not just the Anzac soldiers who lost their lives in the Gallipoli Campaign; soldiers of different ethncities and religions from all over the former British Empire were sent to Gallipoli as well, many of which subsequently fell during the protracted attempts to take control of the Peninsula. The grave stone pictured above belongs to a Muslim soldier from former British India.
According to the tour guide, visitors to the war cemeteries in Gallipoli are not limited to those from Australia and New Zeland; people from virtually all the Commonwealth countries come all the way to the Gallipoli Peninsula to pay respect to their ancestors and relatives who were buried here.
In addition to the Allied and Commonwealth war cemeteries, there is also a Turkish War Cemetery specially dedicated to Turkish soldiers who died in the campaign. Just like in the case of both Australians and the New Zealanders, the Gallipoli Campaign also has a special, almost sacred significance in the collective historical consciousness of the Turkish nation, as it represents the rise of modern Turkish nationalism and the determination of the Turkish people to protect their country at all costs against the threat of foreign encroachment. On a political level, the campaign marks a turning point in the history of modern Turkey, and helps to launch the political career of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. He became a national hero in the wake of the Gallipoli campaign, and his bravery and military exploits during the offensives gave him the necessary credential to become the uncontested leader in the Turkish War of Independence a few years later.
The legacy of Mustafa Kemal and his men during the 1915 campaign is a vital and enduring component of Turkey's history curriculum. His words, actions and exploits are detailed not just in the history books, but all over the country in the form of speeches, posters, engravings, statutes, and countless memorials. In addition to the extensive collection of Ataturk's personal effects on display in Antikabir, Ankara, the small museum at Kabatepe in the Gallipoli National Park also pays tribute to Ataturk and his compatriots. Almost 100 years after the campaign, the Gallipoli National Park is still a preferred destination for Turkish school excursions anytime throughout the year. Even on that bitterly cold and stormy winter day in February, there were still two small groups of 10-12 year old Turkish school children accompanied by their teachers visiting the museum and the Turkish war graves near the Monument dedicated to Unknown Turkish Soldiers.
For those without private transport, one could join a half-day tour of the Gallipoli National Park at Eceabat. The tour includes transport, packed lunch, an explanation pack with booklets and an English-speaking guide. The tour would start at the Kabatepe Museum, followed by a tour of the Anzac Cove and Ari Burnu Cemetery, before driving around the Peninsula to visit the Lone Pine Cemetery, the Nek, the New Zealand Memorial, the Turkish Memorial, and a tour of the undergound trenches which claimed so many innocent lives in those fateful days in 1915.
According to the Allied invasion plan, the ridge above the Anzac Cove (pictured above) was supposed to be conquered after just one day of fighting, but in the end it took almost 10 months and the Allies suffered heavy losses while the battle turned into a stalemate.
Like the Battle of Somme on the western front, an important part of the Campaign of Gallipoli was the trench warfare, where troops hide inside underground dugouts connecting various strategic points on the Allied side of the defense lines.
The experience to visit the Gallipoli Battlefields on a cold rainy winter day is a daunting one, as it was precisely weather like this that sent many young, innocent lives to their pre-matured death. A large number of Allied soldiers fell victim not to gun shot wounds or the enemy fire, but to frost bites, disease and pneumonia. Even 95 years later, I could still feel that desolate coldness and the desperate senselessness of it all, whilst standing in pouring rain overlooking the western coastlines.
Copyrights@2010. All Rights Reserved. All text and photos by YC Cheng.
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