The story
On April 25, 1915, British, French, Australian and New Zealand troops land on the Gallipoli peninsula, on the Dardanelles strait in the Ottoman Empire. The Allies, led by Winston Churchill, the First Lord of the Admiralty, and General Ian Hamilton, hoped to open the strait, take Constantinople and force the Ottomans out of the war, linking up with Russia. A naval attack in March had failed when ships hit mines. The landings stalled on the beaches and cliffs, and a stalemate followed.
The Ottoman defenders, advised by Germans but led by Turkish commanders, including Mustafa Kemal, held the heights. After eight months of trench warfare, heat, flies and dysentery, the Allies evacuated in December 1915 and January 1916. About 48,000 Allied soldiers died, including about 8,700 Australians and 2,700 New Zealanders, and Ottoman deaths were also heavy. The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) landed at a cove later named Anzac Cove, and April 25 is commemorated every year as Anzac Day, a core national occasion in both countries. Turks remember the battle as a defense of the homeland, and it made Mustafa Kemal, later Ataturk, a hero.
Why it mattered
- Its failure cost Churchill his post at the Admiralty in 1915 and weakened the case for eastern operations.
- It became a founding story of Australian and New Zealand national identity, commemorated each Anzac Day.
- It raised the reputation of Mustafa Kemal, who founded the Turkish Republic in 1923.
- It kept Russia cut off from Allied supplies through the straits.
Sources
- The Cost of Gallipoli Australian War Memorial
- Gallipoli Campaign Britannica
- What you need to know about the Gallipoli campaign Imperial War Museums
Community notes
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