Gallipoli

We left Istanbul a little late as we just couldn't keep ourselves away from the city;) Keeping on heading east would have been great but the insurance just would have been crippling (£1500 as some fellow travellers had paid). So this was to be the start of our return back West. A turning point in our travels you could say. For one it now meant that we'd be driving into the setting sun, something that hadn't really occurred to us until now, which would mean having the sun beating down onto us at the wheel at 30 degree plus temperatures. Oh oh, not being morning people this could be tricky...

Road to Gallipoli looking out to the Marmara Sea

From Istanbul we headed further south west into "European Turkey" so we could make the great Antipodean pilgrimage to our most sacred overseas memorial, the Gallipoli Peninsula. This narrow strip of land forms the northern coast of the Dardanelles, the narrow mouth to the Marmaris Sea, which leads up to the Bosphorous at Istanbul and then into the Black Sea. At an early stage of the Great War (WW1) it was decided that it would be a priority to control these straits. If this could be controlled, then it would force Turkey out of the war, allow the Allies to ensure a direct shipping route into Russia, and in theory save many (Allied?) lives.

Model of british landing force, with the bay in the background

The campaign commenced with a British naval attack which was fought off by the barrage of guns emplaced high on the hill overlooking the narrow straits, sinking many Allied ships including an Australian submarine (we weren't even aware Australia had any during WW1, let alone that they were able to get this to Turkey).

What it was all about, the Dardanelles

Shortly afterwards the ANZACs landed further up the peninsula and many more British forces further north. What was expected to be a quick battle went from bad to worse after the ANZACs (Australian and New Zealand Armed Corps) were mistakenly directed to land at the wrong point. Instead of embarking at a nice flat beach, this meant they arrived in the black of pre dawn beneath a heavily defended cliff and into direct enemy fire, whilst being ordered to fight their way up a near vertical incline to claim the intended position. We read some very tragic stories of soldiers who were found dead at daybreak, clinging to their landing craft, having been shot before they could even get ashore.

ANZAC cove, where it all began and ended for so many

ANZAC cove, nice place for a swim not a war

Yet despite many setbacks the forces were ordered to push on, commanders instructed to ignore the early mistakes. Bloody, close and futile trench warfare thus ensued and both sides fought with incredible valour, neither side willing to concede - only a couple of kilometres of territory, firstly won by the ANZACs and then regained by the Turks, were ever traded during the entire campaign. Numerous other strategic failures later, the death toll was over 200,000 in the span of just over 8 months.

Monument with Ataturk leading the charge

Such was the resolve of the Turks not to lose this strategic headland that at one point an entire battalion was lost. It was here that a certain young Turkish officer, Mustafa Kamel turned to face his 57th battalion, who had been completely taken by surprise, and uttered the famous words 'I do not order you to fight, I order you to die'. During the ensuing fray, Mustafa himself was spared death by his pocketwatch that caught a piece of shrapnel directly in front of his heart. Mustafa Kemal then went on to become none other than Ataturk (Father of the Turks) - still revered reformer of the Turkish Empire. The 57th Batallion however was completely wiped out. To this day the Turkish army does not have a 57th batallion as a sign of respect to those lost their lives at Gallipoli.

Memorial to the 57th Batallion

Reading the sobering stories and accounts at the central museum

The peninsula today is calm and quiet, with pine forest regenerating over what once were bloody trenches and battlefields. There are a number of memorials linked by a one way circular route you can follow that commemorate strategic events during the campaign. What was most compelling for us was the number of Turks who were visiting to pay their respects to their own valiant soliders. At times we forget it isn't just about the ANZAC's, foremost this is a Turkish memorial to their own lost fathers and sons. It was the Turks who lost more than half the total casualties, over 100,000 Turkish soldiers lost their lives defending their homeland. In fact during our two days on the peninsula we only encountered one small minibus of backpacking "ANZACs", whilst we were journeying behind numerous Turkish plated cars.

Turkish soldier helping an ANZAC soldier

One of the most memorable stories you will hear on the pensinsula however is that of the humanity of the Turkish solider. History has it that the Turks were one of, if not the most gentlemanly of all soldiers, being famous for their compassion shown to the enemy soldier. There are numerous accounts of Turkish soliders physically carrying and attending to wounded ANZACs during ceasefires in the campaign. For us this was most eloquently summed up by the below quote from the head of the ANZAC troops...


EH/SJ