Title: 1915 - Battle of Gallipoli

​

About: Allied troops landed on the Gallipoli peninsula in Ottoman Turkey, in a bid secure the Dardanelles and capture Constantinople. Months of brutal fighting ultimately ended in failure and retreat for the Allies.

​

The assault on Gallipoli was an ambitious one that if successful would seriously weaken the Central Powers, allowing Britain and France to support Russia and for Britain to secure the Middle East. However, success depended on Ottoman Turkish opposition quickly crumbling.

​

Amphibious landings deposited the British 29th Division at Cape Helles and the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps north of Gaba Tepe in an area later dubbed Anzac Cove. Both landings were quickly contained by determined Ottoman troops, and neither the British nor the Anzacs were able to advance.

 

Trench warfare took hold at Gallipoli, mirroring the fighting of the Western Front. At Anzac Cove it was particularly intensive, and heavy casualties were taken in both locations.  Conditions rapidly deteriorated in the withering summer heat, sickness was rampant, and food quickly became inedible.

​

After costly months of bloody fighting and failed assaults, the decision was finally made to evacuate. Gallipoli was to become a defining moment in the history of both Australia and New Zealand, revealing characteristics that both countries have used to define their soldiers: endurance, determination, initiative and 'mateship'.

 

For the Ottomans, it was a brief respite in the decline of their empire. But through the emergence of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk as one of the campaign's leading figures, it also led to the foundation of modern Turkey.

​

​

Decade: 1910s

Year: 1915

Region: Middle East

Country: Turkey + UK + Australia + New Zealand + France

Conflict: World War I

​

Type: Historical Event

Impact: 6

Artist: Mert Genccinar

_____________________________________________________________________

​

Group: Genesis

Number: 15/100

Price: 0.6 ETH

​

_____________________________________________________________________

​