Two Things I Didn't Know About Gallipoli

Tuesday April 17, 2012
ANZAC Cove, Turkey
In recent years there's been an explosion of Australian and Kiwi visitors to the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey. As such I won't go over the usual ground of how solemn and sad the place is. But there were two major points I learnt on my excursion there:

1. TRENCHES ARE STILL THERE
Before the trip, in Gallipoli I expected to see memorials, cemeteries, and the coastline of the landing. But I had no idea that the trenches from that horrendous World War I campaign still remain in full view. After almost 100 years of erosion they're not as deep as they originally were, but are still surprisingly distinct - you can't miss it.

ANZAC communication tunnel, in the trenches
Seeing the Allied and Turkish trenches within just metres of each other sent a chill down my spine. Both sides would shoot at each other, then would throw each other cigarettes and snacks during the quiet times. For all the visitors it was a vivid visual aid in imagining what the terrible battle conditions were like.
ANZAC trenches

2. IMPACT ON TURKEY 
Hill 971 (Kocaçimentepe) - the highest point on the
peninsula which the Turks crucially held for the
entire campaign except for two days, when Kiwi
troops temporarily intruded.
In the background is an Ataturk statue.
As a kid growing up in Australia we're taught thoroughly about the contribution of the Gallipoli campaign to our national consciousness. However I didn't realise that the defence of the peninsula had an even more profound impact on the identity of modern Turkey.

As the Ottoman Empire declined the British and French thought it would be just a matter of time before they could swoop in and conquer, like they had for the rest of the Middle East. The under-resourced Turks were the massive underdog when the Allies started their advance into Turkey.

The incredible defence of their homeland against all odds in the bloody Gallipoli Campaign impacted on the Turkish national psyche in an immeasurable way. It was a boost to its self esteem that allowed it to take on the modern world with its head held high.

The Gallipoli campaign made the Turkish commander Mustafa Kemal Ataturk a national hero. He eventually became the first President of Turkey, and set its course as a modern secular democracy. Airports, bridges, and streets are named Ataturk; his statues are everywhere; every Turkish banknote bears his portrait.

We should be taught this in Australian schools. The Turkish people shed just as many tears for Gallipoli as we do.
Ataturk quotation commemorating lost lives on the Allied side.
Statue depicting Turkish soldier carrying wounded Allied soldier across No Man's Land 

2 comments:

  1. I also learnt two things about Gallipoli while in Turkey. First, most Turks don't even know they fought Australia in the war - they just think of the battle as against Britain. And I guess we were just part of the Empire then, so that's no great surprise, I suppose, but outside of Gallipoli, Turkish people are genuinely surprised to learn that there were Aussie soldiers fighting them on their shores. Second, the Turks - like the British - outsourced their fighting. Many of those fighting in the trenches for Turkey at Gallipoli were actually Syrian.

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  2. Yes, Syrian and the Germans were heavily involved too obviously.

    I think the fact that they didn't even realise Australians were fighting probably emphasises why Gallipoli was such an event of national awakening for us. "The British sent our men to die in vain - we can no longer blindly follow what the Empire tells us to do!"

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