GALLIPOLI - ANZAC COVE

The Gallipoli peninsula (Greek: Χερσόνησσος της Καλλίπολης; Turkish: Gelibolu Yarımadası) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name "Καλλίπολις" (Kallípolis), meaning "Beautiful City", the original name of the modern town of Gelibolu. In antiquity, the peninsula was known as the Thracian Chersonese (Greek: Θρακική Χερσόνησος, Thrakiké Chersónesos; Latin: Chersonesus Thracica).

The peninsula runs in a south-westerly direction into the Aegean Sea, between the Hellespont (now known as the Dardanelles) and the bay of Melas (today Saros bay). Near Agora it was protected by a wall running across its full breadth. The isthmus traversed by the wall was only 36 stadia in breadth (about 6.5 km), but the length of the peninsula from this wall to its southern extremity, Cape Mastusia, was 420 stadia (about 77.5 km).

During World War I, British and colonial forces attacked the peninsula in 1915, seeking to secure a route to relieve their eastern ally, Russia. The Ottomans set up defensive fortifications along the peninsula and the attackers were eventually repulsed. In early 1915, attempting to seize a strategic advantage in World War I by capturing Constantinople, the British authorised an attack on the peninsula.

The first Australian troops landed on early morning 25 April 1915 and after eight months of heavy fighting, the troops were withdrawn around the end of the year. The campaign was one of the greatest Ottoman victories during the war and is considered a major Allied failure. In Turkey, it is regarded as a defining moment in the nation's history: A final surge in the defence of the motherland as the Ottoman Empire crumbled. The struggle formed the basis for the Turkish War of Independence and the founding of the Republic of Turkey eight years later under Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who first rose to prominence as a commander at Gallipoli.

The campaign was the first major military action of Australia and New Zealand as independent dominions, and is often considered to mark the birth of national consciousness in those nations. The date of the landing, 25 April, is known as "Anzac Day". It remains the most significant commemoration of military casualties and veterans in Australia and New Zealand. On the Allied side one of the key promoters of the expedition was Britain's First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, whose reputation took years to recover.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.