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A Lonely Pine
A single pine dominates the graveyard in front of the Lone Pine Memorial – which stands on the site of the fiercest fighting of the eight-month long WWI Gallipoli campaign. The memorial commemorates the more than 4,900 Australian and New Zealand servicemen who died on the Gallipoli Peninsula during the engagement.
“There never was a good war, or a bad peace.”
– Benjamin Franklin (July 27, 1983)
Last Tuesday was ANZAC Day: a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand that commemorates those “who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations” and their contribution and suffering. The date, however, was specifically chosen to immortalise the landing of ANZAC (Australia and New Zealand Army Corps) forces at Gallipoli, Turkey (Gelibolu, Türkiye) on April 25th, 1915.
This was a tragic campaign in the already-bloody First World War.
By the end of 1914 stalemate had taken hold on Western and Eastern Fronts. Allied thinking was that if they controlled the Dardanelles, also known as the Strait of Gallipoli, they could capture Constantinople (now Istanbul), and force Turkey out of the war.
Unfortunately, they seem to have forgotten a British Committee of Imperial Defense study in 1906, ruling that the fortifications and potential threat of mines in this very narrow strait made attacking by ship a dangerous mission. They also underestimated their enemy who were defending their own home soil. The naval attacks failed: one French battleship was hit by shore battery fire and had to withdraw; another was capsized, with the loss of almost all on board; civilian-manned minesweepers retreated under Ottoman fire; three British Royal Navy ships were damaged – with two sinking; two further French battleships were damaged and forced to retreat; and two Allied submarines were lost to mines and strong currents.
Plans to overpower the Turkish defences on land, opening the way for Allied ships, began.
The Mediterranean Expeditionary Force of around 70,000 men was formed comprising the 29th Division (British Infantry), the ANZACs, the Royal Naval Division, British Territorial Army units, a small contingent of Indian Army soldiers, some Newfoundlanders, and a French division – all led by General Sir Ian Hamilton. Postponed to 25 April due to bad weather, the landings were to be made at five beaches on Gallipoli Peninsula.
The maps were inadequate and virtually nothing went to plan.
For example: the ANZACs were landed about a mile further north than intended, into what can only be described as a defender’s paradise. Instead of the wide flats at Gaba Tepe, they were faced with the steep cliffs of what is now known as ANZAC Cove. The fierce Ottoman counterattacks were organized by Mustafa Kemal – later known as Atatürk, the founding father and first president of the Republic of Turkey.
Conditions were dreadful: there was a lack of water and nowhere to dispose of waste or bury the dead. In some places, trenches were barely four metres apart: trenches where soldiers were tormented by thirst, debilitated by dysentery, and plagued by flies and lice. Although the Allied troops made some advances, it finally became clear to those higher up that this was too costly an operation – especially after Serbia and Bulgaria joined Germany, allowing a direct railway connection into Turkey itself, meaning the Ottomans could easily be resupplied.
After a November visit by Lord Kitchener, the decision was finally made to evacuate. Ironically, that is the only part of the disastrous campaign that seems to have gone smoothly. By 20 December 1915, the ANZACs were evacuated, and other Allied forces soon followed.
Today you can walk around these fateful hills where so many young men lost their lives. There are 31 Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) cemeteries on the Gallipoli Peninsula, one French cemetery at Seddülbahir, and numerous Ottoman/Turkish memorials. Both the Australians and the Turks see this as an important place: Turkish Gallipoli Martyrs are as important to the Turkish national identity as the stories of Australian and New Zealander courage, sacrifice, and nationhood are to the ANZAC legend.
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Scenes from a Bus : The 1915 Çanakkale Bridge
The Gallipoli Peninsula is about a three hour drive east of Istanbul. On the European continent, it is separated from the Asian part of Türkiye to the south by the Dardanelles, a narrow strait (between 1.2 and 6 kilometres (0.75 to 3.73 mi) wide). This area was known for its rich history long before its strategic importance in World War I.
This bridge, at the eastern end of the peninsula near the Sea of Marmara, is about 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) long. (iPhone12Pro)
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Scenes from a Bus : Bunker on the Beach
This spot on the Aegean Sea looks idyllic, until you see the bunkers: a stark reminder of past wars. (iPhone12Pro)
The Sphinx Overlooking Anzac Cove
What a catastrophic place for a landing! Once you manage to climb over the rocky beach, this ridge shadows you.
ANZAC Cove
The Australian, New Zealand, and Turkish governments have joined forces to conduct the Gallipoli field survey, to develop important sites, and to manage special commemorations and increasing visitor numbers.
Beach at ANZAC Cove
I always think of ‘beach’ as sand: this is far from it. The cove is 600 metres long, bounded by the headlands of Arıburnu to the north and Little Arıburnu, known as Hell Spit, to the south. On April 25th 1915, 16,000 Australians and New Zealanders – most of whom had never seen combat – landed here. By that evening, 2,000 of them had been killed or wounded.
Rocks in ANZAC Cove
Reading the Information
Established in 1973 by the Turkish government, and included in the United Nations list of of National Parks and Protected Areas, the Gallipoli Peninsula Historical Site covers over 33,000 hectares. A rundown of the events at ANZAC Cove are laid out here in English and Turkish.
The Memorial at ANZAC Cove
“Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives … You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours … You, the mothers who sent their sons from faraway countries, wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.”
Dated 1934 and attributed to Atatürk, there is no evidence he wrote – or even spoke – these words. Still, they reflect a mutual respect, for which there are many corroborated examples.
Among The Fallen – 740 Private Peter A Smith
Musulman Soldier of the British Army, 860 Driver Husain Khan
Azmak Cemetery
Named for the watercourse nearby, this cemetery has 1074 First World War servicemen buried or commemorated; 684 of the burials are still unidentified.
Respect to Mehmetçik Monument
‘Mehmetçik’ (or Mehmet) is a colloquial term for Turkish Army soldiers. There is a story of a Turk raising a white flag in order to deliver a wounded Australian officer back to his own lines – this sculpture by artist Tankut Öktem depicts that story.
The Lone Pine Memorial
This memorial stands at the east end of the cemetery, on what was a strategically important plateau overlooking the whole May 1915 front line.
So Many Fallen …
The memorial commemorates more than 4,900 Australian and New Zealand servicemen who died in the ANZAC area and whose graves are not known, as well as others who died at sea and were buried in the waters off Gallipoli.
Lone Pine Cemetery
The battlefield was named for a solitary Aleppo pine that stood there at the start of the fighting. The land had been forested, but the other trees were cut by Turkish troops for their trenches.
Stone Pine – Pinus pinea
The original tree did not survive the fighting, but it was such an evocative symbol that at least two Australian soldiers took cones from it back home. Today, you will see descendents of that pine in many Australian war cemeteries. This one, on the other hand, is a different species.
Pines in the Trenches
Planted pines dot some of the remaining trenches. (iPhone12Pro)
Curved Memorial
New Zealand Memorial at Chunuk Bair
Mustafa Kemal Pasha (Atatürk)
Tribute to Turkish Soldiers
Respect History Monument and Park
A short distance away in the town of Eceabat, a large park features several depictions of the battlegrounds.
Respect History Monument
A large bronze statue in the park includes the Respect to Mehmetçik motif.
Çanakkale in Afternoon Light
As if to lighten the heavy weight of history, the sun broke through the clouds over the the city of Çanakkale as we crossed the Dardanelles by ferry from Eciabat.
It was a costly campaign: numbers vary widely, but the losses were enormous on all sides. One estimate is that more than 130,000 died: at least 87,000 Ottoman soldiers, and 44,000 Allied forces, including more than 8700 Australians and 2779 New Zealanders.
It was meant to be the war to end all wars.
Which, of course, it wasn’t (see: For the ANZACs; War and Pieces).
Photos: 17October2022
