Tony Negus is Australian High Commissioner. Simon Tucker is New Zealand High Commissioner. Selçuk Ünal is Turkish Ambassador.
Today marks the 100th anniversary of the first landing of the Gallipoli Campaign.
The year is 1915. The Ottoman Empire has recently (November, 1914) entered the First World War, on the side of the Central Powers, and opened up a new theatre of war stretching from the Balkans to the Gulf. Allied Powers decide on a strategy – the brainchild of Winston Churchill (First Lord of the Admiralty) – to clear a path through the narrow Dardanelles Straits to Constantinople to force the surrender of the Ottoman Empire and launch a new front against the Central Powers.
When a naval attack proved inadequate to silence the considerable Turkish fortifications, Allied forces conducted the first major amphibious operation of modern war. The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (the ANZACs), along with British, Newfoundland and French forces, conducted an offensive to capture the Turkish forts commanding the narrow straits.
The ANZACs landed at dawn on April 25, 1915. Meeting fierce resistance from the Turks they established a tenuous foothold on the steep slopes above the beach at the place later named Anzac Cove. By the end of the first day 16,000 Australians and New Zealanders had landed at Anzac Cove, or close by.
Ultimately the campaign was a heroic but costly failure. What had been planned as a bold stroke to knock Turkey out of the war quickly became a stalemate, and the campaign dragged on for eight months. At the end of 1915, the Allied forces were evacuated, after both sides had endured great hardships and suffered heavy loss of life – in all there were around 392,000 casualties.
Although the Gallipoli campaign failed in its military objectives, the Australian and New Zealand actions during the campaign left us all a powerful legacy. The creation of what became known as the "Anzac legend" remains an important part of the identity of both nations, shaping the way we view both our past and our future.
The "spirit of Anzac," with its human qualities of courage, mateship, and sacrifice, continues to have meaning and relevance for our sense of national identity. Remembering the landing, and the Australian, New Zealand, Turkish, Newfoundlander and many other nations' soldiers who served in the campaign, April 25 is marked around the world – including in Canada – as Anzac Day.
For Australia and New Zealand, Anzac Day goes beyond the anniversary of the landing on Gallipoli in 1915. It has become our principal day of national remembrance.
On this day, we also commemorate the sacrifice of the Newfoundlanders during the Gallipoli Campaign. The young members of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment were the only participants from North America at Gallipoli. This year, commemorations are taking on special significance, marking the centenary of the campaign.
In a sign of the remarkable friendship and mutual understanding that has been built between Australia, New Zealand and Turkey since 1915, some 10,500 Australians and New Zealanders will gather before dawn at Anzac Cove at Gallipoli to remember the events of 100 years ago and to underline the message of peace. Services will be held around the world, including in eight cities across Canada.
In Ottawa, for the first time, a traditional dawn service will be observed at the National War Memorial. This solemn service, timed to coincide with sunrise, has become a central part of Australian and New Zealand war commemorations. A longer service will follow at the Canadian War Museum.
In Turkey, the memory of all the men and women from many nations who took part in the Gallipoli battles is greatly respected. The Çanakkale Wars, as they are known, were also a turning point in the history of modern Turkey. After years of war and turmoil, citizens from all parts of the Ottoman Empire fought together.
The battles not only precipitated the Turkish War of Independence that eventually led to the birth of modern Turkey, but also led to the prominence of a battlefield commander, Mustafa Kemal. After becoming the first president of the Republic of Turkey, his tribute to all fallen in Gallipoli including Australians, New Zealanders and Newfoundlanders has become a symbol of embracing peace and turning the tragedies of war into friendship among the nations involved:
"Those heroes who 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 in this country of ours. You, the mothers who sent their sons from far away 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 become our sons as well."