Gallipoli Campaign

In one of the most costly and disastrous campaigns of World War I, British, French, Australian, and New Zealand forces poured ashore at Gallipoli from April 25, 1915, in an attempt to invade mainland Turkey and seize control of the Dardanelles Strait. Lacklustre Allied leadership and stiff Turkish resistance inspired by Mustafa Kemal (the future president of Turkey, Kemal Ataturk) led to a bloody stalemate. Casualties on all sides were well above 50 per cent of committed forces: the Anzac troops fared especially badly, and in Australia and New Zealand the Gallipoli campaign became synonymous with British arrogance, callousness, and incompetence. Finally, the Allied forces were withdrawn in December 1915 and January 1916, with little to show for thousands of lost lives.

UPI/THE BETTMANN ARCHIVE

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Anzac; New Zealand; Gallipoli Campaign

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