Turkish Villas salutes those Heroes of Gallipoli. LEST WE FORGET... They shall not grow old, As we that are left grow old. Age shall not weary them, Nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun, And in the morning, We will remember them.

ANZAC Day, the 25th of April 1915, is a very special day in Australian and New Zealand history. ANZAC stands for the Australia -  New Zealand Army Corps and the reason that it is so important is that on the 25th of April, 1915 Australia and New Zealand went into battle for the first time as an independent nation. This landing was Australia's and New Zealand's "baptism of fire" on the shores of Gallipoli  (Gelibolu). 

Anzac Day remind us of a very important episode in Australian, New Zealand and Turkish history. Great suffering was caused to those countries by the loss of so many of their young men. But the Gallipoli campaign showcased attitudes and attributes - bravery, tenacity, practicality, ingenuity, loyalty to King and comrades - that helped Australia and New Zealand define their selves as a nation, even as it fought unquestioningly on the other side of the world in the name of the British Empire. Gallipoli is unique in world history: it is not just a battle; it is also an epic tale of courage, self-sacrifice and stubborn endurance. It is also a story of enemies who displayed mutual respect during the battle and who became friends after it. No battle has forged such strong comradeship and everlasting peace in its aftermath. On the shores of Gallipoli, Australia and New Zealand became nations and Turkey embarked on its journey to become a republic from the ruins of an empire.

In 1915 Britain along with its Allies (France, Russia, Italy, and Japan) was at war, fighting the Central Powers (Germany  and Austria-Hungary). When most people think of WW1 they think of fighting Germans in the trenches across France, but there was another front at eastern Europe where German forces were also fighting against Russia. In Mediterranean two German war ships escaped allied navy and passed through Dardanelles and sailed to Black sea to bomb some Russian ports. This action accepted as Ottoman's war declaration by the Allies.  Allied Navy  attacked  Dardanelles on 18th.March 1915,  but it was a disaster, after losing many war ships "War Cabinet in London" decided to attack   Gallipoli Peninsula, on Turkey's Northern Aegean coast. Once the peninsula was taken the Allies would be able to take control of  the Dardanelles and lay siege to Turkey's main city, Istanbul (then Constantinople). Australian and New Zealand troops then training in Egypt were tasked to participate in the attack. On April 25, 1915, the Australian troops landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula on what they had been told was a nice friendly flat beach. Instead, they found that they had been landed at the incorrect position and faced steep cliffs. Around 20,000 soldiers landed on the beach over the next couple days to face determined  Turkish force  to defend their own country - and led by Mustafa Kemal, who later became Ataturk, the leader of modern Turkey. Thousands of Australian and Turkish soldiers died in the hours that followed the landing at the beach that would eventually come to be known as Anzac Cove. What followed was basically a disaster. The Anzacs hung in for several months however could make little headway against the defending Turks.  Many thousands of Anzac and Turkish soldiers died, not only from the battle but from disease brought about by the poor living conditions. However from this disaster was born the image of the Aussie Digger, a brave and laconic battler, betrayed by the mother country but facing impossible odds with humour, courage and mateship.

Eventually the ANZAC troops were withdrawn from the peninsula having accomplished nothing. Those that survived went on to fight on other fronts but it was at Gallipoli that the legend was born. 

Some numbers of Gallipoli:

2721 - NZ forces fatalities.

8709 - Australian forces fatalities.

33,072 - fatalities from all British forces.

10,000 - French fatalities.

87,000 - Turkish fatalities.

25,000 - approx. attended 2005 (90th.) Anzac Day commemorations at Gallipoli (Gelibolu -Turkey).

12.000 -14.000 - approx. attended 2006 Anzac Day commemorations at Gallipoli (Gelibolu -Turkey).

10.000 -12.000 - approx. attended 2007 Anzac Day commemorations at Gallipoli (Gelibolu -Turkey).

10.000 -12.000 - approx. attended 2008 Anzac Day commemorations at Gallipoli (Gelibolu - Turkey).

Steve Irwin. 1962-2006.  Rest in peace Crikey Mate.

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Anzac Day, Anzac, Anzacs, Gallipoli, Gallipoli Campaign, Gelibolu, Turkey