Travelers from Australia and New Zealand joined Turkish and other nations’ dignitaries at the former World War I battlefields at Gallipoli for a solemn service at dawn Monday to remember troops killed during an unsuccessful British-led campaign that aimed to take the Ottoman Empire out of the war.
British, Australian and New Zealanders attend an Anzac Day dawn service at the New Zealand War Memorial at Hyde Park Corner in London, U.K., April 25, 2022.
As the sun rose, participants held a minute of silence to reflect on the sacrifices of tens of thousands of soldiers from the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps, known as the Anzacs, who landed on the beaches at Gallipoli, in northwest Turkey.
Visitors attend the Dawn Service ceremony at Anzac Cove beach, the site of the April 25, 1915, World War I landing of the ANZACs (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) on the Gallipoli peninsula, Turkey, early Monday, April 25, 2022.
“At this time 107 years ago, on ships that covered the ocean off this tiny bay, thousands of Australians and New Zealanders were preparing to land on this rugged coast,” New Zealand army chief, Maj. Gen. John Boswell, said during the ceremony. “For all but a few, this was to be the first experience of the horrors of combat.”
Visitors attend the Dawn Service ceremony at Anzac Cove beach, the site of the April 25, 1915, World War I landing of the Anzacs on the Gallipoli peninsula, Turkey, early Monday, April 25, 2022.
“Most were convinced that, as one New Zealand soldier wrote in his story: ‘It will be the greatest day in our lives.’ The sunrise they witnessed that day was for all too many to be the last they ever saw,” he continued. “Across our countries, home after home was plunged into mourning.”
A New Zealand soldier participates in an Anzac Day dawn service at Buttes New British Cemetery in Zonnebeke, Belgium on Monday, April 25, 2022.
The Gallipoli campaign aimed to secure a naval route from the Mediterranean Sea to Istanbul through the Dardanelles, and knock the Ottomans out of the war. The April 25, 1915, landings marked the start of a fierce battle that lasted eight months.
A bugler plays the "Last Post" during an Anzac Day dawn service at Buttes New British Cemetery in Zonnebeke, Belgium on Monday, April 25, 2022.
The battlefields and cemeteries at the site in Çanakkale, in northwestern Turkey, have become a place of pilgrimage for many Australians and New Zealanders who sleep on the beaches until the start of the dawn service. But the ongoing coronavirus pandemic kept the number of visitors small this year.
People spend the night before attending the Dawn Service ceremony at Anzac Cove beach, the site of the April 25, 1915, World War I landing of the Anzacs on the Gallipoli peninsula, Turkey, early Monday, April 25, 2022.
Among those who made it to the ceremony was 27-year-old Taylor Murphy from Victoria, Australia, who said the pros of being at Gallipoli "outweigh the cons of the pandemic. It feels quite surreal to be here," she said. “We are feeling quite emotional.”
A red poppy rests on the headstone of an unknown World War I soldier during an Anzac Day dawn service at Buttes New British Cemetery in Zonnebeke, Belgium on Monday, April 25, 2022.
Some 2,700 kilometers (1,677 miles) northwest of Gallipoli at the other extremity of Europe’s World War I front line, Australian and New Zealand officials gathered in Flanders Fields to remember, but equally to assess the present by centering on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
People spend the night before attending the Dawn Service ceremony at Anzac Cove beach, the site of the April 25, 1915, World War I landing of the Anzacs on the Gallipoli peninsula, Turkey, early Monday, April 25, 2022.
“War has returned to Europe in the form of Russia’s brutal and illegal invasion of Ukraine. Once again, our people, Belgians, Australians, New Zealanders and our friends and allies stand shoulder to shoulder with one another in our support for freedom, democracy, and the rule of law,” said New Zealand Ambassador Diana Reaich.
Buglers play the "Last Post" during an Anzac Day dawn service at Buttes New British Cemetery in Zonnebeke, Belgium, April 25, 2022.
The war, which has entered its third month, was also on the mind of Australian envoy Caroline Millar, who said that the cornerstones of post-World War II were being put to the test.
A woman takes a wooden cross out of a basket to place on a grave during an Anzac Day dawn service at Buttes New British Cemetery in Zonnebeke, Belgium, April 25, 2022.
“We also recommit in the words of the 1945 Charter of the United Nations to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war. Tragically, we are called to honor that commitment again today with the terrible violence of Russia’s unprovoked and illegal invasion of Ukraine,” Millar said.
Two Irish soldiers place a wooden cross at the grave of a New Zealand soldier during an Anzac Day dawn service at Buttes New British Cemetery in Zonnebeke, Belgium, April 25, 2022.
In Australia’s largest city, Sydney, downtown Martin Place was filled to capacity with tens of thousands at its dawn service. Prime Minister Scott Morrison and deputy opposition leader Richard Marles acknowledged Ukraine’s fight for freedom when they spoke at a service in the northern city of Darwin, which was devastated by Japanese bombing during World War II.
Ceremonial soldiers stand guard during the Anzac Day dawn service at the Shrine of Remembrance to remember soldiers who have died in war, in Melbourne, Australia, April 25, 2022.
Australia did not restrict the numbers attending its commemorations for the first time during the pandemic. The service in Auckland, New Zealand, was initially planned to be closed to the public, but a veterans’ association intervened and a smaller-than-usual crowd was allowed to attend. A Ukrainian flag was flown above the Auckland War Memorial Museum during the ceremony.
A member of the Catafalque Party participates in the annual Anzac Day dawn service on Coogee Beach in Sydney, April 25, 2022.
Monday was the first such commemoration of casualties of all wars since both Australia and New Zealand withdrew troops from Afghanistan last year. The tragic fate of troops from Australia and New Zealand in the Gallipoli campaign is believed to have inspired the two nations to carve national identities distinct from the British. Anzac Day is marked as a coming of age for the two nations.
People look at the enternal flame as they pay their respects during the Anzac Day dawn service at the Shrine of Remembrance to remember soldiers who have died in war, in Melbourne, April 25, 2022.
Gallipoli is also considered to be an important turning point in the history of modern Turkey. It was at Gallipoli that Mustafa Kemal Atatürk rose to prominence as a commander of the Turkish forces and went on to lead Turkey’s War of Independence and found the Turkish Republic.
A relative of a fallen soldier marches during the annual Anzac Day parade in Sydney, April 25, 2022.
On Monday, hundreds of Turkish students marched along a 5-kilometer (3-mile) track to honor the soldiers of the Turkish 57th Infantry Regiment, who were among the first to defend against the Gallipoli landings. Ataturk – who was Lt. Col. Mustafa Kemal at the time – is known to have commanded the regiment: “I do not order you to attack, I order you to die.”
People participate in the annual parade to mark Anzac Day in Sydney, April 25, 2022.
On Sunday, the remains of 17 missing French soldiers were handed over to French military officials and put to rest alongside other fallen comrades during separate remembrance ceremonies that were held for French, British and other soldiers. Their remains were found during restoration work on a castle and surrounding areas on the Çanakkale Peninsula.
A man carries a photo of an Australian soldier in the annual Anzac Day parade in Sydney, April 25, 2022.
Spectators wave Australian flags during the Anzac Day march in Sydney, Monday, April 25, 2022. Australia and New Zealand commemorate Anzac Day every April 25, the date in 1915 when the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps landed on Turkey in an ill-fated campaign that saw the soldiers' first combat of World War I.
A youth marching band performs during the Anzac Day march in Sydney, Monday, April 25, 2022. Australia and New Zealand commemorate Anzac Day every April 25, the date in 1915 when the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps landed in Turkey in an ill-fated campaign that resulted in the soldiers' first combat experience of World War I.
