The 107th anniversary of the Çanakkale Land Battles, an important chapter in the Gallipoli campaign of World War I, was marked on Sunday in the eponymous western Turkish province. Ceremonies were scheduled to be held throughout the day at cemeteries housing thousands of soldiers who died fighting one another.
In one corner, Turks paid a solemn tribute to martyrs at a monument dedicated to the fallen soldiers on the battlefield. Elsewhere, soldiers from a legendary regiment were remembered in their final resting place. Representatives of countries that were part of the Allied forces commemorated the fallen at their burial spots, close to where the Turkish soldiers they died fighting were laid to rest.
Though ceremonies are not distinctly divided and both Turkish and foreign officials attend the services for the fallen soldiers of either side, the first day of the two-day commemoration is traditionally devoted to Turkish, British and French soldiers who fought in the campaign. On the second day, a large-scale event, including a dawn service, is held at Anzac Cove, named after the troops from Australia and New Zealand who died in the battles.
Ceremonies had limited attendance for the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic but this year's events are open to all with restrictions related to the pandemic mostly lifted.
The battlefield and cemeteries were adorned with flowers in the colors of the Turkish flag, along with the perimeter of the massive memorial overlooking them. The memorial saw a large turnout of visitors on Sunday, with people praying for the souls of fallen soldiers.
Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy was among the dignitaries scheduled to attend the commemoration ceremonies. Ceremonies were held at the Martyrs’ Memorial, the French cemetery and the Helles Memorial, a Commonwealth war memorial site in Çanakkale. A historic castle that was used as a gun repair workshop by the Ottoman army during the battle was also set to reopen as part of ceremonies. On Monday, the Ministry of Youth and Sports will hold a “tribute walk” for the 57th Regiment of the Ottoman army, around the same time as the Anzac dawn service. Young volunteers from across the country are joining the 5-kilometer (3.1-mile) walk every day, retracing the footsteps of the infantry regiment to Chunuk Bair (Conkbayırı) under the orders of Lt. Col. Mustafa Kemal. The Ottoman officer, who went on to establish the Republic of Turkey, earned his military reputation in Çanakkale when he ordered the regiment to higher ground to stave off the Anzac advance. His marching order, “I don’t order you to fight, I order you to die,” is viewed as a symbol of Turkish patriotism in the face of invading forces and a reflection of the determination of the nation which was to emerge following the Çanakkale victory with the War of Independence, under his command. Parliament would later grant Mustafa Kemal the surname Atatürk, meaning "Father of Turks," for the role he played in building modern Turkey.
Also on Sunday, the remains of 17 missing French soldiers who fought in the battle were handed over to French military officials and put to rest alongside other fallen comrades more than a century after their deaths.
The remains were found during restoration work on a castle and surrounding areas on the Çanakkale peninsula.
Col. Philippe Boulogne paid tribute to soldiers who “came to defend their homeland on this distant land, the scene of one of the most tragic episodes in our history” at the handing-over ceremony. “Zouaves (light-infantry corps) and riflemen from Senegal, Algeria, legionnaires, 10,000 French and colonial soldiers fell in the front at Gallipoli,” Boulogne said. “Neither the scale of the losses nor the violence of the war diminished the bravery of these men. Their courage and their sense of sacrifice will never be forgotten.”
Only one out of the 17 French soldiers, Cpl. Paul Roman, of the 1st Engineers Regiment, has been formally identified. Authorities were also able to identify three tombstones belonging to Cmdr. Galinier of the 58th Colonial Infantry Regiment, and Capt. Stefani and 2nd Lt. Charvet of the 4th Zouaves, according to the French Embassy. Only their last names were provided.
The World War I Gallipoli campaign aimed to secure a naval route from the Mediterranean Sea to Istanbul through the Dardanelles, and take the Ottoman Empire out of the war. The Gallipoli landings marked the start of a fierce battle that lasted for eight months.
Around 44,000 Allied troops and 86,000 Ottoman soldiers died in the fighting.
Ismail Taşdemir, the Turkish official in charge of the historical site, said during the handing-over ceremony that the former battlefields have now become a land of “peace, tranquility and trust.”
At the soldiers’ final resting place at the Seddülbahir French cemetery, French Embassy official Mathilde Grammont read from a message that Mustafa Kemal Atatürk wrote for the mothers of the fallen soldiers: “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.”
