Gallipoli - First World War

Category: Gallipoli --- See Latest World War I news here.

Gallipoli: The End of the Myth by Robin Prior (book review) washingtontimes.com :: 2010-02-02 :: Gallipoli
"Gallipoli: The End of the Myth" exposes the badly-thought-out plans, poor intelligence, careless leadership, and the sacrifice of the common foot soldier and junior officer on both sides. The Gallipoli Campaign was thought up in the halls of the British government: Why not strike directly at the capital of the Ottoman Empire, Constantinople? If Constantinople fell all of Turkey should fall. Much of the Middle East would be Britain's, Syria would be French, the pressure on the Russian allies through the Caucasus would be lifted, and success might open up an avenue for an allied thrust from the south against Germany's ally Austria-Hungary. [Buy from Amazon: US, UK, CA, DE, FR]

Previously unseen film clips of WWI Battle of Gallipoli released abcnews.go.com :: 2009-04-27 :: Films, Movies & Footage
Turkey's military has released previously unseen film clips and photographs of the First World War Battle of Gallipoli to coincide with the 94th anniversary of the campaign. The clips, posted on the military's Web site, show scenes from Turkish soldiers' preparations for war as well as scenes from the war front. On April 25, 1915, troops from Australia and New Zealand landed on the Gallipoli peninsula to carry out a doomed campaign against Ottoman Turks.

ANZAC letters claim there were Female Turkish sharp shooters in Gallipoli todayszaman.com :: 2009-03-19 :: Unsolved Mysteries
Mete Tuncoku, director of the Atatürk and Battles of Çanakkale Research Center (AÇASAM), came across letters and journals of Australian and New Zealand soldiers that mentioned Turkish female warriors fighting against them during the Battle of Gallipoli. It is not commonly known that women also fought during the battle, Tuncoku explained, so he researched the issue in the Australian and NZ archives. Tuncoku, author of "Çanakkale 1915: The Tip of the Iceberg," discovered letters and diaries referring "Turkish female warriors" and "female Turkish sharp shooters."

George Petersen's Gallipoli diary sells for $20,000 theage.com.au :: 2008-11-18 :: Documents, diaries, extracts
A New Zealand soldier's Gallipoli journal has fetched $20,000 at an auction. Private George Petersen's diary gives a day-by-day account from the April 25 Anzac landings in 1915 until his departure 5 months into the 8-month campaign. --- In early June: "Heavy bomb throwing from Turks, one bomb went off next to me, had a narrow escape, it killing one and wounding another..." And 3 days later: "At present we are fighting for dear life. About 100 prisoners were captured during night. We do not know what moment we may be blown up by land mines."

Controversial roadworks at Anzac Cove uncover bones and open old wounds news.com.au :: 2008-11-02 :: Gallipoli
Turkey has stopped roadworks at Gallipoli after more human bones were discovered. The Australian Government was notified that the remains of WWI soldiers had been dug up and called for the work to stop, and Turkish authorities agreed. It is thought a wayward contractor may have incorrectly sealed the roadway built to provide access to Lone Pine cemetery. That resulted in the heavy grader being called in to secure the edge and expand the drainage ditch. Historian Bill Sellars discovered a skull and several bones close to Lone Pine. Outraged Sellars, who has crusaded against the roadworks, said the bones he saw could have come from 3 or more soldiers.

Gallipoli submarine HMAS AE2 to be left on sea floor smh :: 2008-05-03 :: WW1 Submarines
Sunken Australian submarine HMAS AE2 that participated in the Gallipoli campaign will likely be left where it rests and protected as a national heritage relic. Turkish-Australian workshop - the Turkish Institute of Nautical Archaeology (TINA) and the Submarine Institute of Australia (SIA) - doesn't recommend raising the wreck, which lies in 73 metres in the Sea of Marmara after being scuttled in an April 1915 battle. "...the submarine should be protected by two buoys, an underwater shield, an anti-intruder surveillance system and sacrificial anodes against corrosion."

Rare Gallipoli film to screen on Auckland museum wall nzherald :: 2008-04-21 :: Films, Movies & Footage
Heroes of Gallipoli, the only film of Anzac troops at Gallipoli, will be shown outside the Auckland Museum on the 3 nights before the Anzac Day. The 20-min film will play 7.30pm - 10pm. British journalist Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett is thought to have filmed the footage, discovered in a compilation of WWI film sold to the Australian War Memorial in 1938. Bartlett was the only person known to have a motion picture camera on the Turkish peninsula. One scene shows 5 officers walking one-by-one towards the camera, the first wearing a topi, a British colonial sun helmet.

The forgotten New Zealand's mounted soldiers who halted the Turks stuff :: 2007-11-06 :: Gallipoli
Terry Kinloch is frustrated that the role played by New Zealand's mounted soldiers in the British campaign to defeat Turkish forces in the Middle East in the First World War is forgotten. 12,000 Kiwis served in the arduous campaign to push Turkish forces out of the Sinai Desert and Palestine 1916-1919. They earned a formidable reputation, and more than 500 were buried in graveyards scattered around the Holy Lands. But their exploits are overshadowed by the static battles in Gallipoli and the trenches on the Western Front. Lieutenant Colonel Kinloch has written a book on the mounted rifles called Devils on Horses.

To Hell and Back: the banned account of Gallipoli smh :: 2007-04-21 :: Gallipoli
90 years after its banning, a stark eye-witness account of Gallipoli is back in print. He was a very old man, an Anzac veteran on the return visit to Gallipoli in 1990, but his memory was clear. He'd been at Quinn's Post, possibly the most dangerous place on the peninsula, and was wounded there. The sense of the individual that man displayed was in contrast to how we have romanticised war. The importance of the individual is a feature of Sydney Loch's book, first published in 1916 as The Straits Impregnable. Loch served in the field artillery but as runner for his commanding officer he roamed the combat area.

Godley's Map of Gallipoli Bought by Alexander Turnbull Library scoop :: 2007-04-20 :: Memorabilia & Collectibles
The Alexander Turnbull Library has purchased a map that was used by Major General Godley, commander of the New Zealand and A Divisions, at Gallipoli during the landings at Anzac Cove. The map itself is the standard 1:40 000 scale printed map of the Gallipoli area that was issued to staff officers before the landings. Superimposed on the map in handwriting is information about Turkish troop positions that was available up to the 24th of April 1915. The map was used as a working command map and records Godley's thoughts on where the Anzac front line was during those first days. A low resolution image of the map is available on the National Library Catalogue.

Anzacs' landscape: Gallipoli battlefield threatened theage :: 2007-03-18 :: Battlefields
Large retaining walls to be built to stop erosion at Anzac Cove will fundamentally change the historic Gallipoli battlefield, historians and the RSL fear. Don Rowe urged the Australian Government to try to stop any further development at Gallipoli: "They are now planning for the 100th anniversary and I hope they can preserve the battlefield rather than do more road widening and build walls to stop erosion." In 2005, a road into Anzac Cove was expanded after a request from the Australian Govt to cater for buses taking 18,000 Australians to the Cove for the 90th anniversary of the Anzac Day dawn service. This year, 10,000 people are expected to make the pilgrimage on April 25.

Historic forts used in the Gallipoli war being restored todayszaman :: 2007-01-29 :: Gallipoli
The Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism is about to complete the restoration of two historic forts that played important roles during the Gallipoli War. The project carried out within the context of the Long Term Development Plan (UDGP) is restoring the forts of Namazgah and Mecidiye for the first time. The forts, which had long been neglected, are now being converted into open-air museums. Ömer Yörükoðlu said that the original construction of the forts, to be used 21 years later during the 1915 Gallipoli War, had begun in the 1840's with the final touches added in 1894.

First World War in the News is an edited review of hand-picked World War I (1914-1918) articles - covering everything from the soldiers and generals to the trenches and militaria.