Gallipoli campaign

The Gallipoli campaign, the Dardanelles campaign, the Defence of Gallipoli or the Battle of Gallipoli (Turkish: Gelibolu Muharebesi, Çanakkale Muharebeleri or Çanakkale Savaşı) was a military campaign in the First World War on the Gallipoli Peninsula (now Gelibolu) from 19 February 1915 to 9 January 1916. The Allied powers, Britain, France and the Russian Empire, sought to make the Ottoman Empire, one of the Central Powers, capitulate by taking control of the Turkish straits. This would expose the Ottoman capital at Constantinople to bombardment by Allied warships and cut it off from the Asian part of the empire. With the Ottoman Empire defeated, the Suez Canal would be safe and the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits would be open to Allied supplies to the Black Sea and warm-water ports in Russia.

In February 1915, the Allied fleet failed to force a passage through the Dardanelles. An amphibious landing on the Gallipoli peninsula began in April 1915. In January 1916, after eight months' fighting, with approximately 250,000 casualties on each side, the land campaign was abandoned and the invasion force was withdrawn. It was a costly campaign for the Allied powers and the Ottoman Empire as well as for the sponsors of the expedition, especially the First Lord of the Admiralty (1911–1915), Winston Churchill. The campaign is considered a Turkish victory.

In Turkey, it is regarded as a defining moment in the country's history. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who rose to prominence as a commander at Gallipoli, became the founder and first president of the Republic of Turkey in 1923. The campaign is considered by some to be the beginning of Australian and New Zealand national consciousness. The anniversary of the landings, 25 April, is known as Anzac Day, the most significant commemoration of military casualties and veterans in the two countries, surpassing Remembrance Day (Armistice Day).