Gallipoli peninsula is located in Turkish Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles straits to the east. The name derives from the Greek Kallipolis which means “Beautiful City”.
Gallipoli was a city in the southern part of the Thracian Chersonese now known as the Gallipoli Peninsula, on the right shore, and at the entrance of the Dardanelles.
The region covers 34,000 hectares (340 square kilometers). The geological, archaeological and environmental features of the Gallipoli Peninsula have stimulated the region as a popular tourist spot. The Peninsula has been a bridgehead, a barrier and meeting place for different cultures over the centuries.
For nine months in 1915, British and French forces battled the Ottoman Empire – modern Turkey – for control of the Gallipoli peninsula, a small finger of Europe jutting into the Aegean Sea that dominates a strategic waterway, the Dardanelles. By opening the Dardanelles to their fleets, the Allies hoped to threaten the Ottoman capital, Constantinople (now Istanbul) and knock the Turks out of the war.
Among the British forces were the Anzacs – Australia and New Zealand Army Corps – who landed on the peninsula on 25 April. The landing was ambitious and ultimately unsuccessful: the peninsula remained in its defenders’ hands.
The campaign was a costly failure for the Allies: 44,000 British and French soldiers died, including over 8700 Australians. Among the dead were 2721 New Zealanders – approximate one-quarter of those who fought on Gallipoli. Victory came at a high price for the Turks: 87,000 men died in the campaign which became a defining moment in Turkish history.
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