Defence of Turkey
Turkish artillery on Gallipoli (detail)
Why was this image chosen?
This panel acknowledges one
simple fact about the Gallipoli campaign – the Turks fought hard and courageously
against the invaders of their homeland. In the end, they won. They were conscious,
also, that this victory had been against the might of two western European nations
at the height of their power – the British Empire and the French Republic.
As the personal quote on this panel suggests, for the Turks 25 April 1915
was not a ‘landing’ but an ‘invasion’. It is, however,
a generous quote from a man who recognises that soldiers often simply have to
do what they are told and he bears no ill-will against his former enemies. Comparatively
little is known, let alone acknowledged, in Australia and New Zealand about
the experience of Gallipoli from the point of view of the ordinary Turkish soldier.
We have hundreds, probably thousands, of books and articles about the stories
of young men from every region of Australia who perished at Gallipoli. But who
were the Turks? Where did these men come from within Turkey? What did they see
themselves as fighting for? What stories of Gallipoli would emerge from a view
of the campaign as seen through the eyes of a Turkish soldier?
One of the few officers at Anzac who spoke fluent Turkish was the Englishman
Captain Aubrey Herbert. Herbert wrote the following tribute to the bravery of
the Turkish soldiers at the Battle of Chunuk Bair:
The day went badly for us. We lost Chunuk Bair, and without it we cannot
win the battle. The Turks have fought very finely, and all praise their courage.
It was wonderful to see them charging down the hill, through the storm of
shrapnel, under the white ghost wreaths of smoke.
[Aubrey Herbert, Mons, Kut and Anzac, London, 1919, pp.79-80, internet edition, http://www.gwpda.org/wwi-www/Mons/mons2.htm]
Defence of Turkey
Their duty was to come here and invade, ours was to defend.
Adil Shahin, Turkish veteran of Gallipoli
The British had expected
the Gallipoli operation to conclude quickly and that the Turkish army would
be no match for their soldiers. Instead they met a determined and resourceful
opponent. At critical moments Turkish and German commanders took quick and decisive
action and at no time did the British Empire forces manage the breakthrough
which they so desperately sought.
On Gallipoli men of both sides showed bravery
and endurance. After the Turkish counter-attack of 19 May, in which the Turks
suffered so severely, the Australian and New Zealand soldiers began to regard
the Turkish soldier with great respect. Something of the spirit of the Turks
on Gallipoli can be seen in the response to an Australian note thrown into a
Turkish trench urging its occupants to surrender: the response read, "You think
there are no true Turks left. But there are Turks, and Turks' sons!" In this
defence of the homeland, in the conflict known here as the Battle of Çanakkale,
Turkish authorities have put their casualties at between 250,000 and 300,000,
of whom at least 87,000 died.
Turkish artillery on Gallipoli.
(Australian War Memorial A05287)
Inset: Colonel Mustafa Kemal, one of the principal Turkish commanders at Gallipoli
later known as Ataturk – "Father of the Turks". He was to become the
first President of the Republic of Turkey.
(Australian War Memorial A05319)
TÜRKLERIN DIRENISI
Onlarin vazifesi burayi isgal etmek, bizim vazifemiz ise müdafaa etmekti.
Adil Sahin, Çanakkale Gazisi
Ingilizler, Türk ordusunun kendi
askerlerinin karsisinda herhangi bir varlik gösteremeyeceklerini ve Gelibolu
harekatinin çabucak tamamlanacagini saniyorlardi. Tam tersine, karsilarinda
kararli ve becerikli bir hasim buldular. Kritik saniyelerde süratli ve
kararli sekilde harekete geçen Türk ve Alman komutanlari, Ingiliz
imparatorluk kuvvetlerinin siddetle ihtiyaç duyduklari açilimi
yapmalarina firsat tanimadilar.
Gelibolu’da her iki taraf da büyük
kahramanlik ve dayaniklilik gösterdi. Türklerin büyük kayiplar
verdigi 19 Mayis’taki karsi saldiridan sonra Avustralya ve Yeni Zelandali
askerler Türkler’e büyük saygi duymaya basladilar. Avustralyalilarin
Türk siperlerinden birine yaptigi "teslim ol" çagrisina karsilik
Türklerden gelen cevap, Gelibolu’daki Türklerin ruh hali hakkinda
fikir vermektedir. Cevapta söyle denilmektedir: "Geride dogru dürüst
Türk kalmadi saniyorsunuz, ama geride Türkler ve onlarin ogullari
var!" Türk yetkilileri, bu ülkede Çanakkale savaslari olarak
adlandirilan bu vatan savunmasi sirasindaki kayiplarini, bunlarin en az 87 bini
ölü olmak üzere, 250 ile 300 bin arasinda vermektedirler.
Gelibolu’daki Türk topçusu
(Avustralya Savas Aniti A05287)
Sonradan Atatürk (Türkler’in atasi) adini alan Albay Mustafa
Kemal.
Gelibolu’da önde gelen Türk komutanlarindan olan Albay Kemal daha
sonra yeni Türkiye Cumhuriyeti’nin ilk Cumhurbaskani olmustur.
(Avustralya Savas Aniti A05319)
Original Art
Australian War Memorial A05287
Australian War Memorial A05319
