St John's Cathedral, Brisbane and the Anzac Legend

Austro-Hungarian Empire

Black Sea

CONSTANTINOPLE

Bosphorus

Sea of Marmara

Ankara

Dardanelles

Ottoman Syrian Provinces

Cyprus

Egypt 310 miles / 500 km

Crete

Mediterranean Sea

Above: relief map of Turkey, straddling the boundary between Europe and Asia, controlling the landlocked, narrow waterways of the Dardanelles and Bosphorus Straits, and the Sea of Marmara. These passages, under Ottoman Empire control, with German military support, linked the Mediterranean and Black Seas but their potential value was not to be realised in the bloody Gallipoli campaign — although Constantinople (today Istanbul), straddling the Bosphorus, ultimately fell to the allies three years later. The inset box at top left indicates the close-up map of the Dardanelles on the opposite page.

The Gallipoli campaign began on 25 April 1915 in a series of dawn landings by British, French and ANZAC forces on the Gallipoli Peninsula in the Ottoman Empire (now Turkey) near Constantinople. The aim was to secure a foothold on the shore which would enable the Anzacs, in concert with the British and French, to advance on Ottoman (that is, Turkish) positions, capture Turkish forts and open the way for British and allied Russian naval convoys to pass through the adjacent Dardanelles Strait. But upon disembarking the Anzacs found that they had been landed at the wrong beach, a place called Ari Burnu which quickly became known as ‘Anzac Cove.’ Instead of encountering relatively flat fields which they had expected, Anzac Cove proved to be a narrow beach perched under steep cliffs and ridges manned by seasoned Turkish defenders. The Anzacs met increasing resistance from Turkish shells and gunfire as they ascended the heights and, by the end of that first day at Gallipoli, more than 2000 Anzacs lay dead or wounded.

Following the initial landings, and over the course of the next eight months, the Anzacs found themselves pinned down at Anzac Cove, or in positions just inland from the sea, unable to penetrate long distances over the high hills and ridges against the strong Turkish defences. In August 1915 a series of major offences against Turkish positions at The Nek and Lone Pine were launched from Anzac Cove, but all attacks ended in failure with huge loss of life. At the Battle of Lone Pine seven Australians won the Victoria Cross, Britain’s highest military award for bravery. During their time at Anzac Cove, apart from constant bombardment from the Turks, the soldiers also incurred many casualties from sickness (including cholera) and exposure. It was only the special quality of the Australians to endure hardship, honed from many years of settling the Australian Outback, and their renowned capacity to maintain humour in the face of adversity, that kept morale among the Anzacs positive.

Opposite page background: First World War topographic map of the Dardanelles Strait and Gallipoli Peninsula with terrain shown by colour shading and contour lines. This was adapted from captured Turkish maps and annotated with location names used by the allied forces. The Anzac Cove area enlarged on the inset map is outlined. By Egypt. Maslahat al-Misahah; Great Britain. War Office. General Staff. Geographical Section - State Library of New South Wales Map Z/M3 390.8/1915/2, Mitchell Map Collection, Public Domain, https:// commons.wikimedia.org/w/index. php?curid=31433936 Opposite page inset below: Topographic map close-up, with Anzac Cove centre left, showing Anzac and Turkish posts, trenches, tracks and roads, and approximate landing places. Terrain shown by contours and spot heights, based on 1915 Turkish maps with Anzac trenches as at September 1915. Gerald R. Campbell (map face); H.E.C. Robinson (publisher); – National Library of Australia MAP G7431.S65 1916

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