Defining Moments- the Gallipoli Military Operation

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Defining moments- the Gallipoli Military Operation Gallipoli is the name of a Peninsula in Turkey, where in 1915 to 1916 Australian and New Zealand soldiers were engaged in one of the most memorable battles in the history of Australia. The Gallipoli Military Operation (now commonly known as the Gallipoli Campaign) was a complete military failure, but a great historical lesson to the nation. Many lives were lost. Not only did the Gallipoli Campaign define the Australian values like mateship, courage and loyalty, but also created a trail of mixed emotions of sadness, pride and regret, that many families in Australia had to live with for years to come. This is mainly due to the sheer number of soldiers that were lost or injured in this battle considering the size of Australia’s population at the time. It also created an affectionate bond between Australia and New Zealand (ANZACs- Australian and New Zealand Army Corps). The Gallipoli Campaign took place in World War One (1914- 1918), where the “Triple Alliance” (Germany, Austria-Hungary and Turkey) fought against the “Triple Entente” (Great Britain, Russia and France). The war originated between Britain and Germany but then escalated to more than 100 countries. The Triple Entente tried to defeat Germany by destroying its allies. Turkey was one of Germany’s allies, so the British formed a plan to capture the “Gallipoli Peninsula,” so that they would have control of the Dardanelles waterway and that would allow them to invade the capital of Turkey, Constantinople (currently Istanbul). This would also allow them to have a supply route through Turkey to Russia. The battle lasted for eight months, from the European summer through to the end of winter, from 25 April 1915 to 9 January 1916. Winston Churchill, the Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty of Britain at the time, was in command, and who came up with the idea.

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