Lessons from Çanakkale

The land and naval battles between the Ottoman Empire and the Allied Powers during the First World War are remembered as some of the most challenging, arduous, and bloody in history. The Çanakkale Battles (1915 – 1916) took place on the Gallipoli Peninsula and have secured their place in both Turkish and world history. They produced highly significant results in every respect. Those were the years when many of our deep-rooted educational institutions, such as Istanbul High School and Istanbul Faculty of Medicine (which had no graduates in 1921 because all medical students were martyrs), did not graduate students or had very few graduates. The number of student martyrs was higher than the number of graduates. Galatasaray's iconic footballer, Hasnun Galip Bey, who gave his name to the street where the club is located today, was a martyr. The legendary footballer and poet Emin Bülent Serdaroğlu, on the other hand, was a veteran. Emin Bülent would write, “I did not forgive you, the oppressor of the West. I am a Turk and I am your enemy, even if I remain the only one.” A similar situation, of course, applies to Fenerbahçe and Beşiktaş as well.

What was the enemy's goal while attacking Çanakkale?

The main objectives of the Allied Powers in these battles were as follows: To capture the Ottoman capital, Istanbul; to take control of the Straits; to open a military and trade route to Russia; to neutralize an important ally of Germany, thereby weakening their allies; and to intervene in the civil war in Russia on the side of the Tsar…

The enemy's intention, which caused a portion of the Ottoman army to head to Çanakkale to defend the Straits, was to reduce the burden on the Russian Army. This is because the Ottoman armies were putting up a fierce struggle against the Russian armies on the Caucasus Front. According to the plan, by passing through the Straits, both weapons and supplies would be provided to the Russian army, and the country's manpower would be utilized. By neutralizing the Ottoman Empire, they would advance as far as the Caucasus. They would both reach oil and alleviate the burden on the Western Front.

Once the Straits were held, pressure on the Balkans would be increased, and Bulgaria would be ensured to enter the war on their side. Furthermore, since Istanbul would surrender, the pressure of the Ottoman army on the Suez Canal would be lifted, which would consolidate the security of the Road to India, of vital importance to the British. With the Caliph Sultan in Istanbul being neutralized, the influence of the British over the Muslims in British colonies would increase. The Germans, who were helping the Ottomans in Çanakkale, would be prevented from launching new attacks. Since the Ottoman Empire would withdraw from the war following the capture of Istanbul after Çanakkale, the war would end in a much shorter time and at less cost.

The enemy navy attacked from the sea first. Despite the major offensive it launched on February 19, 1915, it could not achieve results. The next attack began on March 18, 1915. The mines laid by the Nusret minelayer under the command of Captain Tophaneli Hakkı Bey caused very heavy losses to the British and French navies. In the end, the enemy, which had attacked with great force from the sea, realized that the mines and Ottoman artillery would not let them pass. Upon this, they decided to land on the Gallipoli Peninsula and attack from the land. The morning of April 25, 1915, is the date when the Çanakkale Land Battles began. The battles lasted 8.5 months and ended on January 9, 1916, with the enemy leaving Çanakkale.

The enemy, which landed from the south of the peninsula, attacked with British and French forces from Seddülbahir, while also landing from Arıburnu with ANZAC units (the combined force of Australia and New Zealand). In addition to this, the Indian Brigade formed the reserve forces. The Ottoman armies were led by German Marshal Liman von Sanders. This was a requirement of the treaty between the two countries. The German marshal's plan was defense-oriented. It was an overly cautious plan. Ottoman commanders, however, proposed a more effective, more aggressive defense plan. According to the Ottoman staff, the enemy's offensive should be responded to as soon as it began, on the beach, right at the beginning of the landing operation. The German commander's attitude caused the Ottoman state to lose very serious time and suffer more martyrs.

Çanakkale and the awakening of national consciousness

The Çanakkale Battles, where 6 thousand shells fell per square meter, are an important turning point for Turkish history. It is almost a historical breaking point. It is immortalized by our national poet Mehmet Akif Ersoy's magnificent poem titled “Çanakkale Martyrs.” In his poem, which begins with “What is this Strait War, is there an equal in the world, the densest armies are attacking, four or five of them. To pass through the hills to the Marmara, how many fleets have surrounded a tiny land,” he compares the Çanakkale martyrs to those who were martyred in the Battle of Badr. For them, he says, “How great you are that your blood saves the oneness (Tevhid), the lions of Badr were only this glorious.” While the “Çanakkale Folk Song” settled into the memory and heart of our people, another great poet of the Turkish language, Fazıl Hüsnü Dağlarca, said, “Çanakkale is the preface to the National Struggle.” These words recorded in history that the root of the Kuvayı Milliye (National Forces) spirit was the resistance at Çanakkale. Mustafa Kemal Pasha, who appeared on the historical stage at Çanakkale, said, “We wiped away the stain cast upon our foreheads in the Balkan War at Çanakkale.”

Atatürk also wrote the following in a letter he gave to Minister of the Interior Şükrü Kaya, who attended the ceremony to read it at the Çanakkale celebrations in 1934, for the ANZACs who fought in Çanakkale: “Those heroes who shed their blood on the soil of this country! You are now in the soil of a friendly country. Rest in peace and tranquility. You are side by side, sleeping together with the Mehmetçiks. Mothers who sent their sons from distant lands to war! Dry your tears. Your sons are in our bosom, they are in peace, and they will sleep comfortably in peace. After they gave their lives on this soil, they have become our sons.” These words had a great impact in the world. They laid the groundwork for traditional events that would develop in later years and be commemorated every year with ceremonies attended by the grandchildren of the ANZACs.

The historical importance of Çanakkale

- The Çanakkale War was an important breakthrough, an important awakening, and an important victory before our War of Independence. It was an epic resistance in terms of homeland defense. It is a war that greatly influenced national consciousness and awakening. It is also the place where Mustafa Kemal appeared on the historical stage. After the failures in the Balkan, Sarıkamış, and Canal operations, confidence in the nation and the army was restored at Çanakkale.

- Çanakkale proved that imperialism could be defeated. In this respect, it is instructive and current. After Çanakkale, England, the largest colonial empire of the period, known as the “empire on which the sun never sets,” lost power and prestige. Its superiority at sea received a blow. The British invincible armada at sea was defeated. The reputation of military and civilian administrators was shaken. Those responsible for the operation were questioned in a special commission established due to the failure. In all lands exploited by British imperialism, from India to Australia and New Zealand, among oppressed nations and the oppressed world, it accelerated the awakening of national consciousness and national identity, and reinforced demands for independence. After Çanakkale, the British Secretary of State for War Churchill suffered a major political blow and did not take on an important task until World War II. He left the government. Secretary of State for War Kitchener ended his political life. The reputation of the civilian and military cadres in France was also largely shaken.

- Because the Çanakkale resistance prevented pressure from being exerted on the Balkans, Bulgaria joined the war on the side of Germany, not on the side of England, France, and Russia. This put the situation of the Allied forces in the Balkans in a difficult position. Romania, Greece, and Italy preferred to stay out of the war for a while longer.

- After the war, England's financial situation deteriorated, and it became a country with foreign debt. The prolongation of the war also increased the cost of the war and shook financial balances. This was one of the reasons why it lost its superiority, especially at sea, after the war.

- The Turkish victory at Çanakkale strengthened the hand of the Bolsheviks led by Lenin in the civil war in Russia. It helped the Russian Tsar, who relied heavily on aid from Europe, to disappear into history and helped the Bolsheviks come to power, preparing the ground for it. The Russians also admit that Çanakkale had an effect on the overthrow of the Tsar and the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, which could not overcome economic and social crises. Being unable to send aid to Russia turned the British plans upside down. The Çanakkale resistance prolonged the war by at least 2 more years.

Çanakkale and the honor war of the Turks

- While the Turks, who were said to be “finished, exhausted, collapsed,” made a magnificent appearance on the historical stage once again with one last awakening, there were also soldiers from minority members of the Ottoman subjects, such as Greeks and Jews, who fought in the Ottoman Army and were martyred, which we must especially emphasize. Like Sokrat İncesu from Kayseri… And those heroes wrote in their wills, “Do not bury me separately from the Mehmetçik, bury us side by side.” Seeds of steps towards common homeland defense and nation-building were sown in people who came from all over the Ottoman geography and fought together. Sokrat İncesu lived a poor life in Bozcaada after the war and published a book titled “My Memories of Çanakkale - Arıburnu in the First World War” in 1964 with his own means. The book was later reprinted by Arma Yayınları. When he died, a Quran was found under his pillow. Neither the church agreed to hold a ceremony, nor was his funeral prayer performed in the mosque. (Ercan Dolapçı, “A child of the homeland in Çanakkale: Sokrat”, Aydınlık, 23. 03. 2003, p: 56 – 57).

- Çanakkale is one of the most magnificent, most justified, and most epic examples of homeland defense. The birthplaces and years of the martyrs are written on the martyrs' graves, and there are children as young as 13 or 14 among the heroes who came from all over the country. The “Hey 15’li 15’li” folk song is a lament for those who were born in 1315 (according to the Hijri calendar) and went to Çanakkale. This heroism and self-sacrifice of the nation do not fit into history, as in the lines of Mehmet Akif. Mustafa Kemal, the Hero of Anafartalar, said for the day he won the bloody battles, “The time we won is that time,” and noted the heroism of the 57th Regiment in history. Mustafa Kemal Pasha saying to the Mehmetçik at Çanakkale, “I am not ordering you to attack, I am ordering you to die,” is a sign of a will and heroism rarely seen in history. The grandchildren of the ANZACs also perform the Dawn Service during the commemoration ceremonies that begin on the night connecting April 24 to April 25. That day is celebrated as Anzac Day.

- Unfortunately, the Ottoman administration could not look after that Mehmetçik after the war. It could not prevent the Çanakkale veterans, the Mehmetçiks, who had to beg door to door in the streets, from being beaten, humiliated, and insulted by minorities in occupied Istanbul.

A historical lesson given to the British

- The famous British Prime Minister Lloyd George saying, “The sole reason for the Great War is to throw the Turks out of the Straits,” also explains why the war was so bloody and difficult. The fact that the command of the Ottoman Army was given to a German general, Liman von Sanders, despite all of Mustafa Kemal's objections and harsh criticisms, is also proof of what kind of alliance and unity of fate the Ottoman Empire and Germany had made.

- When a ceasefire was declared in the Çanakkale Battles, which went down in history as the “Turk's War of Honor,” the parties gave each other water, cigarettes, and canned food. Such a mutual respect formed between the Mehmetçik, whom the Anzacs called “Cony Turk,” and the Anzacs that many Mehmetçiks were seen bandaging their enemy's wounds with their own bandages. In other words, Seyit Onbaşı (Corporal Seyit) and Ezineli Yahya Çavuş (Sergeant Yahya of Ezine) provided not only the most select examples of heroism but also of humanity. As for the supplies that the British told the Indians and Anzacs to “burn, destroy” while withdrawing, the Indian and Anzac soldiers often did not burn them, but left them for the Mehmetçik with a note saying, “Cony Turk, it is not poisoned, you can eat it.”

- Çanakkale is also important in terms of war history. Naval, air, and land elements were used together for the first time. The enemy attacked with the most advanced technology of the period. The Allies also used explosives containing suffocating gas and shrapnel that emitted green gas.

- In this war, where the distance between opposing trenches dropped to 7-8 meters in some battles and bullets collided in the air, the total loss of the parties, including deaths, desertions, illnesses, and injuries, exceeded half a million. In the War of Independence that would begin after a while and in the Republic of Turkey that would be established immediately after, the lack of qualified cadres we martyred at Çanakkale was felt deeply.

The poem titled “The Epic of Çanakkale,” which was found in the pocket of Aşık Mustafa from Boyabat, who was martyred at Çanakkale, is as follows: “Today the homeland will be pleased with us / The soldier will be a martyr, the army will be a veteran.”