Turkey pays tribute to martyrs who fell in the Gallipoli Campaign, 1915

Here are a few quotations to remember those who fell in Gallipoli in 1915

Australian War Memorial
Atatürk (Mustafa Kemal)
 
Kemal said in 1933, "I look to the world with an open heart full of pure feelings and friendship". In 1934, he accepted the title "Atatürk" (father of the Turks).
In 1934 Atatürk wrote a tribute to the ANZACs killed at Gallipoli:

Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives... You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side now here in this country of ours... you, the mothers, who sent their sons from faraway countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land. They have become our sons as well.

This inscription appears on the Kemal Atatürk Memorial, ANZAC Parade, Canberra.

http://www.awm.gov.au/encyclopedia/ataturk.asp

From Hürriyet Daily News
President, prime minister highlight unity on Martyrs' Day

Turkish President Abdullah Gül released a statement on the 98th anniversary of the March 18 Martyrs’ Day and Dardanelles Naval Victory:

“The fight that was put up in the Dardanelles is the clearest proof that no power shall harm our unity and 1,000-year-old brotherhood,” Gül said. “That spirit and consciousness will be the strongest basis in our progress as a country that has advanced to the highest of standards.... 'brave fight' and 'unique sacrifices' achieved victory for the Turkish people, who 'united in one body, one heart'."

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/president-prime-minister-highlight-unity-on-martyrs-day.aspx?pageID=238&nID=43147&NewsCatID=341

From BBC

Battle for Gallipoli: February 1915 - January 1916

By 1915 the Western Front was clearly deadlocked. Allied strategy was under scrutiny, with strong arguments mounted for an offensive through the Balkans or even a landing on Germany's Baltic coast, instead of more costly attacks in France and Belgium. These ideas were initially sidelined, but in early 1915 the Russians found themselves threatened by the Turks in the Caucasus and appealed for some relief. The British decided to mount a naval expedition to bombard and take the Gallipoli Peninsula on the western shore of the Dardanelles, with Constantinople as its objective. By capturing Constantinople, the British hoped to link up with the Russians, knock Turkey out of the war and possibly persuade the Balkan states to join the Allies.
The naval attack began on 19 February.
....
Had Gallipoli succeeded, it could have ended Turkey's participation in the war. As it was, the Turks lost some 300,000 men and the Allies around 214,000, achieving only the diversion of Turkish forces from the Russians. Bad leadership, planning and luck, combined with a shortage of shells and inadequate equipment, condemned the Allies to seek a conclusion in the bloody battles of the Western Front. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwone/battle_gallipoli.shtml

From Wikipedia
Gallipoli Campaign

The attempt failed, with heavy casualties on both sides. The campaign was considered one of the greatest victories of the Turks and was reflected on as a major failure by the Allies.
The Gallipoli campaign resonated profoundly among all nations involved. In Turkey, the battle is perceived as a defining moment in the history of the Turkish people—a final surge in the defence of the motherland as the aging Ottoman Empire was crumbling. The struggle laid the grounds for the Turkish War of Independence and the foundation of the Republic of Turkey eight years later under Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, himself a commander at Gallipoli.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallipoli_Campaign

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