Türkiye has held ceremonies on the Gallipoli peninsula in the northwestern province of Çanakkale to mark the 111th anniversary of the decisive March 18, 1915 naval victory, honoring the fallen heroes of a pivotal World War I battle that helped shape the nation’s modern identity.
Commemorations officially opened at the city’s Cumhuriyet Square, where Defense Minister Yaşar Güler and local officials laid wreaths at the Atatürk Monument.
A gold medal inscribed “Çanakkale is impassable,” awarded to the city by the Turkish parliament in 1994 in honor of some 253,000 fallen soldiers, was ceremonially attached to the Turkish flag.
A 21-gun salute was fired from the Turkish Navy corvette TCG Kınalıada anchored in the Dardanelles, the strategic strait at the heart of the historic campaign.
Foreign representatives, including diplomats from Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom — countries whose troops fought in Gallipoli — also attended the ceremony.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in a statement that Gallipoli was “not only a battle, but an epic of faith, sacrifice, patriotism and national unity proclaimed to the world.”
“The struggle fought at Gallipoli demonstrated that the Turkish nation would never relinquish its independence,” Erdoğan said, adding that the legacy of the campaign continues to inspire unity and resilience.
Known in Türkiye as the Battle of Çanakkale, the Gallipoli Campaign was a major World War I military operation in which Allied forces attempted to seize control of the Dardanelles Strait and capture Istanbul, then the capital of the Ottoman Empire.
Ottoman forces, led in part by the modern Türkiye founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, successfully repelled the invasion after months of intense fighting.
The campaign resulted in heavy casualties on both sides and became a turning point that not only boosted Ottoman morale but also played a crucial role in shaping Turkish national identity.
The battle is also central to the national consciousness of Australia and New Zealand, commemorated annually as Anzac Day.
Building on this profound historical legacy, this year’s commemorations are being held under the theme “The Sacrifice of a Nation, the Freedom of a Flag.”
On the Gallipoli peninsula, all preparations were finalized for the main ceremony on March 18, which is slated to be attended by a high-level delegation.
As part of the memorial program, tens of thousands of red and white tulips, symbolizing the Turkish flag, have been planted around the martyrs’ memorial.
Digital materials, including archival content and visuals, have also been made available online to broaden access to the remembrance events.
