The Importance and Meaning of Çanakkale Victory

The First World War between 1914 and 1918 led to some of the bloodiest events in history. In this war, in which dozens of countries fought each other, the Ottoman Empire was also involved. A battle in which the Allies thought they would easily pass and win the war. It happened in the Dardanelles Strait but they did not know that Çanakkale was impassable.

With the Çanakkale victory on March 18, 1915, the fate of both our country and the world changed. Mustafa Kemal, who was a Staff Colonel at that time, turned into a hero and the foundations of our liberation struggle were laid. Even if it was watered with the blood of our countless martyrs, those lands were protected until the last bullet. Bride To the historical story of the Çanakkale victory Let’s take a closer look and see its traces to date.

The world was like a powder keg ready to explode:

With the Industrial Revolution that started in the 18th century, the need for raw materials of European states increased more than ever before. There was great rivalry between them. The contentious commercial rivalry between the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Russia soon turned into a political and then a military conflict.

Heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire by a Serbian nationalist on 28 June 1914 With the murder of Franz Ferdinand, the threads broke. Successive mobilizations and then wars were declared between countries. The world was divided between the Allied Powers and the Allied Powers. The target, on the other hand, had not changed for hundreds of years, the lands of Turkey.

The Ottoman Empire enters the First World War:

The Ottoman Empire, which had been in decline for a long time, It was declared out of war in the first months of the First World War. But inside Europe there was the hatred of hundreds of years. While Russia wants to descend to the warm seas, secure the UK-India route and reach the oil in the Middle East; France wanted Lebanon and its surroundings, Italy wanted Antakya. In other words, our lands were literally coveted.

The Ottoman Empire had begun to get closer to the United Kingdom in the early years of the 20th century. In fact, many important agreements were signed between us. With the coming to power of the Committee of Union and Progress after the Balkan War, This time a rapprochement with Germany began. With the start of the First World War, this closeness increased noticeably.

With Germany the day before the Austro-Hungarian Empire declared war on Serbia We were going to make a defense treaty against Russia however, this treaty turned into an alliance with Germany declaring war on Russia. Mobilization was declared in the country, but this treaty was kept secret and we declared a neutrality. Of course, this situation did not last long.

The Dardanelles War begins with the Goeben and Breslau operation:

Enver Pasha was delaying the Ottoman’s actual entry into the war, as the war preparations were just completed. However The Germans were stuck. The ships of Goeben and Breslau, which were under the blockade of the British, escaped and came to the Dardanelles. Of course, after them the British. According to international agreements, these two ships were supposed to leave the strait, but there was an alliance. For this reason, the ship Goeben took the name Yavuz and Breslau took the name Midilli and hoisted the Ottoman flag.

In fact, the Ottoman Empire actually participated in the First World War as a kind of fait accompli. A large fleet of French and British ships and submarines He blockaded the Dardanelles. The Dardanelles Strait was extremely important for the Entente Powers because it was the first step to occupy Istanbul, the capital, and the only sea route through which they could send aid to their allies, Russia. The naval campaign soon began.

At Winston Churchill’s instruction, the naval attack began:

On 28 January 1915, it was decided to carry out a naval operation over Çanakkale. The biggest supporter of this decision later Winston Churchill, who would also serve as British Prime Minister for many years. The operation began on 19 February 1915. Hundreds of cannons fired thousands of bullets. But the Turks had drawn such a definite line that they could not go one step further. In this process, Nusret Minelayer personnel wrote a heroic epic.

The strongest attack and Çanakkale victory took place on March 18, 1915:

Realizing that they could not achieve their goals with naval operations, the Allies changed their plans. Because the Commander of the Fortified Area Cevat Çobanlı had pulled back the entrance bastions. On March 18, 1915, one of the biggest attacks in history took place. But as we all know Seyit Corporal, by making an unexpected surprise to the British, He single-handedly fired a 215-pound projectile and disabled HMS Ocean.

The reason why March 18, 1915 is commemorated as the Çanakkale Victory, Great loss of the Allied navy and gave up the naval campaign. However, after that day, the attacks continued and land wars began.

At dawn the ground operation began:

On 25 April 1915, British, French and Anzac forces were unable to cross by sea. To pass by land from Çanakkale They set off at dawn. They tried to land from the shores of Seddülbahir and Arıburnu on the Gallipoli Peninsula. However, the Turkish defense against them did not let them pass.

On 6 August 195, the enemy, trying to land from Suvla Bay, found Staff Colonel Mustafa Kemal and his soldiers. The First Battle of Anafartalar took place that day. The next day, the Second Battle of Anafartalar took place on Kocaçimentepe-Conk Bayırı. The British and the Anzac forces could not go one step further. Finally, in December 1915, the British, French, and Anzacs returned home in good shape.

What is the importance and meaning of Çanakkale victory?

The Battle of Çanakkale and the victory after it is actually a short period of a few months. Thanks to this victory we gave hundreds of thousands of martyrs We can say that the Republic of Turkey, where we live today, was founded because then, if our heroic soldiers had not fought at the cost of their lives and had not shielded their chests because the Dardanelles would have been impassable, Istanbul would have been lost and the War of Independence would have ended before it started.

The victory of Çanakkale is a war that is taught as a lesson in military schools by examining day by day, even hour by hour, not month by month. Heroic units such as the 57th Regiment, Soldiers with superhuman achievements such as Seyit Corporal and heroes such as Mustafa Kemal appeared here. Galatasaray, Konya and İzmir high schools could not graduate at all that year, and children went to the front with weapons larger than their height.

When we look at it from this perspective The victory of Çanakkale is actually the determination and determination of the Turkish nation, It shows the word stop to the backwardness that has been going on for centuries. Afterwards, the first spark of the liberation struggle in our occupied lands was thrown here. The Turks once again announced to the seven heifers that they determined the fate of the world.

You can reach the films about this magnificent victory in this content: