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Marked the emergence of two nations, the Turks and Australians. Australia, at the time, was a new nation, only 14 years old, and Gallipoli was the first time Australians from all over the country came to form an Australian army. The Turks were defending their land, and their spirit was at an all time high.
The ANZACs arrived at Gallipoli on April 25, 1915, and left on December 20 of that year, they were hopelessly outnumbered, it was a battle they could not win. The cost was great to both sides, the Turks lost an esimated 86,000 and of the nearly 50,000 Australians that fought, 8,709 were killed and 18,235 wounded. New Zealand suffered 2,701 killed and 4,880 wounded.
Despite the bloody battle, there were some remarkable events.
From here:
On 24 May a truce to bury the dead and recover wounded was negotiated. Diggers and Turks mingled on the battle field in these sad tasks. Gifts were exchanged and a mutual recognition of each others humanity was born. From that point there existed a common respect for each other, although the fighting was as fierce as ever. The Australians would throw tins of Jam across the narrow no-mans land in exchange for Turkish tobacco. Snipers competing in a deadly duel would signal misses as if on a firing range. In the final withdrawal many units left notes and gifts for the victorious Turks.
This is a large reason why, to this day, Turks admire and respect the Australians and the courage, determination and skill shown by the ANZACS. As Ernest mentioned, Australians and New Zealanders are now welcomed with open arms and broad smiles at Gallipoli, especially around ANZAC commemoration time.
Interestingly too, after Gallipoli, Australians and Turks were not to meet again on the battlefield until the Korean war in 1952 when they were both serving under the United Nations mandate.
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