AHistoryIndependent states
Gallipoli Campaign (1915)
The defeat of the Entente fleet and army's attempt to force the Dardanelles in the First World War — the origin of the saying "Çanakkale is impassable".
In 1915 Britain and France attacked the Dardanelles to seize Istanbul and open a sea route to Russia. On 18 March 1915 the combined fleet trying to force the strait suffered heavy losses to mines and shore batteries and withdrew.
On 25 April 1915 troops landed on the Gallipoli peninsula. In months of trench warfare the command of Lieutenant Colonel Mustafa Kemal at Arıburnu and Anafartalar proved decisive. Volunteers from Azerbaijan, Crimea, Central Asia and every corner of the empire also fought there.
The Entente forces left the peninsula in January 1916; both sides suffered hundreds of thousands of casualties. In Türkiye 18 March is marked as Martyrs' Day and the anniversary of the Çanakkale victory, and the peninsula is now a historic national park.
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Updated: October 2, 2026