Thanks for bringing up the 100.
I visited Gallipoli several years ago, and was struck by how much occurred in such a small area. My family has ancestors who were on both sides, btw. My great uncle was on a British battleship and my wife’s great grandfather was shooting at him with a shore battery. The terrain is very confined, an arid Mediterranean area. Those who’ve seen parts of Greece, southern France and the central California coast line would recognize it instantly. Rugged hills and ridgelines, covered in low brush, scrub pines and oaks, plunge sharply into the sea. A scattering of small coves and beaches are your only places to land…except for the broad, gentle sweep of Suvla Bay to the north.
It is sobering to see the fields of headstones, realizing that they represent only a small portion of the actual fallen on both sides..and how young they were. John Simpson (22), Fred Wilkinson (18), Mehmed Ali (19), Murat Hassan (17)….tens of thousands. The ANZACs and the Turks lost a whole generation there. On the Turkish side (they call the campaign Cannukale btw), the so-called “Istanbul Boys” – students, intelligentsia, shop keepers and trades apprentices took unbelievable casualties -- 10,000 dead in their first counter-attack.
As an armchair general with 20/20 historical hindsight, the sheer incompetence and human waste of the campaign is also mind-boggling. The strategic reasoning was sound. The execution was execrable. Looking at ANZAC Cove, it’s stunning to think that the Allies would make that their focal point (if even inadvertently) of the campaign – fighting up sheer ridgelines and craggy valleys instead of landing at Suvla Bay. No logistics follow through. Not enough water or food. Almost no medical support for the wounded. Indecisive generals, many of whom led from their staterooms on battleships off-shore. Gah!
Also interesting to understand just who close the Turks and the ANZACs were to each other. Trench lines were often literally a stone’s throw away…rather, a grenade’s throw away. Our local Turkish guide went to great pains to convey the feeling that the Turks and ANZACs may have fought each other, killed each other, but didn’t “hate” each other. The guide recounted how the trench lines were so close that sometimes Turks and ANZACs would speak with each other, trade sweets and tea and the like. Perhaps a more modern impression, but many examples of compassion on both sides were cited. The movie “Gallipoli” btw gets the charge of the Light Horse completely wrong. The charge took place on the narrow confines of “The Neck” over a very short distance – perhaps less than 30 meters…across confining ground straight into Turkish Maxim guns. First 100, charge – buddabuddabudda…next 100 charge…next 100 charge. Insane.
Chunuk Bair. Lone Pine. Johnson’s Jolly. The Neck. Now, as a gamer I can see the possibilities for making that come to life on my kitchen table…in a safe, small lead bashing arm-chair general way. But I am also keenly aware of how much human history and pain occurred in such a small area and I hope we never see its like again.
My impression, for what its worth. It’s not easy to get to, but worth the visit if you are in Turkey.
August 10, 2011, 08:39:10 PM