On the 25th April, 1915, young Australian men landed on the Turkish coast as part of a grand plan to secure the Dardanelles for the British Imperial Forces. Thousands were killed and this is just one grave amongst many.
Ninety eight years and six days later the scene is very different to what our soldiers encountered. Today the sand dunes were littered with red poppies, the sea water calm, the sky clear and no noise to break the silence of this Turkish National Park.
There is now a road that passes through ANZAC Cove beach where our boys landed. They were delivered to the wrong location but dug in and stayed for eight months fighting the Turks in trench warfare. The Turks had the high ground. The hill below was nicknamed the Sphinx. Imagine fighting your way up that sort of incline.
Fight their way up they did. This is a view from half way up to Lone Pine.
This at Lone Pine looking down toward the beach and Green Shell Cemetery.
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Lone Pine Memorial
On the opposite side of the peninsula the Dardanelles were of vital importance to the Allied Forces because the waterway is so narrow. If the Australians and other Imperial Forces were able to control this strategic shipping route the German navy would have been severely hamstrung.
Yes I was there.
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