Eight Quotes on Gallipoli

 

29th Division Headquarters, Gully Ravine, Gallipoli

It is no longer possible to force the Dardanelles . . . Nobody would expose a modern fleet to such perils.

Winston Churchill, 1911

It looked as if no human power could withstand such an array of might and power  [but yet the Turks did].

A Forgotten British Officer

Early morning: Almighty God, Watchman of the Milky Way, Shepherd of the Golden Stars, have mercy upon us. . . Thy will be done. En avant [forward]—at all costs—en avant.

Expedition Commander Sir Ian Hamilton, Diary Entry, 25 April 1915

Mustafa Kemal Monument, Cape Helles, Gallipoli

Men, I am not ordering you to attack. I am ordering you to die. In the time that it takes us to die, other forces and commanders can come and take our place.

Mustafa Kemal, Commander 19th Division, Later the Same Day

The Turkish positions only get stronger every day… They are magnificently well-led, well-armed and very brave and numerous.

Reverend O. Creighton, Chaplain, 29th Division

Our life here is truly hellish. Fortunately, my soldiers are very brave and tougher than the enemy.

Mustafa Kemal, 20 July 1915

As long as wars last, the evacuation of Suvla and Anzac will stand before the eyes of all strategists as a hitherto unattained masterpiece.

Military correspondent, Vossiche Zeitung, January 1916

O! The rough cliffs witnessed that day

O! The heroic trenches of Sergeant Mehmet

O! The sacred site of Mustafa Kemal

O! The Bloody hills, burnt places.

Mehmet Emin Yurdakul, "The Epic of the Army"