E-Conference on "Çanakkale Wars and Its Importance" Held at PAU

In his speech on March 18th Çanakkale Victory and the importance of this victory in the history of the Republic, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yüksel stated the following "The Battle of Çanakkale is a front in World War I. Before World War I, the Ottoman Empire suffered a heavy defeat in the Balkan War, causing a great trauma both in the state and the people. This situation had two repercussions: One, a massive campaign to modernize the army, and two, a search for an alliance with a great state in the government of the Committee of Union and Progress. In this context, at the outbreak of World War I, alliances were first offered to Britain, France and then Russia, but the desired result was not achieved. An alliance agreement was signed with Germany on August 2, 1914. Despite this, the Ottoman Empire did not immediately enter the war. Enver Pasha was in favor of entering the war earlier. Germany's pressure on the Ottoman Empire on this issue increased. Thus, Germany's aim of hitting the colonies of the Entente States also emerged. On August 10, the ships Goeben and Breslau seeked refuge in the Ottoman Empire. Enver Pasha allowed these ships to enter the Sea of Marmara. This was the first success for Germany. Afterwards, the Ottoman Empire was forced to enter the war in exchange for continued economic aid."
In the continuation of his speech, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yüksel stated that the Ottoman Empire gave its first martyrs in Çanakkale when the British Navy bombarded Seddülbahir on November 3, and briefly mentioned the mood of the Ottoman Empire and the allies and said the following: "The Ottoman Empire was still experiencing the disaster of the Balkan Wars. They saw a high probability of victory from the highly technological and high number of ships of the Allied navy. For this reason, there was an air of panic in Istanbul. On the Ottoman side, since there was no navy, the defense had to be built with mines and artillery. The outer defense around Seddülbahir and Kumkale in the Bosphorus, the inner defense at the outermost part of the strait and the middle defense consisting of mobile cannons in the part between these two were formed. Mine lines were laid perpendicular to the shore in the strait. At some points, mines are also laid parallel to the shore."

M. Kemal: "I do not order you to attack, I order you to die!"

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yüksel: "With the designation of the Great Offensive Day as March 18, attention is turned to this front due to the successes achieved at the front. The British and French were making plans to land on the Gallipoli Peninsula by destroying the Turkish artillery from the land and clearing the mines to pass through the strait. In the defense plan of the Turkish side, the fortified position commander Cevat Pasha was in charge of the forces protecting the bastions and cannons. The German Liman von Sanders was in charge of the 5th Army defending the straits in general. Esat Pasha in the north and Vehib Pasha in the south were in charge of the corps protecting Gallipoli. Mustafa Kemal commanded the reserve division (19th Division) here at the rank of lieutenant colonel. It is Mustafa Kemal who realizes that the Allies landing from Arıburnu are unable to encircle the Turkish Forces and that the landing here is being made from Arıburnu. He took action without any orders and stopped the Anzacs at Arıburnu. M. Kemal gives his famous order as follows: 'I do not order you to attack, I order you to die'. At this point, the Anzac advance and the loss of the battle on the first day was prevented. In June, the Allies attacked Kerevizdere and Zığındere to hit the Turkish Army on the right and left flanks of the Seddülbahir front. Heavy casualties are suffered on both sides, but no progress is made. The solution the Allies find at this point is to surround the Turkish Army by making a landing from further north. At this point, they try to turn the Turkish Forces from behind with their landings around Anafartalar. These landings on August 6-7 constitute an extremely critical point for the Turkish side."