The Gallipoli peninsula is located in Turkish Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles straits to the east. Gallipoli derives its name from the Greek “Kallipolis”, meaning “Beautiful City”.

The peninsula, a part of the Byzantine Empire, was gradually conquered by the Ottoman Empire from 13th century to the 15th century. The Greeks living there were allowed to continue their everyday life. In the 19th century, Gallipoli  was a district in the Adrinople, with about thirty thousand inhabitants: comprising Greeks, Turks, Armenians and Jews.

Gallipoli did not experience that much wars until World War I, when British

and colonial forces attacked the peninsula in 1915, seeking to secure a route to relieve their ally Imperial Russia in the east. The Ottomans set up defensive fortifications along the peninsula and the attackers were eventually repulsed.

In early 1915, attempting to seize a strategic advantage by capturing Constantinople, the British authorised an attack on the peninsula.

On 25 April 1915, a force of British Empire and Frenchtroops landed at multiple places along the peninsula. However, some of the landings went wrong and troops were landed in the wrong positions causing confusion that lost valuable time. To make matters worse, this was followed up by only tentative advances inland. Most of the arriving armies were left on the beaches, which allowed the Ottomans to pour in reinforcements. The battles over the next eight months saw high casualties on both sides due to the exposed terrain, weather and closeness of the front lines. In addition, many casualties resulted from an epidemic of dysentry, caused by poor sanitary conditions.

Total Allied deaths were 43,000 British, 15,000 French, 8,700 Australians, 2,700 New Zealanders and 1,370 Indians. Total Turkish deaths were around 60,000. New Zealanders suffered the highest percentage of Allied deaths when compared with population size, but the percentage of Turkish deaths was almost twice theirs.

This campaign became a turning point in the national consciousness of several of the participants. Both Australia and New Zealand still celebrate Anzac Day and the Turks consider it a point of national pride.

Anzac Day celebrations take place every year on the 25th of April, the day the Anzac troops landed at what is known as Anzac Cove. Attendance at the Anzac Day dawn service at Gallipoli has become popular since the 75th anniversary. Upwards of 10,000 people have attended services in Gallipoli.