Gallipoli & the North Aegean - Discover Turkey: Experience the Best of Turkey - page 211

Need to Know
TOP TIP Visit on a tour for historical insights. TRANSPORT From İstanbul, get
there via the ferry to Bandırma and bus to Çanakkale. For further coverage, Click
here
Gallipoli Peninsula Don't
Miss List
BY BÜLENT 'BILL' YILMAZ KORKMAZ, GUIDE
1 ANZAC COVE
This is where the first Anzac soldiers landed on 25 April 1915, where the first shot was
fired on that day and where the first Turkish soldier died. Eight months later, the An-
zacs left from here as the campaign ended. It is where the Anzac legend was born, and
where history was made.
2 W BEACH
Little-visited W Beach, 1.5km west of Seddülbahr, was one of the main British landing
beaches - famous for the 'six VCs before breakfast'; ie six Victoria Crosses awarded to
the Lancashire Fusiliers. It became the main British base, and remains of British-built
piers; small boat wrecks, tunnels and trenches can be seen in the area.
3 CHUNUK BAIR
This hill was one of the Allies' main objectives in April 1915. You can see the Dard-
anelles (and the northern battlefields) from Chunuk Bair, so whoever held it could con-
trol the strait. The New Zealand Wellington Infantry Battalion captured and held it for
36 hours, losing over 90% of their men. Turkish soldiers under Mustafa Kemal finally
defeated the British reinforcements and recaptured the hill, bringing victory to the Ot-
toman Empire.