On April 25, 1915, nine months into World War I, Allied soldiers landed on the shores of the Gelibolu Peninsula. The troops were there as part of a plan to open the Çanakkale Strait on Turkey's Aegean Sea coast to Allied fleets, allowing them to threaten the then-Ottoman capital, Istanbul.
The Allied Forces, however, encountered strong and courageous resistance from the Turks and the campaign turned out to be a costly failure. Tens of thousands of Turkish nationals and soldiers died along with tens of thousands of Europeans, plus 7,000 to 8,000 Australians and nearly 3,000 New Zealanders.
Victory against the Allied Forces boosted the morale of the Turkish side, which went on to wage a war of independence between 1919 and 1922 and eventually formed a republic in 1923 from the ashes of the old empire.
April 25 is also known as ANZAC Day in Australia -- a significant national holiday that honors the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who fought and died in Çanakkale on Turkey's western coast in 1915. Australia and New Zealand commemorate the event as Gallipoli.
