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Delegations from Türkiye and over a dozen nations gathered at the monument to commemorate the Allied landing on the Gallipoli Peninsula in 1915, which marked the beginning of one of World War I's most significant land campaigns.
On March 18, 1915, a combined Allied fleet attempting to force through the Dardanelles was repelled by Ottoman artillery. This defeat made a land campaign on the Gallipoli Peninsula inevitable.
Six weeks later, on April 25, Allied forces launched simultaneous amphibious landings at Seddülbahir, Ariburnu, and Kumkale.
The Ottoman 5th Army, established only weeks earlier under German General Liman von Sanders, held a 150-kilometer front.
The campaign lasted eight and a half months, featured fourteen major engagements, and resulted in tens of thousands of casualties on both sides.
The terrain of the Gallipoli Peninsula posed challenges for both sides. Its volcanic landscape restricted movement to narrow, steep corridors, concentrating attacking forces and limiting defenders' ability to counterattack, often forcing them to land troops from the sea.
At Ariburnu, Anzac forces advanced inland toward Kocacimentepe on the morning of April 25.
Lt. Col. Mustafa Kemal, commanding the 19th Division in a support role, moved his regiment toward the high ground on his own initiative. This decision shaped the outcome of the first day and the entire northern front.
The 57th Regiment advanced toward Kocacimentepe, covering the distance in under two hours.
Mustafa Kemal's order to engage, given to troops low on ammunition, held the ridge and prevented Anzac forces from breaking through to the strait.
The regiment sustained a total loss on April 25, 1915. It was later preserved as an honorary unit in the Turkish Armed Forces, with its name retired from active service in recognition of its sacrifice.
In August 1915, after four months of stalemate at Seddülbahir and Ariburnu, Allied command launched a second wave of landings at Anafartalar in an attempt to encircle Ottoman positions.
The 9th British Corps landed 27,000 troops against four Ottoman battalions holding the sector with 3,000 men.
Mustafa Kemal, appointed to command the consolidated Anafartalar Group on the night of August 8-9, ordered a bayonet assault at Conkbayiri that drove Allied forces back to the shoreline.
The breakthrough attempt failed, and Allied command began considering evacuation.
British War Secretary Lord Kitchener visited Gallipoli in October 1915 and concluded that breaching the Ottoman defense, completing the Strait operation, and reaching Istanbul were no longer achievable objectives.
The Gallipoli Land Battles, lasting eight and a half months, ended without the Allied strategic objective being met.
One hundred and eleven years later, Canakkale Governor Omer Toraman opened the annual commemoration at the Martyrs' Memorial.
He described the battles as a chapter that belongs not only to the past but also carries universal meaning for the present, symbolizing dialogue over conflict and mutual respect over enmity.
The ceremony drew representatives from nations whose soldiers fought on both sides of the front in 1915.
France's representative, Yannick Bossu, speaking on behalf of the Allied nations, noted that the Dardanelles became the site of one of the most tragic episodes in the shared history of the countries involved.
He cited a quote by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk on the collective effort and observed that France and Türkiye, once in opposing alliances, now stand as partners.
Ismail Kasdemir, head of the Canakkale Battles Gallipoli Historic Site, described the battlefield as the world's largest open-air museum, attracting millions of visitors each year.
The 57th Infantry Regiment led the ceremonial march past at the Martyrs' Memorial, followed by foreign soldiers, veterans, and scouts.
The Turkish Stars aerobatic display team performed over the Dardanelles Strait following the ceremony, trailing colored smoke above the waterway that the Allied fleet failed to force through on March 18, 1915.
The strait, 65 kilometers long, was the geographic objective of the entire campaign. Its defense in 1915 is widely regarded as the event that set the stage for the founding of the Republic of Türkiye eight years later.
The site receives delegations from former Allied and Ottoman nations each year on April 25.
Governor Toraman's remarks concluded with a sentiment that has defined the commemoration for decades: Canakkale, he said, is no longer a place of confrontation.
It is now a place where people who once stood on opposite sides of the same ground now stand together.
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