Millions of people commemorated their ancestors, who lost their lives in Canakkale Land Battles, on the occasion of the 107th anniversary across Australia and New Zealand.
Turkish people living in Australia also attended the march in Melbourne with Turkish, Australian flags.
Speaking to the Anadolu Agency Cyprus War Veteran Osman Kemal Altunc, who participated in the march, said they walked for their martyrs and veterans.
“Today we are here thanks to our ancestors. If they couldn’t exist we wouldn’t be here (live) today. We are sad but happy at the same time,” he added.
Anzac Day events will continue with concerts and the Australian Air Force’s flights in the evening.
– ANZAC and ANZAC Day
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 Canakkale Strait on Turkiye’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 Canakkale on Turkiye’s western coast in 1915. Australia and New Zealand commemorate the event as Gallipoli.
(Reuters)