Battle of Gallipoli centenary marked with services ~ Get price today

Events are due to commemorate the centenary of the Gallipoli campaign - one of the bloodiest of World War One.

Prince Charles and Prince Harry are among world leaders due to attend services at the site of the battle at Cape Helles, on the Turkish peninsula.

Leaders from Australia, New Zealand and Turkey - which all lost thousands of troops - will also attend events.

About 141,000 died in the campaign - which began in 1915 - including 55,000 Allied forces and 86,000 from Turkey.

The fatalities included about 35,000 from Britain, 10,000 from France, 10,000 from Australia and New Zealand, and 1,500 from India.

The series of events - to mark the 100th anniversary of the landings - will begin with a Commonwealth and Irish commemoration.

Warships from Allied nations will fire a salute in honour of the sailors who died, while Prince Charles and Prince Harry will lay wreaths, before meeting descendants of veterans on board the Royal Navy's flagship, HMS Bulwark.

What was Gallipoli?

The Gallipoli campaign

1915-16

350,000 British troops, 35,000 died
79,000 French troops, 10,000 died
74,000 Anzac troops, 10,000 died
400,000 Turkish troops, 86,000 died

Source: Prof Carl Bridge, King’s College London

Getty Images

The Allies and Germany had reached a stalemate on the Western Front just months into World War One
Britain and France thought they could help Russia on the Eastern Front by defeating Germany's Turkish allies - the Ottoman Empire
After a failed naval attack, the Allies tried to capture Constantinople (now Istanbul) via the Gallipoli Peninsula by land assault
British, French and their dominions' troops - including soldiers from Australia, New Zealand, India and Newfoundland - took part
They faced months of shelling, sniper fire and dysentery, before abandoning the campaign
55,000 Allied troops died for no material gain, although the Turkish Army was tied down for eight months
86,000 Turkish troops died. Commander Mustafa Kemal survived and went on to found modern Turkey

Why Gallipoli is still commemorated in Australia and New Zealand on Anzac Day

World War One's forgotten Anzacs: The Indigenous Army

There will also be an international ceremony organised by Turkey and a service to mark France's participation in the battle.

The events will commemorate the World War 1 campaign when allied forces landed on the Gallipoli peninsula in modern-day western Turkey - then part of the Ottoman Empire - in April 1915.

However, the invasion failed, with the Allied forces unable to advance more than a few kilometres inland.

A bloody stalemate ensued which lasted until Allied troops evacuated the peninsula eight months later in January 1916.

At the scene

Mark Lowen, BBC News, Gallipoli

The monuments have been cleaned, the veterans are ready and thousands of tourists have arrived to commemorate one of the most infamous campaigns of the Great War - when Allied forces launched their ultimately failed invasion of the Gallipoli peninsula.

Services will be held at the cemeteries and beaches where troops landed in 1915.

Prince Charles and Prince Harry are representing the Commonwealth, with around 20 world leaders attending, most notably the prime ministers of Australia and New Zealand.

For those two countries, Gallipoli remains perhaps the most important event in their modern history: the first time their troops, known as Anzacs, fought a major military campaign as independent nations.

Their national spirit was born on the beaches of Gallipoli.

And another country saw its national consciousness emerge here: Turkey. A brilliant commander at Gallipoli emerged, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, later known simply as Ataturk, the founding father of the modern Turkey that rose from the ashes of the Ottoman Empire.

Events will continue on Saturday with services to mark Anzac Day, which is widely marked in Australia and New Zealand.

The centenary is expected to be the largest ever commemoration of the battle, with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key and Prince Charles leading the ceremonies.

Thousands of Australians, New Zealanders and Turks are also expected to make the journey to Gallipoli for the anniversary, including relatives of those who fought and died at Gallipoli. There are no longer any surviving veterans of the campaign.

In London, The Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, who is Patron of the Gallipoli Association, and Prince William will be joined by senior government and military figures to lay wreaths at the Cenotaph in Whitehall.

Why do Australians and New Zealanders mark Anzac Day?

A seagull flies over a sea of poppies in Federation Square, Melbourne — In Melbourne, 5,000 poppies have been laid in Federation Square as part of the commemorations

Gallipoli was the first campaign Australia and New Zealand fought as independent nations
They joined the Allies in an attempt to knock Germany's Turkish allies out of World War One
But the Allies faced months of shelling, sniper fire and dysentery. The Anzacs barely advanced a mile inland
10,000 Anzacs died while 23,000 were injured, which had a devastating impact on the male population of the fledgling nations

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วันศุกร์ที่ 24 เมษายน พ.ศ. 2558