gallipoli campaign

The Gallipoli campaign

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  Each year on Anzac Day, New Zealanders (and Australians) mark the anniversary of the Gallipoli landings of 25 April 1915. On that day, thousands of young men, far from their homes, stormed the beaches on the Gallipoli Peninsula in what is now Turkey.

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• Page 2 – Gallipoli in brief

  The Ottoman Empire entered the war on the side of the Central Powers. New Zealand and Australian troops supported British and French soldiers in an attempt to capture the

• Page 3 – Invasion

  Allied forces landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula on 25 April 1915. British (and later French) forces made the main landing at Cape Helles on the southern tip of Gallipoli, while

• Page 4 – Stalemate

  By 29 April, the battle of the landing was over; both sides had fought themselves to a standstill. While the New Zealanders and Australians had established a beachhead at Anzac

• Page 5 – The Sari Bair offensive

  As the futile attacks continued at Helles, the Allies began looking at alternative strategies to break the deadlock. Lieutenant-General Birdwood, the ANZAC commander,

• Page 6 – Evacuation

  Hill 60 was the last major Allied attack at Gallipoli. The failure of the August offensive raised more questions about the future of the campaign, especially in light of the

• Page 7 – Soldiers' experience

  Life for the New Zealand soldier on Gallipoli was tough. They struggled with the harsh environment, living and fighting amongst the deep ravines and high cliffs that towered

• Page 8 – Gallipoli timeline

  Timeline showing key events related to New Zealand's involvement in the Gallipoli campaign.

• Page 9 – 25 April 1915: Anzac landing timeline

  This timeline provides a detailed breakdown of what happened and when during the Gallipoli landings at Anzac Cove on 25 April 1915.

• Page 10 – Gallipoli biographies

  Find out more about some of the New Zealanders involved in the Gallipoli campaign between April 1915 and January 1916.

• Page 12 – Further information

  Recommended links and further reading about Gallipoli

Anzac Day

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  First observed in 1916, Anzac Day - 25 April - commemorates those killed in war as well as honouring returned servicemen and women. The ceremonies that are held at war memorials across the country, or in places overseas where New Zealanders gather, are rich in tradition and ritual.

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• Page 2 – The Anzacs

  The word Anzac is part of the culture of New Zealanders and Australians. The word conjures up a shared heritage of two nations, but it also has a specific meaning, dating from

• Page 3 – The ceremony

  The Anzac Day ceremony of 25 April is a form of military funeral and follows a particular pattern. The day's ceremonies have two major parts: one at dawn and another, more

• Page 4 – The making of Anzac Day

  Anzac Day was made a half-day holiday in 1916, and the pattern of the day's events that occur now began at that time.

The Ottoman Empire

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  Few Kiwis today know much about one of our main First World War enemies, the Ottoman Empire - a sophisticated but often forgotten empire whose soldiers fought against New Zealand troops for four years in the Gallipoli, Sinai and Palestine campaigns.

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• Page 5 – Ottoman Empire at war

  How the Ottoman Empire fared during the First World War

• Page 12 – The Turkish soldier's experience

  Mehmetçik – ‘Little Mehmet’ – was an affectionate Turkish nickname for Ottoman (Turkish) soldiers.

Māori units of the NZEF

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  More than 2000 Maori served in the Māori Contingent and Pioneer Battalion during the First World War

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• Page 3 – Pioneer Battalion

  In early 1916 the Maori Contingent ceased to exist and was replaced by the New Zealand Pioneer Battalion.

British Empire

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  Key information and statistics about countries who fought as part of the British Empire during the First World War

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• Page 3 – Commonwealth of Australia

  Key information and statistics about the Commonwealth of Australia during the First World War

• Page 5 – British India

  Facts and statistics about India during the First World War

First World War art

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  During the First World War official and unofficial New Zealand war artists produced a wide range of works depicting this country's war effort. These works later became part of New Zealand's National Collection of War Art.

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• Page 2 - Unofficial war artNew Zealand soldiers used art to interpret the experience of the war for an audience of noncombatant civilians. Civilian artists in turn produced works that responded to and

First World War - overview

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  Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and his wife Sophie were assassinated in the Bosnian city of Sarajevo. This was a key event in sparking the Great War of 1914–18.

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• Page 4 - New Zealand goes to warBefore the outbreak of war, Prime Minister W.F. Massey had made it clear that New Zealand’s main contribution would be supplying troops to the major theatre of conflict. But

The Salonika campaign

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  23 October is the anniversary of the 1915 sinking of the Marquette with the loss of 32 New Zealanders, including 10 nurses. They were en route from Egypt to the Greek port of Salonika as New Zealand’s contribution to the little-known Allied campaign in the Balkans

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• Page 2 - LemnosThe Balkan campaign of the First World War (also known as the Salonika or the Macedonian campaign) came about because of the changing strategic aims of the Allies and Central

Wellington Mounted Rifles Regiment timeline

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  The Wellington Mounted Rifles Regiment (WMR) was one of four mounted rifles regiments raised to serve overseas in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) during the First World War. We've provided an overview of the WMR and a detailed timeline of their activities from 1914 to 1919.

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• Page 3 - 1915Timeline for the Wellington Mounted Rifles in

Canterbury Mounted Rifles Regiment timeline

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  After training in Egypt the CMR fought in the Gallipoli campaign from May to December 1915. On its return from Gallipoli the regiment spent another four months in Egypt before taking part in the Sinai campaign of 1916 and the Palestine campaign of 1917–18.

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• Page 3 - 1915In May the CMR and the rest of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade (NZMR) are thrown – as infantry – into the desperate struggle to seize the commanding heights of the

Auckland Mounted Rifles Regiment timeline

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  The Auckland Mounted Rifles Regiment (AMR) was one of four mounted rifles regiments raised to serve overseas in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) during the First World War.

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• Page 3 - 1915The Auckland Mounted Rifles Regiment actions in 1915, from Sinai to

Merchant marine

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  On 3 September New Zealand honours Merchant Navy Day. Here we explore the little-known but vital role played by the merchant marine during the First World War, when these civilian seafarers often found themselves in the front line of the war at sea.

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• Page 4 - Hospital shipsIn May 1915, as casualties mounted at Gallipoli, the government chartered a hospital ship, the Union Company's 5282-ton trans-Tasman liner

Hospital ships

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  The Maheno and Marama were the poster ships of New Zealand's First World War effort. Until 1915 these steamers had carried passengers on the Tasman route. But as casualties mounted at Gallipoli, the government - helped by a massive public fundraising campaign - converted them into state-of-the-art floating hospitals.

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• Page 4 – Civilians at Gallipoli

  The Maheno arrived in the Mediterranean in time for the Allies’ bloody late August 1915 offensives to find that not much had improved since the April landings

The Post and Telegraph Department at war

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  The Post and Telegraph Department (the government agency from which New Zealand Post, Telecom and Kiwibank are descended) was crucial to this country’s participation in the First World War.

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• Page 4 - Communications at GallipoliWhether it was signallers conveying orders to the front line or mail services being provided for soldiers, men from the Post and Telegraph Department played a vital role during

NZ's First World War horses

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  Between 1914 and 1916 the New Zealand government acquired more than 10,000 horses to equip the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. They served in German Samoa, Gallipoli, the Middle East and on the Western Front. Of those that survived the war, only four returned home.

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• Page 5 - Egypt and GallipoliSome draught horses accompanied the divisional artillery and transport and supply units to Gallipoli in April 1915 to assist with their work. But the conditions proved unsuitable

Memorials register

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• Page 4 - Living memorials projectsScion, the Crown Research Institute for the forestry sector, has provided approximately 50 seedlings to be planted around New Zealand as First World War