Turks in Canada mark Çanakkale victory

TORONTO-Anadolu Agency

Turks in Canada on March 20 observed the 106th Çanakkale Victory and Martyrs' Day, marking the anniversary of the 1915 victory during World War I.

The virtual event organized by the Toronto Religious Services Attache and Canada Religious Foundation, gathered Turkish officials including Ambassador to Ottawa Kerim Uras, Toronto Consul General Sinem Mingan, Montreal Consul General Sencer Yondem, Vancouver Consul General Taylan Tokmak, Toronto Religious Services Attaché Cihan Yalcinkaya, and representatives from non-governmental organizations.

“With this epic [victory], written with faith and determination, the Turkish nation guided the course of both its own destiny and world history,” Uras said at the event.

Thousands of soldiers died in one of the world's most ferocious battles in the Gallipoli campaign in the Ottoman Empire during World War I.

The battle took place between April 25, 1915 and Jan. 9, 1916.

Britain and France wanted to secure their ally, Russia, as the Gallipoli peninsula provides a sea route to what was then the Russian Empire.

Their aim was to capture the capital of the Ottoman Empire, Istanbul.

Turks repelled a naval attack, and there were many casualties on both sides during the eight-month offensive.

When the land campaign also failed, invading forces withdrew.

Victory against Allied forces boosted the morale of the Turkish side, which went on to wage a war of independence in 1919-1922, and eventually formed a republic in 1923 from the ashes of the old empire.