Lost martyrs’ cemetery from Gallipoli campaign located

ÇANAKKALE

A lost martyrs' cemetery from the Gallipoli campaign, a landmark victory during World War I in Turkish history, has been unearthed after a century.

Professor Dr. Murat Karataş, a lecturer at the Department of History of Humanities and Social Sciences of Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University (ÇÖMÜ), located the Halileli Regiment Martyrs' Cemetery, believed to have stood on the Anatolian side of Çanakkale in 1950 but lost to time.

Karataş’s research delved into Ottoman texts, war records and military minutes, unearthing rare sketches that shed light on forgotten cemeteries, despite the destruction and loss of many martyrdom sites during the British and French occupation of Çanakkale between 1918 and 1922.

His discovery stemmed from references he stumbled upon in a military sketch dating back to April 3-4, 1915, after the end of the campaign.

Speaking on the significance of the findings, Karataş emphasized a significant surge largely to the emergence of the Şevki Paşa map in the early 2000s, which provided valuable insights into the locations of martyrdom sites.

"After this map emerged, both the National Parks and the Çanakkale Wars Gallipoli Historical Site Presidency identified, restored, and reconstructed these martyr points based on the martyrdom marks on it from 1916," Karataş explained.

While the majority of battles occurred on the Gallipoli peninsula, various skirmishes took place beyond the primary battleground.

Karataş identified that the martyrdom site emerged after the Battle of Kumkale specifically in an artillery battery, where soldiers martyred due to sea attacks were laid to rest. "These are all martyrs whose names are registered in the military archive," he noted.

Karataş also emphasized the importance of accurate terminology in interpreting military archives and sketches.

"For example, the word 'meşhed' not only means 'monument' but also 'place of battle' for a unit in combat. When we say 'meşhed' of a unit, we need to understand that it means 'battlefield,'" he said, cautioning against hasty assumptions in identifying martyrdoms.

Moving forward, further investigation, possibly through geo-radar or drilling excavations, is needed to validate the existence of the newly discovered martyrdom site, he concluded.

Martyrs of the Gallipoli campaign are commemorated every March 18, marking the Çanakkale Victory and Martyrs’ Day, as March 18, 1915, stands as a resounding victory in Turkish history, empowering the Turks to launch a war of independence and ultimately establish the Republic of Türkiye.