The Battle of Gallipoli was fought on the Gallipoli Peninsula from February 19, 1915 to January 9, 1916. The Entente Powers hoped to knock the Ottoman Empire out of the war by seizing control of the Dardanelles and then putting the capital city of Constantinople in the crosshairs. The goal was to break the stalemate on the Western Front, relieve pressure on Russia, and ensure access to the Black Sea. The operation was a brainchild of Winston Churchill and the landings on April 25, 1915, involved the use of ANZAC troops. After months of difficult fighting, the Allied troops were withdrawn in defeat. Despite this defeat, historians point to Gallipoli as a pivotal moment in the formation of a national consciousness in Australia and New Zealand. Similarly, the Ottoman victory had a profound impact on the formation of modern Turkey. To examine the Battle of Gallipoli from the Ottoman and Turkish perspectives the World War I Podcast hosted Dr. Yucel Yanikdag, Professor of History at the University of Richmond and an expert on Turkey, the Ottoman Empire and World War I.
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