108th anniversary of Canakkale victory marked across Europe

By Anadolu Staff

ROME/VIENNA/GENEVA/ATHENS (AA) - The 108th anniversary of the Canakkale Victory and Martyrs' Day, which marks the anniversary of the 1915 triumph during World War I, was observed in European countries.

The day was observed on Saturday at Turkish Martyrdoms in the UK's Portsmouth city, Malta's Marsa, Bosnia and Herzegovina's Sanski Most, Austrian capital Vienna, Hungarian capital Budapest and Greece's Piraeus.

Meanwhile, various commemoration events took place at Turkish diplomatic missions in the Ireland's capital Dublin, Kosovo's Prizren, The Hague in the Netherlands, Geneva, and Romanian capital Bucharest.

Politicians, representatives of Turkish NGOs, and citizens attended the events across the Europe.

Early on Saturday, hailing Canakkale Victory and Martyrs' Day, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the battle of Canakkale was "the rehearsal of our War of Independence, the herald of the founding of the Republic of Türkiye."

- Gallipoli campaign

Tens of thousands of soldiers died in one of the world's most ferocious battles 106 years ago in the Gallipoli campaign in the Ottoman Empire during the 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, the invading forces withdrew.

Victory against the Allied forces boosted the morale of the Turkish side, which then 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.