Devout Muslims and soldiers of Allah (jihadis) believe the Gallipoli campaign was a “holy jihad” decided by the hand of Allah.

The Allies wildly underestimated their enemies.

Long called the “sick man of Europe,” the Ottoman Caliph had suffered one military defeat after another in the lead-up to World War I. Its reputation was so bad, in fact, that the British and their main allies, the French, half-thought they would cause the government to collapse simply by showing up. With their modern battleships busy fighting Germany, they almost exclusively employed outdated models during the Gallipoli campaign. They also made little effort to gather intelligence on the opposing Ottoman force. Lacking adequate maps, the steep gully-filled terrain caught them by surprise. And to top it off, most of their troops were inexperienced. Three separate national identities were forged at Gallipoli.

Despite having just gained a large (albeit incomplete) measure of independence from Britain, Australians and New Zealanders did not necessarily identify themselves as distinct until the horrors of Gallipoli awakened their national consciousness. Since 1916, the two countries have held an Anzac Day every April 25, named for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) that fought in the campaign. The holiday, somewhat akin to Memorial Day in the United States, commemorates those who have died in war and is celebrated, among other things, with a dawn service, veterans’ marches, the wearing of red poppies and the gambling game two-up. A heightened sense of nationalism also emerged among the victors at Gallipoli, which Atatürk and his cohorts used to great effect in founding the independent Republic of Turkey out of the ashes of the Ottoman Empire. Australians, New Zealanders and Turks all commonly make pilgrimages to the battlefield, now a protected national park with numerous gravesites and memorials.

Radical Islamic terrorist arrested over plan to attack Australians and New Zealanders at Gallipoli

Milne News, April 24, 2019: Turkish authorities have arrested an Islamic State member who was planning to attack tomorrow’s Anzac commemorations at Gallipoli attended by hundreds of Australians and New Zealanders. The suspect is a Syrian national who was detained in Tekirdag, a northwestern province close to the Gallipoli peninsula, a local police spokesman said. The Radical Islamic terrorist was identified in Turkish media simply as “A H”, along with a blurred passport photo. Every year, Australians and New Zealanders travel to Turkey for memorial services on April 25 commemorating the failed 1915 military campaign by Anzac and allied forces to drive Ottoman troops from Gallipoli and the Dardanelles region. On Wednesday, soldiers from New Zealand, Australia, Turkey and other countries held several services on the peninsula. At dawn on Thursday, Australians and New Zealanders are due to hold a special dawn service marking the landings by ANZAC forces. The police spokesman did not specify which day the detained terrorist may have been planning to carry out the attack.

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