1915: Canakkale Victory and Martyrs’ Day

March 18, 2021

By AHNZ

18 March, 1915, is remembered by the Turks as Canakkale Victory and Martyrs’ Day. It’s the day they engaged the enemy (us) in an ultimately successful defense against the invasion of their country. They’re remembering the beginning of their great success and great loss. It’s the Turk version of our ANZAC Day.

“March 18 is considered one of the most significant victory days in Turkish history and is commemorated with Turks cherishing their martyrs and war veterans.” – aa.com.tr

38 days later is ANZAC Day, 25 April, 1915, remembered by New Zealanders as the day of our invasion landings. We’re remembering the beginning of our great failure and great loss.

Usually these two annual events would cause friction due an historical case of Leibniz’s Law of the Identity of Indiscernibles. Competing communities usually become aggressive when their narratives disagree. For centuries, the Irish scrapped about the meaning of the Boyne (1690) even in NZ. Americans are still fighting the Civil War today, tearing out the memorial statues and banning the Dixie flag and name. This is the usual case so why not here?

Imagine your dad feuded with the neighbor and they end up killing each other, one dying of his wounds 38 days after the first¹. Wouldn’t it at least be awkward if not upsetting to cross paths at the cemetery with the other family putting flowers on their grave while you’re doing the same for yours?

The lack of animosity appears to be based on the adversaries being parted by time and space for generations. The foes never met again after their war, there was no contest of narratives to pass on to future generations. When we have our ANZAC Day and Turks their Martys’ Day we’re not really connected to the dead men except academically. Our blood doesn’t boil for our loss and we don’t direct that at the Turks and they don’t direct it on us. We would have, 100 years ago, if these two volatile chemicals ever mixed but they didn’t then and are past their used-by date now.

You’d like to think the civility between contemporary Turk and ANZAC today were transcendent humanity. Really, it’s just a triumph of absent mindedness over hatefulness.

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1 Not unlike Murchison, 1905

Apart from this guy: Ref. 1915: Apologise for Gallipoli?

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