Why in News?

• Recently Turkey’s President has compared the struggle of Kashmiris with that of Turkey during World War I. India has strongly objected to the comparison of the Kashmir situation to the Battle of Çanakkale/Gallipoli of World War I (1914–18).
• It has to be noted that in September, 2019 Turkey had already raised the Kashmir issue in the United Nations General Assembly.

Background Info:

World War I:

• World War I was fought between the Allied Powers and the Central Powers during 1914 – 1918.
• Allied Powers: The main members were France, Russia, and Britain. The United States joined the Allies after 1917.
• Central Powers: The main members were Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria.

About Gallipoli Campaign (1915-16):

• The Battle of Gallipoli or the Dardanelles Campaign was an unsuccessful attempt by the Allied Powers to control the sea route from Europe to Russia during the World War I.
• The campaign began with a failed naval attack by British and French ships on the Dardanelles Straits (connecting the Sea of Marmara to the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea) involving British and French troops.
• Failure: Lack of sufficient intelligence and knowledge of the terrain, along with a fierce Turkish resistance (Ottoman army), hampered the success of the invasion.
• It is considered to be one of the bloodiest battles of World War I leading to the death of tens of thousands of soldiers on both sides.

Significance of the Battle:

• The Battle resulted in the downfall of Winston Churchill and the emergence of the Turkish military hero, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
• The event is today one of the central pillars of the modern Turkish identity.
• The campaign is also seen to have seeded Australian and New Zealand National Consciousness.