[Anniversaries, Calendar]
25 April
This day marks the anniversary of the Gallipoli campaign during the First World War of Old Terra in 1915. The campaign saw the first major casualties for the Old Terran Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, whose soldiers were known as Anzacs, and who suffered terrible losses.
The land phase of the Gallipoli Campaign required an Allied army to fight the Ottoman Empire in order to capture the capital, Constantinople, and to control the Gallipoli Peninsula, opening the Black Sea for the Allied Navies during the First World War.
Through eight terrible months, both sides suffered high casualties. The Ottoman casualties were listed at 56,643 dead soldiers and for the allied forces casualties were counted to 34,072 British, 9,798 French, 8709 Australian, 2721 New Zealand and 1358 Indian British soldiers.
Although the Gallipoli campaign failed to achieve its military targets, 25 April quickly became a day to remember the sacrifice of those who had died in the war. The heroic actions of the Anzac troops during the campaign left a powerful and iconic legacy, credited with securing the psychological independence of those nations.
During the 3100’s the Old Terra population settled the galaxy and the commemoration of the Anzac Day was carried by the Australians and New Zealanders present among the Society of Cogwerk Planets. As the Cogwerk Calendar was assimilated by the Shogunate and the Hegemony, 25 April quickly became a galactic commemoration as the day to remember the sacrifice of those who had died in war.
After the War, Turkey and the Allied Governs united in the memory of their fallen, becoming friended in the common efforts to preserve their memories.
In 1934, Kemal Atatürk delivered the following
words to the first Australians, New Zealanders and British to visit the
Gallipoli battlefields. This was later inscribed on a monolith at Ari Burnu
Cemetery (ANZAC Beach) which was unveiled in 1985. The words also appear on the
Kemal Atatürk Memorial, Canberra, and the Atatürk Memorial in Wellington (all of these places located on Old Terra):
"Those
heroes that shed their blood
And lost their lives.
You are now lying in the soil of a friendly
country.
Therefore rest in peace
There is no difference between the 'Johnnies'
And the 'Mehmets' to us where they lie side by
side.
Here in this country of ours
You, the mothers,
Who sent their sons from far away countries.
Wipe away your tears,
Your sons are now lying in our bosom
And are in peace
After having lost their lives on this land
they have
