The Campaign That Changed Nations

The Gallipoli Campaign, known to Turks as the Battle of Çanakkale, began on April 25, 1915, when Allied forces attempted to force passage through the Dardanelles Strait. The strategic objective was ambitious: capture Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul), knock the Ottoman Empire out of the war, and establish a supply route to Russia through the Black Sea. What planners expected to be a swift operation instead became an eight-month ordeal that would define the national consciousness of Turkey, Australia, and New Zealand.

The peninsula, stretching approximately 60 kilometres into the Aegean Sea, became the stage for one of history’s most brutal campaigns. The terrain itself posed enormous challenges – rugged cliffs, steep ravines, and scrubland that offered little cover but countless hiding places for defenders. The geography that made Gallipoli strategically valuable also made it nearly impossible to conquer.

The Making of Atatürk

Among the Ottoman commanders defending Gallipoli was a 34-year-old lieutenant colonel named Mustafa Kemal, who would later become known as Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey. His actions at Gallipoli, particularly his defense of Chunuk Bair, established him as the “Rock of Gallipoli” and catapulted him into national prominence.

Kemal’s tactical brilliance and inspirational leadership during the campaign became legendary. When he famously told his troops, “I am not ordering you to attack, I am ordering you to die,” he embodied the desperate determination that would ultimately repel the Allied invasion.

Kemal’s success at Gallipoli wasn’t just tactical; it was transformational. His ability to coordinate defenses, inspire troops, and maintain morale under impossible circumstances demonstrated the leadership qualities that would later make him the founding father of the Turkish Republic. The victory at Gallipoli became a cornerstone of Turkish national identity and pride, representing the last great stand of the Ottoman Empire and the birth of modern Turkey.

The Staggering Scale of Loss and a Personal Connection to History

The numbers behind the Gallipoli Campaign reveal its devastating human cost. Over 559,000 Allied personnel participated in the campaign, facing more than 300,000 Ottoman defenders. The casualty figures paint a sobering picture of the campaign’s brutality. The Ottoman Empire paid the highest price, with over 87,000 deaths and 300,000 total casualties. Among the Allied forces, Britain and Ireland lost 29,500 lives, Australia 8,709, New Zealand 2,779, and France 12,000. These numbers represent not just military statistics but entire generations of young men who never returned home.

In our tour group, there was a woman from New Zealand whose family story brought the campaign’s human cost into sharp focus. She found the grave of her grandfather’s cousin, who had died during the campaign. Through the Commonwealth War Graves Commission records, she located his final resting place among the rows of white headstones that now mark the peninsula’s cemeteries. She later shared that other family members had survived Gallipoli only to die later at the Battle of the Somme, where over 57,000 British casualties occurred on a single day.

A Source of National Pride

For Turkey, Gallipoli represents far more than a military victory – it embodies the spirit of national resistance and the birth of modern Turkish identity. The campaign is celebrated as a defining moment when Ottoman forces, under Kemal’s leadership, successfully repelled a major Allied invasion. This victory became a rallying point for Turkish nationalism and continues to be commemorated as a source of immense national pride.

The Turkish government established the Gallipoli Peninsula Historical National Park in 1973, covering over 33,000 hectares and including it in the United Nations list of National Parks and Protected Areas. The park serves both as a historical preserve and a place of pilgrimage for Turks, who visit in large numbers to pay their respects to the “Martyrs of Çanakkale”.

See more photos of Gallipoli here

There’s a bit of nostalgia in returning to Munich, a place that I’d visited a few times before a long time ago when I did my internship in Germany. I eagerly anticipated revisiting some of my favourite spots while venturing into new experiences.

Seeing the Neues Rathaus on Marienplatz reminded me of my previous visits, from a time where I had visited few foreign countries, seeing the world with young, fresh eyes.

I got to experience again the outdoor beer gardens – a fundamental part of beer culture. I eagerly sought out the ambiance of these social hubs, rediscovering the familiar taste of German sausages and beer. Unfortunately, since it was winter, most of the beer garden was closed.

Nearby the beer garden was the Eisbach, Munich’s famous river wave in the English Garden. Standing on the riverbank, I marveled at the skill and courage of the surfers who rode the powerful current with grace and determination. They made it look easy.

I stumbled upon a Ukraine War protest during my visit, and it reminded me that the war is a lot closer to Germany than it is for us living in North America. This unexpected encounter allowed me to witness firsthand the power of peaceful activism and the unity of Munich’s community. It happened to occur on the same day as the Munich Security Conference, where world leaders met to continue discussions regarding the Ukraine War.

Walking through the opulent halls of the Munich Residenz was like revisiting a bygone era, and it was a place I’d never been before. The grandeur of its rooms, adorned with ornate decorations and priceless artwork, transported me to a time of royalty and elegance.

The Munich Residenz is the former royal palace of the Wittelsbach family that once ruled Bavaria. The Wittelsbach dynasty originated in the 11th century and ruled Bavaria for nearly 750 years until the end of the monarchy in 1918 after Germany’s defeat in World War I.

As usual, I had to eat a pork knuckle, and I think I’ve now found the best pork knuckle in town at the Augustiner brewery. I saw that they had many locations, but the one I went to is the one right outside the Frauenkirche. They had perfected the crispy crackling skin with tender meat underneath. I still think about this meal. I used to go to the Hofbräuhaus, but I couldn’t help but notice how it had degraded over time. While it still retained its lively atmosphere and historical significance, it had become somewhat commercialized, geared more towards tourists, and most importantly, the food was worse (or maybe my taste buds back then were less sophisticated). Nevertheless, I found solace in knowing that Munich’s culinary experiences could still be found in other traditional establishments.

Another highlight is that I finally was able to book a spot on the BMW factory tour. I had tried in the past, but never early enough to secure a spot. Unfortunately, I wasn’t allowed to take any pictures. The tour goes through different parts of the car manufacturing process, e.g., the metal stamping, painting, and assembly. The process also shows how seamlessly robots and humans work together. It’s really cool to see robot arms putting a car together.

A friend of mine introduced to me the Schalznudeln, a pastry I’d never tried before. It’s essentially airy like a donut, and almost tastes like a beaver tail.

We just so happen to arrive on the last day of the Karneval. People were in the street drinking and dancing, local breweries set up shop in the main shopping street to sell beer, and people performed on stage. I’d always though the Karneval was a Cologne thing but clearly they celebrate it here too. It reminded me of the time I’d gone in 2011. It’s related to the Brazilian carnival and the American Mardi Gras – they’re all celebrating the same thing, just in their own way. The spectacle is cool, but the dark side of it is that people end up leaving lots of trash in the street. Luckily, by morning, the mess is cleaned up.

Returning to Munich was a bittersweet experience, as I rediscovered old favourites and uncovered new adventures. More photos of Munich here.

Our tour took us through the desert in a pickup truck. All we had to do was sit in the back and admire the views. At first it was a little bit disorienting because I literally have never sat in the back of a pickup truck before. I’d seen it many times in movies and what not, but that was it – especially from news clips where insurgents in Iraq or Afghanistan would do it, so it was pretty hard to not compare my experience with that.

Along the way, we stopped by some old carvings on the rocks (so called petroglypths) from the Thamud, an ancient civilization that existed around 8th century BCE.

We hiked around the desert a little bit.

Then we stayed in the desert for the sunset. I normally don’t pay attention to the sunset, but it was pretty amazing to see how fast the sun actually set.

Once the sun touched the horizon, 30 seconds later, it was gone.

For dinner, the staff at the camp prepared a feast for us – zarb, they called it. It’s similar to the chicken/lamb on rice meals we had in the previous days, but this one was cooked underground inside a barrel. This was the best meal in Jordan by far!

That night, we stayed in a camp in the desert. The best part about it was being able to see stars without all the light pollution in the city, and hanging out with the rest of the tour group around a campfire.

The worst part of it was the actual camping. There was some running water, but no hot water. To make it worse, we had to leave the next morning at 04:00 because we had a couple hours drive back through the Israeli border in time before it closed (what kind of border crossing closes during the day?).

The desert was our last destination in Jordan, before we went back into Israel/Palestine (not to take sides here…), to visit the Dead Sea and Tel Aviv.

More photos of Wadi Rum here

Duisburg

This is a walkable rollercoaster! Its only purpose is as an art installation for city beautification. The track is a walkway with stairs, but the loop is off limits.

Next door is a nuclear plant though. Makes me a little nervous after watching that HBO show about Chernobyl.

Arnhem

Now we’re back in the Netherlands, in the city of Arnhem. During Operation Market Garden in World War II, the western Allies attempted invading Germany through the Netherlands. Allied soldiers (mostly British) attempted to secure key bridges throughout the country; one of which was in Arnhem. The operation ended in disaster, and the Allies failed to advance in to Germany.

The John Frost bridge was constructed on the same location as the old bridge that was destroyed by bombings after Operation Market Garden. John Frost was the leader of the group of British paratroopers that actually arrived at the bridge during the battle. The Airborne Museum in Arnhem is dedicated to the Battle of Arnhem, but it was closed for renovations (out of all the war related museums we went to on this trip so far, most of them ended up being closed…). The city centre itself has the same vibes as other cities in the Netherlands.

Our day was shorter because of our flight, but our next destination gets even more exciting: Israel, Palestine and Jordan.

• Duisburg
• Arnhem

Bastogne

The Battle of the Bulge (known in German as the Unternehmen Wacht am Rhein – Operation Watch on the Rhine) was the last major German offensive in the western front during World War II. The Germans attempted to use this offensive to break the Allied offensive on that front and force the western allies to negotiate a peace treaty. The territory taken by the Germans during the offensive resembled a “bulge” on the map, hence its name.

During the battle, Bastogne was surrounded by German forces, and when the Germans asked the Americans in Bastogne to surrender, Brigadier General McAuliffe famously answered “nuts!” to the German request.

We stayed overnight in the same farmhouse which served as the former field headquarters of the legendary American 101st Airborne Division during the battle. The staff there mentioned that the same family still owns the farmhouse to this day and that some of them had perished in concentration camps during the course of the war.

They even decorated in the interior with old helmets and ammo boxes.

I wouldn’t consider the place in the middle of nowhere, but maybe trying to find it at night isn’t the best idea.

Just look for the tank turret out front I guess!

We tried going to the Bastogne Museum, but little did we know that the Bastogne War Museum was closed between 20. January 2020 to 19. February 2020. I knew it was low season, but I didn’t think it was so not busy that the entire museum would be closed for a whole month! The only exhibit we got to see was the East Germany open air exhibit outside showing off art painted on the tank, slabs of the Berlin Wall on old Trabants.

Nearby the museum was the Mardasson Memorial, a monument dedicated to the American soldiers who fought the Battle of the Bulge. Inside the memorial, carved panels tell the story of the battle.

The weather really cooperated with us today! We had clear blue skies all day, and got to see the the thin layers of morning frost over the vast farm fields.

Liège

The weather didn’t cooperate for long though because it became like this on our way to Liège…

The thing that surprised me about Liège was how seedy it was. We were hanging out around Place St Lambert, and it felt like people were subtlely eyeing us from the side of the street. In once instance, the moment we turned corner, a man glanced at us and immediately started walking in our direction. I glanced at him some more and eventually he went away. Yeah, we didn’t stay long in Liège.

I think one way to explain why it was so seedy was that Wallonia was no longer Belgium’s center of industry like it was in the late 19th and early 20th century. As the industry went to neighbouring Flanders, the local economy suffered.

Drielandenpunt

Next up, Drielandenpunt, the triple point between Germany, Netherlands, and Belgium. It’s also simultaneously the highest point in the entire Netherlands, a miniscule 322.5m above sea level.

Aachen

Not far away from the Drielandenpunt, was the westernmost city in Germany, Aachen. This is where 31 Holy Roman Emperors were crowned. Charlemagne (his bust pictured below) himself had his imperial medieval residence here.

The Aachen Cathedral shown below was the burial location of Charlemagne. The chapel shown in the middle is the location of the coronation of the Holy Roman Emperors. Despite the name, the Holy Romans Empire was neither holy nor Roman, nor an empire.

As a “holy” empire they weren’t exactly unified by religion. It wasn’t solely catholic and had a significant population of Protestants.

It wasn’t really Roman since for most of its history it didn’t rule over what the Roman Empire ruled over (although it did for a time) and its centre of power was ultimately in Germany. Arguably, the Byzantines or the Eastern Roman Empire was the true successor to the Roman Empire. They were a part of the Roman Empire when it fell and it continued the empire in the east until it fell in the 15th century to the Ottoman Turks.

Technically, it was an empire (at least officially) for a time, until their defeat in the Thirty Years War (1618 – 1648), which resulted in the kingdoms within the empire effectively receiving independence from the empire.

For lunch, I finally got the chance to eat Eisbein (bottom dish), a pork knuckle! It’s simmered for several hours in broth and served with sauerkraut and mashed potatoes! If you like meat, this is the dish for you. The above dish is a schnitzel – thin slice of meat (thinned via pounding) that’s breaded and fried.

Bonn

From Aachen, we drove to Bonn to meet up with a friend, who moved to Bonn from Taiwan to pursue a PhD in chemical engineering. We were so full from lunch, we only had a small snack for dinner at a local pub.

Since it was a Bavarian pub, it sold Bavarian specialities like weisswurst (shown on bottom – literally white sausage). It’s a sausage made from veal! The bread in the basket is a very delicious German pretzel. It’s got a nice cripsy outside flavoured with salt with a soft inside.

After dinner, we explored the city a little bit and visited the birthplace of Ludwig van Beethoven. The house is one of the few remaining middle-class homes of the era.

Bonn is also the world headquarters of an amazing brand of gummy bears – Haribo! It was founded by Hans Riegel in Bonn, hence the name Haribo. People who hear about Haribo for the first time usually think it comes from Japan, and are almost always surprised to find out it’s German! The outlet store not far from Bonn city centre has a MASSIVE selection of all sorts of Haribo variants! It’s got gummy bears, sour worms, licorice, and more! I definitely recommend the gummy bears (of course), the frogs, coca colas, and the Phantasia pack!

That concludes our 7th day. The next day we’d travel to more German cities – Cologne and Düsseldorf.

Photos:

• Bastogne
• Liège
• Drielandenpunt
• Aachen
• Bonn

Strasbourg

Strasbourg is in the historic region of Alsace-Lorraine. The unique thing about Alsace-Lorraine is that in the span of 100 years it has flipped back and forth multiple times between France and Germany as a result of three wars (the Franco-Prussian War, World War I, and World War II). As a result, the city shares cultures from both countries. This is super evident in a part of town called Petite France, most notably the timber framing around each building. The local dialect Alsatian, also has Germanic origins.

It’s also the home of the European Parliament. This is where over 700 democratically elected Members of European Parliament pass legislation.

Thus far, in France, I had been speaking my very limited French here and there whenever I needed it. As we waited for the tour, a Middle Eastern fellow struck up a conversation with me in French, kind of just asking us where we were from etc. It was kind of weird, but we went along with it anyway – it didn’t seem like he was a pickpocket or anything. I managed to get pretty far in the conversation in French actually, which surprised me quite a bit. He told me that he had moved to France from Afghanistan after working there as part of the local security forces, and even showed me his old Afghan ID, and a bomb scar he had.

The conversation got super weird when he started asking about our yearly salary, and it seemed like he was asking us for money (but it’s possible some of that was lost in translation). At that point, we totally understood why he started the conversation in the first place. We basically told him that we’re not that well off either and he tried to give ME money, and I still don’t understand what was going on there. When the tour started, it seemed like he was still staying within our general vicinity, which made it even weirder. Eventually he picked up on that and left us alone. We even checked if he followed us back to our car (just in case).

Strasbourg appears pretty proud of their cuisine – even their postcards have pictures of recipes of different Alsatian dishes. One that we had was called Flammekueche (in German it’s Flammkuchen, so it’s easy to see the German influence in the language here, at least in this word). I think the closest analogue that English speakers would know would be a flatbread pizza, but with more French style ingredients like fromage blanc, and uses crème fraîche as a base as opposed to tomatoes.

From Strasbourg, we began our journey to Switzerland. At the border, we bought our vignette (it’s a required sticker on the car for driving in the country). I spoke to the lady in German and I got a nice feeling speaking and listening to a language that I understood again.

Habsburg Castle

Our first destination in Switzerland was the Habsburg Castle. This is where the House of Habsburg began. This is THE Habsburgs that wielded enourmous power in Europe for centuries, most notably the Holy Roman Empire, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

The castle looks quite modest compared to other European castles like Neuschwanstein, but this is because it was originally constructed almost 1000 years ago.

Zürich

As we drove through Switzerland, we expected mountain passes full of snow, but there were actually very few mountains along that route! We probaly would have seen some in Zürich itself, but too bad it was nighttime.

We arrived in Zürich just in time for a fondue and raclette dinner, because that’s what the stereotypes say. Of all places we found though, we found the most touristy one. I’m pretty sure everybody in there was a tourist.

As we were chatting while eating, I was trolling my friend, saying he comes from China even though he’s actually from Taiwan, since Taiwanese people stereotypically like to assert that Taiwan is not the same as China. A lady at our neighbouring table heard us and actually confronted us about it. She seemed so pissed off! She seemed fine once we told her we were just messing around, and that I’m from Hong Kong (people from there generally side with Taiwan). But imagine travelling all the way to Switzerland and hearing someone trashtalking your country!

This concludes our fourth day. Stay tuned for day five!

• Strasbourg
• Habsburg Castle
• Zürich

Originally, we had planned on visiting Sedan too. This was where the Germans made their initial breakthrough into France that eventually led to the French surrender. We intended to go to the Museum of the Last Cartridge, the local museum there, thinking that it was about the World War II battle, but actually it was about the Battle of Bazeilles during the Franco Prussian War (which I had never heard of before). In the end, we didn’t have time for it anyway so it was okay that we didn’t go.

The Maginot Line

Not far from Sedan, was a preserved portion of the Maginot Line in northeastern France, known as the Ouvrage La Ferté. The Maginot Line was a series of defensive fortifications stretching along the French border from Luxembourg to Italy built after World War I to protect France from a future German invasion. The location at the Ouvrage La Ferté saw the heaviest fighting during the Battle of France in World War II. It eventually was overwhelmed by German forces and its entire garrison was killed.

It’s exterior still shows the damage from the battle and grass has grown over the craters that were once there. It is possible to tour the inside of the bunker, but it is only available to large group tours.

Driving through the area, it’s pretty common to still see bunkers on the side of the road.

The Ouvrage La Ferté is in a pretty remote location, which makes sense considering it’s a defensive fortification, and because of the rain the night before, we ended up driving on some flooded roads, and even narrow farm roads that even Google Maps didn’t have a name for.

Verdun

From Ouvrage La Ferté, we drove to Verdun. Verdun was the site of another major battle in World War I, and to remember the fallen soldiers, a memorial containing their skeletal remains was constructed.

Unbeknownst to us, the ossuary was actually closed when we arrived, so we never got to go inside. We could only peek through the windows and see was a blurry view of stacks of bones. In front of the monument lies a military cemetery.

Nearby the ossuary is the actual fort that played a role in the Battle of Verdun. The fort fell to the Germans without a fight since the French had abandoned the fort thinking that the fort would have been ineffective against the heavy artillery that the Germans were using. Eventually, the fort was recaptured.

The road leading up to the fort was interesting too because some of the old trenches were preserved. The zig zag of the trenches can still be seen. Its purpose was to ensure that shrapnel exploding inside the trench would be contained. A straight trench would have allowed a clear path for the shrapnel to fly through more of the trench.

From there we drove three and a half hours to Strasbourg, where we’d start our fourth day of our road trip. That’s all for now!

• Maginot Line
• Verdun

Our second day takes us to Oosterscheldekering, Ypres, and Dunkirk.

Oosterscheldekering (Eastern Scheldt storm surge barrier)

We began our day two heading back into the Netherlands, to a network of storm surge barriers, designed to protect the Netherlands from flooding. Large sets of doors can open and close to control the water flow coming in from the ocean. They’re important because most of the Netherlands sits a few metres above sea level or lower, and thus are prone to flooding.

As we drove in the area of Oosterscheldekering, we encountered a lot of windmills spinning noticeably in the wind. And I wondered where all the old traditional windmills went, as in the ones with a tower made of brick with four rectangular fan blades . Netherlands has a stereotype of having a lot of them. We barely saw any of them and then it occurred to me that most of them were probably upgraded to use modern technology.

Ypres

Our next destination, Ypres, is known for the many battles that occurred there during the First World War, where the Germans introduced chemical weapons in the battlefield in the form of poison gas. During the course of the war, the town was destroyed, mostly by artillery fire.

The town was rebuilt after the war using German war reparations, with the main square following the original design as closely as possible. The In Flanders’ Fields Museum (the big building in the above picture) is a museum dedicated to the First World War.

Dunkerque (Dunkirk)

Our final destination for the day was the French port city of Dunkirk, known for the role it played during the evacuation of Allied forces from France. The Germans had achieved a breakthrough in France and had surrounded the bulk of Allied forces around Dunkirk. The German airforce was tasked to destroy these forces, so that the Germany army could conserve its ground forces for other operations, but the Germans failed to destroy the Allied forces and over 338000 soldiers were successfully evacuated to Britain.

That night, the locals were having a festival, called the “Bal du Chat Noir”, probably loosely translated as “The Black Cat Ball”. It’s so obscure that as of this writing, an English Wikipedia article for this festival doesn’t even exist. The French Wikipedia describes it as a festival to celebrate the opening of the carnival season (i.e. the Christian Carnival), and that it’s local to Dunkirk.

From what I can tell, it’s kind of like the Carnival in Cologne, where people party in the streets dressed up in costumes. There’s no shortage of reasons for people to party!

Stay tuned for day 3!

• Oosterscheldekering
• Ypres
• Dunkirk

The museum focussed on German tank developments since the beginning: World War I. Definitely an awesome museum. I’d recommend it for anyone interested in the subject.

During the interwar period and World War II, the Germans took the tank concept and built it into a very effective war machine. This museum is paradise for tank nerds like me.

This museum is also paradise for mechanical engineers too. Here is an interactive exhibit on the tank’s transmission. Yanking on the lever let you shift gears and one can see how the gears move around through the clear covering. Definitely real cool for people who are into that sort of stuff.

There are lots of tanks here. This is only one of the many rooms.

There’s also an exhibit showing how kids learn how to play war at a young age and it questions the morality whether or not this is okay. Ironically, when we were there, a group of children were going through the whole museum screaming about how the stuff in the museum was the coolest stuff ever.

Right behind that, was an exhibit of guns and how humans engineered death.

The exhibit on how armour piercing rounds work was especially cool.

And also the cool cross-sections.

What’s a tank musum if you can’t actually go inside one?

And of course, one can’t look at tanks without thinking of margaritas and Katy Perry…

After visiting the museum, we stopped in Hamburg to grab a bite to eat. We ate at this restaurant with a mysterious set menu where we knew neither the price nor what we would be served. We ended up eating different kinds of seafood over a few courses (swordfish, among them!), and it was ~40 euros!

Link to photo album: here

On the highest point of the ridge stands the memorial. On the base of the memorial, the names of the Canadian soldiers who were missing/presumed dead are inscribed.

One of the strategic purposes of this area (so called Hill 145) was that it served as a vantage point.

One of the strategies during World War I was the use of trenches to defend against enemy attack. Some of the trench networks have been preserved.

The tour guide explained that the trench networks are not perfectly straight because if an enemy force were to attack the trench, neither side could have perfect line of sight through the entire trench line.  At the same time, the height of the trench in the rear is slightly lower so that artillery shells may glide over, rather than bouncing off the trench wall and landing in the trench.

Looking out of the trench, one can see the so-called “No man’s land“. Neither side could freely move here without danger of getting fired upon. This area was once littered with mines, barbed wire, and corpses among other things. Repeated artillery bombardment and mine detonations created large craters in the terrain, which are still visible today. An electric fence still blocks the way into the no man’s land since there are still live mines here today.

The Canadian divisions transported personell and supplies through an underground tunnel, which a part of is also preserved. During the war, it was also way darker than shown in the picture and also infested by critters like rats. It was also quite common for some soldiers to sleep here.

For reference, this is what the battlefield looked like at the time (courtesy of Wikipedia).  It is pretty hard to see the resemblance between the historical pictures and what it looks like today.  Part of the reason is also that only a portion of the battlefield was preserved and the rest of it was redeveloped.

In Social Studies class in high school, I had learned about this place and its significance to Canada. I had seen a lot of World War II sites during my time in Europe, but this is one of the few times where I see a site related to World War I.

Link to the Vimy Ridge photo album