A conference commemorating the 18 March Çanakkale Victory and Martyrs’ Day was held at our university.

A conference titled “March 18 Çanakkale Victory and Martyrs’ Remembrance Day” was held at Izmir Aydin University (IAU). Moderated by Hasan Hüseyin Bulut, the conference featured a speech by Hasan Yıldırım, President of the IAU Clubs Association. In addition, at the event, where the opening speech was delivered by Prof. Dr. Hızır Tarık Oğuzlu, Dean of the Faculty of Science and Literature, Dr. Efe Güzeloğlu and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mehmet Hakan Özçelik provided detailed information on the subject.

In his opening speech, Prof. Dr. Hızır Tarık Oğuzlu made the following remarks on the subject: “The Ottoman Empire has always fought against adversity and built a formidable front against its enemies. The loss of around 500,000 lives is an extremely significant event. This is a major victory in every sense.” Oğuzlu also provided information about this important historical event and then spoke about the situation at the time and the struggles that took place.

Assistant Professor Efe Güzeloğlu stated, “The Allied forces attacked Çanakkale in 1915. It was clear that the Ottoman army was in poor condition prior to 1915. The Ottoman Empire admitted that it had suffered heavy losses in the Balkan War. For this reason, they embarked on a major reform process during this period. They worked diligently, focusing on the reasons for the losses. In particular, they realized that the army was lacking in terms of written information transfer and turned their attention to this issue. They also paid attention to the political division within the army. They determined that they were stronger than the Balkan states in terms of weapons, yet they examined why they were still inadequate. During this process, they spent the next year and a half engaged in criticism, debate, and extensive work. The Ottoman Empire significantly increased its military knowledge during this period. This process and the victory at Gallipoli led to the emergence of a highly trained army.”

Finally, Associate Professor Dr. Mehmet Hakan spoke about how the Battle of Çanakkale unfolded and how Britain launched a ground offensive. Dr. Hakan said, “The Great Leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk stated that this was no ordinary attack. In this context, he said, ‘I am not ordering you to attack, I am ordering you to die. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk also went before the soldiers on the morning of August 10, and a bayonet charge took place. Atatürk saved Istanbul in this way. Everyone made mistakes. However, there was one person who did not make a mistake, and that was Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Returning to the Gallipoli Victory, in the end, those who came to the region left just as they had come, as in the national struggle. During this struggle, our national consciousness came to the fore. The Gallipoli Victory is a revival and a return of the Turks. We remember with love and mercy all our martyrs who lost their lives in the Battle of Gallipoli and in all other wars, may their souls rest in peace. I thank each and every one of you and celebrate our victory day once again.”