CANAKKALE, Turkey
Britain's Crown Prince Charles has spoken of the sadness of the plight of Anzac soldiers who fought in Turkey's Canakkale province during the battle there a century ago.
Speaking at a ceremony at the British Memorial on Turkey's Gallipoli peninsula on Friday, he said: "These men come from all parts of the British world; from Africa, Australia, Canada, India, the mother country, New Zealand and remote islands in the sea."
He said the Allied troops were "ordinary people called upon to do extraordinary tasks".
Referring to the evacuation of thousands of Anzac troops after their defeat at the hands of the Ottomans, he said: "They left the harbor very, very slowly; this turmoil of cheering lasted a long time; no one that heard it will ever forget it or think of it, unshaken; it broke the hearts of all there with pity and pride."
Tens of thousands of Turkish nationals and soldiers died in the conflict along with tens of thousands of Europeans, as well as about 7,000 to 8,000 Australians and nearly 3,000 New Zealanders.
The commemoration marked the events 100 years ago when, on April 25, 1915, eight months into World War I, Allied soldiers landed on the shores of the Gallipoli peninsula as part of a plan to open the Dardanelles Strait on Turkey's Aegean coast to Allied fleets, allowing them to threaten the Ottoman capital of Istanbul.
But the Allied Forces encountered strong and courageous resistance from the Turks and the campaign turned into a costly failure.
Harry, the Prince of Wales, also spoke on the historical significance of the Battle of Gallipoli, as it is known in the west.
The President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan were also present at the ceremony.
After the Turkish, British and Irish national anthems were played, anecdotes were read from the diaries of British soldiers who fought in the battle.
