LT-COLONEL HALİT & LT-COLONEL ZIYA'S GRAVES
YARBAY HALİT VE YARBAY ZİYA MEZARLARI
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In the burial site furthest
from the village lie two army officers : Lieutenant-Colonel Halit Bey, the
com-mander of the Turkish 20th Regiment and Lieutenant-Colonel Ziya
Bey, the commander of the Turkish 21st Regiment, both in the 7th
Division. Halit Bey was killed in fighting at Hill 60 and Ziya Bey died around
Asmalı Dere, during the fighting on August 11. The two officers were later
buried in the village cemetery. Although many Turkish Soldiers killed in the
battles were buried around the village of Büyük
Anafarta, there are no records as to their identities or the exact sites of
their graves.
"Gallipoli Battlefield Guide",
(Istanbul
2006), Gürsel Göncü & Şahin Aldoğan, p. 129
The 7th
Division, during the night of August 8th. positioned the 20th. Regiment on
the right and the 21st. Regiment on the left. They approached the Asmalıdere
and prepared for battle. The assault began at 04.30 am on August 9th.
The 20th Regiment, which tried to force through to the Damakçılık Hills by
crossing the Kayacık
back to if stones could speak
streamlet,
could not get any further because of effective fire from the English
positions, whose trenches were only 100 to 200 metres ahead.
The first Battalion of the 20th Regiment, positioned on the right flank and
therefore closest to the English positions at the time incurred heavy
casualities and at 10.00 am the battalion was forced to withdraw south of the
Kayacık streamlet due to a English counter-attack.
The commander of the 7th Division asked for support from the 4th Division on
the right flank but also pressurised the Regimental commanders to
counter-attack and recover the lost ground.
On going
forward one of the two Regimental commanders was killed on the spot and
another severely wounded. This also stopped the advance as both Regimental
commanders, together with many officers and other ranks were put out of
action. The total number of casualities that day reached 2,114.
"A brief history of the Çanakkale Campaign in the First World War" (June 1914-January 1916), (Ankara 2002), The Turkish General Staff Directorate of Military History, p. 216 / Map reproduced from the same source.
Last updated : 13/09/06