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The Graveyards of Gallipoli; A Digger History Associate Site |
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A Tribute to the Men of all the Nations that took part in the Gallipoli Campaign of 1915 |
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French Cemetery & Memorial, Helles, Gallipoli |
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| French Cemetery on the Asiatic shore of the Dardanelles Strait. The French troops' initial and short term landing point was the Asiatic shore at Kum Kale |
| Gallipoli
Peninsula, Turkey. October 1915.
Tombstones engraved by the French at Helles. |
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Photos by Tim Kantar. Translations and history notes by Yves "Froggy" Fohlen. |
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| The French War Cemetery.
It is located at Morto Bay, just inland of S Beach and a
short distance from the Canakkale Martyrs' Memorial complex on
the bay's eastern promontory. The cemetery is built on a slope, 30m
above sea level. Construction and the task of locating over 3,000 French
dead began in January 1919, however it was not until July 1926 that it
was completed. The cemetery faces due south, towards Kumkale
across the straits where the Corps Expeditionaire d'Orient first went
ashore on 25 April. One of the largest on the peninsula it is a
rectangle measuring 76m wide by 140m long. Trees screen three of its
sides, with the open southern side facing Morto Bay.
The cemetery includes four ossuaries each containing the remains of 3,000 unknown soldiers. The central obelisk is also an ossuary, inscribed on it are the words ' LA FRANCE A SES ENFANTS 1915' (France to Her Children, 1915). The maternal message is repeated elsewhere. There are 3,236 individual graves. Most are marked by a cross made of black painted metal stake with the tips wrought in the shape of the Fleur-de-lis. The graves of the non-Christian have either a crossed stake without the fleur-de-lis, or a vertical stake. Attached to all the grave markers is a metal plate with each man's service number, name and the words 'Mort pour la France.' A somewhat stark but moving approach to a cemetery. |
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The Gallery of Immortals
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| Submarine
Joule was most likely sunk by a mine, 1st May 1915. The commanding
officer was Louis Georges Marie Félix Auber DUPETIT THOUARS de St
George
Submarine Mariotte was sunk by a mine, 28 July 1915 The French submarine" Saphir" was lost at sea on 15/1/1915. It started to take water after passing through a mine field near Nagara coast . It was just 22 meters deep. The submarine run aground. The rear engines were engaged....but the sub fell to 70 meters deep ..more water entered the sub.. The commander, Lieutenant de Vaisseau Henri Fournier decided to surface..but the Turks opened fire. To avoid capture of his craft Lieut Fournier gave the order to open the ballast and to sink the sub. Just 10 men survived the sinking. Fournier died with his submarine. Submarine Turquoise was in fact captured by the Turks on 30/10/1915. Lieut Vaisseau Ravenel was the commander. The crew was taken prisoner and some died from the Spanish flu in Turkish jails. On 17 September 1915, during the height of the Gallipoli Campaign, the French submarine TURQUOISE managed to get through the defenses into the Sea of Marmara. On her passage back to her base, she ran aground at Aksaz in Dardanelles. Sighted by the Turkish defence, she come under fire. TURQUOISE was hit by the conning tower as she accidentally surfaced. Unable to dive, she was captured and towed to Istanbul. She was commissioned into the Ottoman Navy as MÜSTECİP ONBAŞI named after the soldier whose shot hit the submarine. Her only use during the war however was to charge the batteries of the German submarines. Details by Yves "Froggy" Fohlen. |
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| In memoriam to the Battleship Bouvet, to her crew, her officers and to Commander Rageot de la Touche. Cuirassé (battleship) Bouvet hit one of Hakki Bey's (Mine layer Nusrat) mines. She sunk in 3 minutes. 18 March 1915. |
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Photos: Eric Goossens To the Unknown Heroes who Died for France.
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Translation of the wording above: Here lie 3,000 unknown French soldiers who died for their Country, 1915. (This is 1 of 2 similar ossuaries). |
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see below for details |
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