The year 2016 marks the 101st anniversary of the battle in the Canakkale (Dardanelles) Strait in Canakkale's Gelibolu district, which served as a turnaround in favor of the Turks fighting in World War I against the Allied Forces.On April 25, 1915, eight months into World War I, Allied soldiers landed on the shores of the Gelibolu peninsula. The troops were there as part of a plan to open Canakkale Strait on Turkey's Aegean coast to Allied fleets, allowing them to threaten the then Ottoman capital, Istanbul.The Allied Forces, however, encountered strong and courageous resistance from the Turks and the campaign turned out to be a costly failure. Tens of thousands of Turkish nationals and soldiers died, along with tens of thousands of Europeans, plus around 7,000 - 8,000 Australians and nearly 3,000 New Zealanders.