Hill 60 Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery
Encyclopedia
Hill 60 Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission
cemetery dating from World War I
at the Northern end of the former Anzac sector of the Gallipoli Peninsula, Turkey
and the location of Hill 60 (New Zealand) Memorial, one of four memorials on the peninsula which commemorate New Zealanders killed in the campaign but who have no known grave.
The battles at Gallipoli
, some of whose participating soldiers are buried at this cemetery, was an eight month campaign fought by Commonwealth and French forces against Turkish forces in an attempt to force Turkey out of the war, to relieve the deadlock of the Western Front (France/Belgium) and to open a supply route to Russia through the Dardanelles and the Black Sea.
The main landings were in April 1915, but failure to make any progress led to a further landing at Suvla Bay
to the North of the existing Allied positions on 6 August. However indecision and confusion led delays allowing the Turkish defenders to reinforce their positions, resulting in a stalemate.
Hill 60 was a low Turkish occupied knoll 60 metres above sea level at the northern end of the Sari Bair range which nevertheless dominated the Allied positions near Suvla bay. It was the location of the Battle of Hill 60
, the last major assault of the campaign
, launched on 21 August 1915 to coincide with the attack on Scimitar Hill made from the Suvla front by General Stopford's British IX Corps. The battle lasted for 8 days, and although Australian troops reached the top of the hill the vital north facing slopes which overlooked Suvla remained in Turkish hands.
The cemetery, on the site of some of the trenches fought over during the battle, was used following the battle and extensively enlarged after the Armistice from remains found on the surrounding battlefield and from 42 graves moved in from Norfolk Trench Cemetery. 712 of the graves are unidentified, but special memorials commemorate 34 casualties thought to be amongst them.
The cemetery also contains one of four memorials commemorating New Zealand troops who do not have known graves, the Hill 60 (New Zealand) Memorial, and contains the names of 183 New Zealand soldiers killed during the battle. The cemetery also contains the identified graves of 13 New Zealanders (one of whom was in the Australian Imperial Force
), and a further 16 are thought to be buried in the cemetery.
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves, and places of commemoration, of Commonwealth of Nations military service members who died in the two World Wars...
cemetery dating from World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
at the Northern end of the former Anzac sector of the Gallipoli Peninsula, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and the location of Hill 60 (New Zealand) Memorial, one of four memorials on the peninsula which commemorate New Zealanders killed in the campaign but who have no known grave.
The battles at Gallipoli
Battle of Gallipoli
The Gallipoli Campaign, also known as the Dardanelles Campaign or the Battle of Gallipoli, took place at the peninsula of Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire between 25 April 1915 and 9 January 1916, during the First World War...
, some of whose participating soldiers are buried at this cemetery, was an eight month campaign fought by Commonwealth and French forces against Turkish forces in an attempt to force Turkey out of the war, to relieve the deadlock of the Western Front (France/Belgium) and to open a supply route to Russia through the Dardanelles and the Black Sea.
The main landings were in April 1915, but failure to make any progress led to a further landing at Suvla Bay
Landing at Suvla Bay
The landing at Suvla Bay was an amphibious landing made at Suvla on the Aegean coast of Gallipoli peninsula in the Ottoman Empire as part of the August Offensive, the final British attempt to break the deadlock of the Battle of Gallipoli...
to the North of the existing Allied positions on 6 August. However indecision and confusion led delays allowing the Turkish defenders to reinforce their positions, resulting in a stalemate.
Hill 60 was a low Turkish occupied knoll 60 metres above sea level at the northern end of the Sari Bair range which nevertheless dominated the Allied positions near Suvla bay. It was the location of the Battle of Hill 60
Battle of Hill 60 (Gallipoli)
The Battle of Hill 60 was the last major assault of the Battle of Gallipoli. It was launched on 21 August 1915 to coincide with the attack on Scimitar Hill made from the Suvla front by General Stopford's British IX Corps. Hill 60 was a low knoll at the northern end of the Sari Bair range which...
, the last major assault of the campaign
Military campaign
In the military sciences, the term military campaign applies to large scale, long duration, significant military strategy plan incorporating a series of inter-related military operations or battles forming a distinct part of a larger conflict often called a war...
, launched on 21 August 1915 to coincide with the attack on Scimitar Hill made from the Suvla front by General Stopford's British IX Corps. The battle lasted for 8 days, and although Australian troops reached the top of the hill the vital north facing slopes which overlooked Suvla remained in Turkish hands.
The cemetery, on the site of some of the trenches fought over during the battle, was used following the battle and extensively enlarged after the Armistice from remains found on the surrounding battlefield and from 42 graves moved in from Norfolk Trench Cemetery. 712 of the graves are unidentified, but special memorials commemorate 34 casualties thought to be amongst them.
The cemetery also contains one of four memorials commemorating New Zealand troops who do not have known graves, the Hill 60 (New Zealand) Memorial, and contains the names of 183 New Zealand soldiers killed during the battle. The cemetery also contains the identified graves of 13 New Zealanders (one of whom was in the Australian Imperial Force
Australian Imperial Force
The Australian Imperial Force was the name given to all-volunteer Australian Army forces dispatched to fight overseas during World War I and World War II.* First Australian Imperial Force * Second Australian Imperial Force...
), and a further 16 are thought to be buried in the cemetery.