Chunuk Bair

Chunuk Bair

Chunuk Bair was one of the most important scenes of battle and peak of the Sari bair range on the Gallipoli battlefield. Chunuk Bair was a battle area between the Turkish defenders and troops of New Zealand and Britain on Turkey's Gallipoli peninsula in August 1915. The New Zealand attackers captured and held Chunuk Bair between 6-10 August, and were replaced by British reinforcements during these five days due to their heavy losses. (The name of Chunuk Bair in Turkish is "Conk bayiri" - Conk Hill - but the origin of the word Conk is unknown). This hill was the main objective of the Anzac offensive in early August 1915 when they tried to break out of the stalemate with the Turks in the Anzac sector. Their attempt was met with the staunch defence led by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the Turkish commander, and the bid was unsuccessful.

History

Chunuk Bair Cemetery was made after the Armistice in 1918 on the site where the Turks had buried some of the Allied dead. The cemetery is on the slope below the Chunuk Bair (New Zealand) Memorial. The wall of commemoration between the memorial and cemetery bears 850 names. This memorial was erected in honour of the ANZAC Soldiers who lost their lives in August 1915.

Chunuk Bair