Baby 700 Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery
Encyclopedia
Baby 700 Cemetery is a World War I
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
cemetery on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey. It contains the bodies of some of the soldiers killed during the battles at Gallipoli
. During an eight month campaign in 1915, Commonwealth and French forces sought to force Turkey out of the war, which would relieve the deadlock on the Western Front
and open a supply route to Russia
through the Dardanelles
and the Black Sea
.
on April 25, 1915 and successfully reached the summit on the morning of the landing. It was driven off the summit in a Turkish counter attack in the afternoon. Allied forces made several attempts to recapture it over the following months, with major assaults on May 2 and August 7, but it remained in Turkish control for the rest of the campaign.
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...
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
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 on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey. It contains the bodies of some of the soldiers killed during 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...
. During an eight month campaign in 1915, Commonwealth and French forces sought to force Turkey out of the war, which would relieve the deadlock on the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
and open a supply route to Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
through the Dardanelles
Dardanelles
The Dardanelles , formerly known as the Hellespont, is a narrow strait in northwestern Turkey connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with its counterpart the Bosphorus. It is located at approximately...
and the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
.
Nomenclature
The name Baby 700 originated in cartographic notes on Allied maps. One of the hills in the Sari Bair range was shown as being 700 feet above sea level, and its summit was marked with a small circle. Maps showed another 700 foot hill immediately north of it, marked with a larger circle. These notations led to the names Baby 700 and Big 700 being assigned to them by the Commonwealth forces. Baby 700 retained its name throughout the campaign. Big 700 was later renamed Battleship Hill.Action
The 3rd Australian Brigade landed at Anzac CoveLanding at Anzac Cove
The landing at Anzac Cove was part of the amphibious invasion of the Gallipoli Peninsula by Australian and New Zealand forces on 25 April 1915. The landing, north of Gaba Tepe on the Aegean coast of the Peninsula, was made by soldiers of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps and was the first...
on April 25, 1915 and successfully reached the summit on the morning of the landing. It was driven off the summit in a Turkish counter attack in the afternoon. Allied forces made several attempts to recapture it over the following months, with major assaults on May 2 and August 7, but it remained in Turkish control for the rest of the campaign.
Cemetery construction
The cemetery was constructed in 1919, and the remains recovered from the surrounding area here buried there. Special memorials commemorate ten Australian soldiers thought to be amongst its 449 unidentified burials.See also
- Gallipoli campaign
- Commonwealth War Graves CommissionCommonwealth War Graves CommissionThe 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...
- Australian and New Zealand Army CorpsAustralian and New Zealand Army CorpsThe Australian and New Zealand Army Corps was a First World War army corps of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force that was formed in Egypt in 1915 and operated during the Battle of Gallipoli. General William Birdwood commanded the corps, which comprised troops from the First Australian Imperial...