Gallipoli centenary: Drone footage captures beauty of peninsula 100 years after ill-fated WWI campaign
World leaders will attend ceremony later today remembering the 144,000 men who perished
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Your support makes all the difference.As commemorations for the thousands of men who died in the infamous First World War Gallipoli campaign begin around the world, drone footage has captured the beauty of the peninsula today.
The beautiful footage, recorded by the BBC, belies the tragedy that saw 144,000 Allied and Turkish soldiers perish in one of the bloodiest theatres of WWI from 1915 to 1916.
The ill-fated – and ultimately unsuccessful – campaign took 35,000 British lives, 10,000 French, 1,500 Indians and 10,000 Australian and New Zealand men.
Eventually, as Allied losses mounted, the decision was taken to evacuate the peninsula and abandon the campaign.
Turkish losses were even more severe, with an estimated 86,000 dying as they defended the coastline.
In the footage, a drone flies over the contested beachheads and higher ground so successfully defended by the Turkish soldiers.
It takes in Shell Green Cemetery, Beach Cemetery and Cape Helles which commemorates all the dead of the now infamous Gallipoli campaign.
The Prince of Wales and Prince Harry are due to join world leaders later today at the memorial for a ceremony to mark the 100th anniversary of the landings.
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