The Dardanelles campaign was planned as a diversion to the Western Front. The idea was to establish a second front there in order to create a supply route to the heavily engaged russians through the Black Sea, to divert German attention from the Western front and force them to reinforce in the Dardanelles, and to enlist the support of wavering neutral Balkan nations to the side of the allies once a third front was established. It was hoped that Greece and Bulgaria in particular would join the Allied side once Constantinople was taken and the Turks routed. Unfortunately, the campaign was almost a total failure - the only real results of it were that the Germans were distracted from a planned offensive in 1915, and it facilitated the British capture of Palestine in 1917 due to weakened Turkish opposition.
It is often forgotten or ignored in Australia and New Zealand that the Dardanelles campaign was primarily a British and French operation. The casualty figures cited by Scramble above are misleading, particularly with regard to the Turks. Those figures of Turkish fatalities were inflicted by the entire allied force, not just the Anzacs. While it is impossible now to establish accurate figures, the most accepted estimates are as follows :
Australia: 18,500 wounded and missing - 7,500 killed.
New Zealand : 5,200 wounded and missing - 2,500 killed.
Britain : 53,000 wounded and missing - 22,000 killed.
France : 23,000 wounded and missing - 27,000 killed.
Turkey : 109,000 wounded and missing - 57,000 killed.
Casualties were also suffered by Indian, Sengalese, Newfoundland and German troops.
As can be seen, by far the greatest involvement in terms of numbers in the Dardanelles campaign was on the part of the British - even the French had larger numbers of troops there than the Anzac forces did. It is a common misconception that the Gallipoli campaign was a purely Anzac affair, when in fact they were a minor force, numerically speaking. Casualty figures from this campaign, particularly from the Allied perspective, are purely estimates - there were no adequate preparations made for the evacuation of wounded and killed, and burials were made at sea from hospital ships. Thus accurate figures are almost impossible to obtain and vary widely among different sources.
The main reason Anzac day is celebrated is that it was the first major operation in which Australian and New Zealand troops were involved. Australia had only been an independant nation for 14 years prior to this campaign, and it is seen as her "baptism of fire" as a new country. We were there in support of, and commanded by, the British. It should also be noted that it was this campaign which caused the Australian government to determine that their forces would never again be commanded by anyone other than Australians, and incidentally led to the sacking of Winston Churchill (among others) from the British goverment after its failure.
It is from this campaign that the legend of the Anzac soldier was born.. tough, resourceful, and courageous under fire. It is also the birthplace of the myth of the British officer being weak, vaccilating, and too willing to sacrifice Commonwealth troops rather than British. This was mostly brought about by Hamilton's overly cautious approach during the initial landings, leading to the Turks occupying vital high ground, and by the suicidal attacks made by the Anzacs (under British orders) on entrenched positions in order to draw Turkish attention away from British reinforcements landing at Suvla Bay - which turned out to be achieved with virtually no opposition. Those images have stayed a part of the legend of the Anzacs since that time.
