"An extremely poignant Commonwealth War Graves site located on the former no-man's land where the dead lay until war's end.

According to AWM, The Nek was briefly captured by Australians on 25 April 1915, but was re-captured by the Turks. The Australian trench line was then established just below the Nek and both sides faced each other across this narrow bridge of land without resolution.

Unsuccessful attacks were attempted, notably by the Turks on 19 May and the night of 29 June; and the ill-fated bayonet attack by the 3rd Australian Light Horse Brigade on 7 August 1915, when 600 charged the enemy lines and were annihilated, over half became casualties and 234 were killed.

Of the 316 dead buried today under the grass in this cemetery only five were identified; the five headstones in front of the Cross of Remembrance mark their graves"

Edward Pym

"A site of 1 of the battles. The battle lines were only 8 metres apart and it was made famous by the charge of the light brigade where so many of the Allies were getting slaughtered the Turks asked them to stop.
What makes it all worse is how beautiful the view is of the surrounding area. An area of great beauty but grissly history."

Robert Cooke

"Cesaret Tepe’nin hemen batısında bulunan Anzak hatlarının yer aldığı bölgeye, Anzak tarafınca verilen isimdir. Yüksek Sırt’ın üzerinde ve 180 Rakımlı Tepe ile birleştiği noktanın 300 metre kadar güneybatısında yer almaktadır. Bölgenin ismini konumundan dolayı aldığı sanılmaktadır. Çünkü bu bölge, Kılıç Bayırı ve Yüksek Sırt’ı birleştiren dar bir boyun şeklindedir. Anzaklar da zaten bu özelliği nedeniyle “Boyun”, “Dağ Geçidi” veya “Tepelerdeki Yarık” anlamlarına gelen bir kelime olan “The Nek” ile arazinin bu kesimini tanımlamışlardır. 1919-1923 yılları arasındaki işgal döneminde inşa edilen mezarlıkta, bir bölümü 7 Ağustos’ta gerçekleştirilen Anzak taarruzu sırasında hayatlarını kaybeden altısı Avustralyalı, dördü Yeni Zelandalı ve 316’sı kimliği meçhul olmak üzere toplam 326 asker gömülüdür. Anzakların bu taarruzu, başrollerinden birini Mel Gibson’ın oynadığı, 1981 yılı yapımı “Gallipoli” filminin son sahnelerine de konu olmuştu.

Kaynak:
ww w.atlasdergisi.co m/arsiv/kitaplar/adim-adim-gelibolu-ates-ve-kurtulus-meydani/53/80/1

Country:
Turkey (including Gallipoli)
Identified Casualties:
10
GPS
CO-Ordinates:
Longitude:26.29035Latitude:
40.24233
Location Information
The Anzac and Suvla cemeteries are first signposted from the left hand junction of the Eceabat - Bigali Road. From this junction you travel into the main Anzac area. After 11.8 km's, follow the metalled track to the cemetery. The Nek Cemetery is a short distance north of Quinn's Post. The Nek is the track leading along the narrow spur from Russell's Top to Baby 700, and the cemetery stands on a ridge with Pope's Hill on the south-west and Malone's Gully on the north-west.
Visiting Information
The Cemetery is permanently open and may be visited at any time. Wheelchair access is possible via the main entrance.

Please note that in the absence of a cemetery register, visitors are advised to locate the Grave/Memorial reference before visiting. This information can be found in the CASUALTY RECORDS within this page.

For further information and enquiries please contact enquiries@ cwgc.or g
Historical Information
The eight month campaign in Gallipoli was fought by Commonwealth and French forces in an attempt to force Turkey out of the war, to relieve the deadlock of the Western Front in France and Belgium, and to open a supply route to Russia through the Dardanelles and the Black Sea.

The Allies landed on the peninsula on 25-26 April 1915; the 29th Division at Cape Helles in the south and the Australian and New Zealand Corps north of Gaba Tepe on the west coast, an area soon known as Anzac. On 6 August, further landings were made at Suvla, just north of Anzac, and the climax of the campaign came in early August when simultaneous assaults were launched on all three fronts.

The Nek was a narrow track leading from Russell's top to Baby 700 which was reached and passed by the 12th Australian Battalion early on 25 April, but not held. It was attacked by the New Zealand and Australian Division on 2 May, and by the 3rd Australian Light Horse Brigade on the morning of 7 August, but was never retaken.

The cemetery was made after the Armistice in what had been No Man's Land.

There are now 326 Commonwealth servicemen of the First World War buried or commemorated in this cemetery. 316 of the burials are unidentified but there are special memorials to five Australian soldiers believed to be buried among them.

ww w.cwgc.or g/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/66602/THE%20NEK%20CEMETERY,%20ANZAC"

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