Rare Look Into a Diary of a Turkish Soldier

Dublin Core

Title

Rare Look Into a Diary of a Turkish Soldier

Description

Lieutenant Ibrahim Naji's diary avoided military censorship and was uncovered in 2012. While most diary entries from the time are Allied, this is a look into the emotions of a Turkish Soldiers at Gallipoli.

Source

Seyit Ahmet Silay

Publisher

http://aa.com.tr/en/turkey/gallipoli-martyrs-diary-reveals-the-horror-of-war/58042

Date

May 24, 1915- June 21, 1915

Text Item Type Metadata

Text

May 24: "Whoever finds this notebook should send it to the address above out of respect to a martyr."

May 30 (arrive at Yerlisu Village): "I ate a loaf of bread with yoghurt, and drank tea. I slept for a while, and when I woke up, my adjutant delivered an order. He wanted soldiers to wash their feet and the injured ones should get their feet immersed in the salty water... There were over 30 soldiers with wounded feet. Some of them were really in bad condition. However, there was nothing that could be done..."

June 2 (Arrive at Dardenelles): "...Oh! What luminescence the sea had. The bluish still water of Dardanelles deeply touched my soul. The off-white waves reminded me of Istanbul, of the beautiful Sariyer (coastal district)...
How far I am now from there, from my acquaintances!
I saw the ship of Sirket-i Hayriye (a Turkish maritime organization). The ship, which I had left in the Bosporus, appeared right in front of me again in the Dardanelles after eight days. I do not know why, but it aroused a unique excitement..."

June 3: "Beautiful Canakkale was ruined. The enemy had burnt and demolished many parts of the city. The rest was empty or closed. Few shops were open..."

June 6: "The wind was so strong. Our 15- and 20-centimeter cannons began to fire at the enemy... Just now, the major told us that the enemy was repelled and that 17 machine guns were captured..."

June 7 (On being told to make a map of Gallipoli): "I worked from 8:30 a.m. till 5:00 p.m. It just was not possible, because the curves, roads, walkways, telegraph lines on the map were so complicated... I would rather go to the battle instead of this duty!"

June 13: "The battle continues uninterruptedly under all types of weather... The enemy airplanes are flying above us. When we see an airplane, we immediately lie down." "a wide field full of dead bodies"

June 17: "It was an airplane with black wings and a white tail. It flew over our headquarters... We could clearly see the plane dropping bombs. They exploded making a terrible sound... No losses."

June 18: "Among all this beautiful scenery, I can see the coldness of death."

June 19: "Gunfire continued here and there... Airplanes are flying continuously..."
At midnight: "I woke up with the terrible resonance of bullets flying above us. The enemy's cruiser was firing. All night long, cannon and infantry fire continued."

June 21 (Last diary entry before he died minutes later): "We are in the battle; millions of cannons and guns exploded. My first corporal has just been wounded. Farewell,"

Collection

Citation

“Rare Look Into a Diary of a Turkish Soldier,” Battle of Gallipoli, accessed March 28, 2024, https://battleofgallipoli.omeka.net/items/show/22.