April 25, 1915: At 4:00 AM local time, troops from the British Empire attempt an amphibious landing at Gallipoli (pronounced "Gah-LIH-poh-lee"), a peninsula that acts as a land guardian to the Sea of Marmara and the city of Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, which was allied with the Germany Empire, Britain's main enemy in "The Great War," or World War I as it's now known.
Most of the troops come from the recently-independent (well, mostly independent) nations of Australia and New Zealand. They are known as ANZACs: Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.
The fighting is brutal. The Ottoman troops call out the Arabic/Turkish name for God: "Allah! Allah!" And the Aussies yell back, "Come on, you bastards! We'll give you Allah!" A story, which I hope is true, tells of a captured Ottoman prisoner, having heard the word "bastard" so many times, asked the ANZACs if "Bastard" was the English name for the Christian God.
The Gallipoli campaign had begun on February 17, 1915, and the amphibious landing was meant to end what had been a stalemate. It didn't. The fighting continued until January 9, 1916, when the British government admitted that no progress was being made, and withdrew the troops. The Ottomans lost 255,000 men, but because they had protected their capital, it was a victory for them.
The British Empire lost over 31,000 men. Of these, Australia lost 7,594, and New Zealand lost 3,431. And over half of the ANZAC losses came on that one day, April 25. In both countries, it is commemorated as ANZAC Day, and is viewed as the day each country came of age. (Australia became a Federation within the Empire in 1901, and New Zealand a Dominion within it in 1907.)
On November 11, 1918, after 4 years and 4 months of war, the addition of American troops to the British Empire and the French Third Republic won the war for the Allies. The German, Austrian and Ottoman Empires were dissolved, and replaced with republics.
The Ottoman Empire was replaced by the Republic of Turkey, which moved the capital from Constantinople to Ankara in 1923, and renamed Constantinople "Istanbul" in 1930.
Alec Campbell was the last Australian survivor of the Gallipoli campaign, living until 2002. The actress Ruby Rose is his great-granddaughter. Alfred Dibley was the last New Zealand ANZAC, living until 1997. And the last surviving Ottoman soldier from the campaign was Adil Şahin, living until 1998.
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April 25, 1915 was a Sunday. In some countries, sports were already canceled for the duration of the war. England's Football Association ran its Football League and its FA Cup for the 1914-15 season, then suspended both, resuming for the 1919-20 season. But America, which did not enter the war until April 6, 1917, played baseball throughout. These were the major league scores for the day. First, for the American League:
* The New York Yankees lost to the Boston Red Sox, 9-5 at Fenway Park in Boston. The losing pitcher was Ray Caldwell. The winning pitcher for the Red Sox helped his cause with a home run. He was a 20-year-old lefthander from Baltimore named George Herman Ruth, already known as "Babe."
* The Washington Senators beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 4-1 at National Park in Washington. (It was renamed Griffith Stadium in 1922.)
* The Cleveland Indians beat the Detroit Tigers, 3-1 at League Park in Cleveland. "Shoeless" Joe Jackson went 2-for-4 for Cleveland, and Ty Cobb went 1-for-3 and drove in Detroit's only run.
* And the Chicago White Sox beat the St. Louis Browns, 1-0 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Ewell "Reb" Russell pitched a 4-hit shutout for the South Siders.
In the National League:
* The New York Giants beat the Boston Braves, 5-0 at the Polo Grounds. William "Pol" Perritt pitched a 4-hit shutout. Dave Robertson (no, not the Yankee reliever of a century later) hit a home run, and George Burns (no, not the comedian) went 3-for-4 with an RBI.
* The Brooklyn Robins beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-2 at Baker Bowl in Philadelphia. From 1914 to 1931, the once-and-future Dodgers were named for their manager, Wilbert Robinson.
* The Cincinnati Reds and the Chicago Cubs were tied 4-4, after 15 innings at West Side Park in Chicago, when the game was called due to darkness.
* And the Pittsburgh Pirates and the St. Louis Cardinals were tied, at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, when the game was called due to darkness.
And in the Federal League:
* The Brooklyn Tip-Tops beat the Chicago Whales,, 12 -4 at Washington Park in Brooklyn.
* The Newark Peppers beat the Kansas City Packers, 6-1 at Harrison Park, outside Newark in Harrison, New Jersey.
* The St. Louis Terriers beat the Baltimore Terrapins, 11-2 at Terrapin Park in Baltimore.
* And the Pittsburgh Rebels beat the Buffalo Blues, 6-5 at Federal League Park in Buffalo.
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