Failing the test of historical integrity? Revisiting Gallipoli, the Armenian genocide and the First World War

Abstract

This article revisits the question of the possible linkages between the Gallipoli campaign and the Armenian genocide, which began in Ottoman Turkey at about the same time. A case is made for the nexus, and a large international body of work is explored to assess the scholarly support for it. The article then examines some recent publications that threaten to undermine the nexus thesis and assesses their impact. It pays particular attention to research by Taner Akçam, an important student of the genocide and one of the first scholars to emphasise Gallipoli’s role in it. This research purports to shift the crucial extermination decisions by the Turkish authorities to earlier dates than previously thought, thus potentially reducing the likelihood of the Gallipoli landings being a factor in those decisions. The notion that the eight-month battle of Gallipoli played a part in maintaining, if not precipitating, the genocide is also briefly discussed. Finally, the article looks at a 2022 publication with an Australasian orientation, which promises to examine ‘the entangled relationship’ of Gallipoli and the Armenian genocide, and notes the curious and continuing reluctance of Australian historians to engage fully with this relationship.