BATI’DAKİ DOĞU İMGESİNİN ÇANAKKALE SAVAŞIYLA DEĞİŞMESİ
CHANGING EASTERN IMAGE IN THE WEST WITH THE BATTLE OF THE DARDANELLES

Summary/Abstract: One of the most significant victories in our history, the Battle of the Dardanelles lays the groundwork for New Turkey and opens the door for the National Struggle. It is remembered as a groundbreaking and breathtaking event not only by the Turkish people but also by all the other countries that were involved in the conflict. Because of this, this conflict was not only mentioned in books on both internal and foreign history published by historians, but it was also described in literary works by writers and travelers. It is a reality that reading, comprehending, and talking about this war will help one see the big picture. The French were among the countries who sustained significant losses, were forced to withdraw without achieving their intended objectives, and were defeated in the Battle of the Dardanelles, which decided the outcome of the First World War. For French soldiers who were raised with the social and cultural norms of a developed nation, their image of the East was limited to the stereotypes they read about in literature. When they reach the front, they encounter completely different realities that do not fit the image they had, and they try to find the strength to survive in hell by writing down their testimonies from the front. By examining Jean Leymonnerie's Journal d’un poilu sur le front d’Orient, 1915 (2003) and Francine Saint-Ramond's Les désorientés: expériences des soldats français aux Dardanelles et en Macédoine, 1915-1918 (2019), which capture the atmosphere of the Battle of the Dardanelles and the reality on the other side, through the lens of historical criticism, it will be attempted to demonstrate the significance of the battle for both French and Turkish history.

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