Kılıçdere Martyrdom Site

Kılıçdere Şehitliği (also known as Kılıçdere 1 Şehitliği) is a memorial site located within the boundaries of Kocadere village, Eceabat district, Çanakkale province, in the area of the Gallipoli Historical National Park.^{【1】 【2】}

Geographically, it lies just behind the Turkish front line on the axis extending from Bomba Sırtı to Conkbayırı, within the Arıburnu Front.^【3】

The Arıburnu Front, where Kılıçdere Şehitliği is situated, witnessed intense fighting between 25 April 1915, when the Çanakkale Land Battles began, and 20 December 1915, when the front was evacuated.^【4】

The bloodiest clashes in the region occurred during Turkish offensives carried out on 27 April, 1 May, and 19 May 1915, following the Allied landings.^【5】

Soldiers from the 18th, 64th, and 72nd Regiments, who served in the region, were buried at Kılıçdere Şehitliği alongside the Kılıç Bayırı Cemetery. As a result of surveys conducted on the site, the identities of 41 martyrs have been confirmed, and their names are inscribed on the memorial. To avoid duplication in the records, soldiers whose names appear on the 57th Infantry Regiment Cemetery are not repeated here.^【6】

The precise location of the memorial site was determined through geophysical surveys based on the 1916 Şevki Paşa map. The Çanakkale Regional Board for the Protection of Cultural Heritage registered the Kılıçdere 1 Şehitliği area as an "immovable cultural heritage" under Law No. 2863 on 29 November 2013, with decision no. 1273.^【7】

Decisions were made to prepare survey, restitution, and restoration projects for the registered area; accordingly, the memorial site was included in the competition titled "New Memorial Designs for the Gallipoli Historical Area." Within the scope of site improvements, monuments, name plaques, and pedestrian pathways have been installed.^【8】