View of Suvla from Battleship Hill
Suvla () is a
bay on the
Aegean coast of the
Gallipoli peninsula in European
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
, south of the
Gulf of Saros.
On 6 August 1915, it was the site for the
Landing at Suvla Bay by the
British IX Corps as part of the
August Offensive during the
Battle of Gallipoli. The landing and others at various points along the peninsula were designed to capture the peninsula from Turkish troops defending it, and to open the
Dardanelles
The Dardanelles ( ; ; ), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli (after the Gallipoli peninsula) and in classical antiquity as the Hellespont ( ; ), is a narrow, natural strait and internationally significant waterway in northwestern Turkey th ...
Straits to
Allied warships, thus facilitating a planned naval attack on Constantinople (
Istanbul
Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
). The Gallipoli campaign ended in failure and high casualties for the Allied side, which included numbers of Australian, New Zealand, Indian, Irish, French, and Newfoundland troops.
The area is notable for
viticulture
Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine ...
and
winemaking
Winemaking, wine-making, or vinification is the production of wine, starting with the selection of the fruit, its Ethanol fermentation, fermentation into alcohol, and the bottling of the finished liquid. The history of wine-making stretches over ...
. The well-known wine producer "Suvla" is located here.
Popular references
* Suvla is mentioned in the Irish Rebel song "
The Foggy Dew", second verse: "It was better to die 'neath an Irish sky than at Suvla or
Sedd el Bahr", and third verse: "But their lonely graves are by Suvla's waves or the fringe of the Great North Sea".
* Suvla Bay also features in "
And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda", the oft-covered song by
Eric Bogle.
* "Suvla Bay" was a popular Australian song (composer unidentified) in 1949, and was recorded by artists like
Reg Lindsey,
Ray Kernaghan,
Frank Ifield and
Slim Dusty.
* Suvla is also mentioned in the song "
The Connaught Rangers": "At Suvla and at Sud el Bar, we fought your every bloody war..."
* Suvla is also mentioned in the traditional Newfoundland song "Recruiting Sergeant": "And on the sands of Suvla, they entered into hell"
* "The Bay of Suvla" is a song performed by Canadian folk-punk band
The Dreadnoughts, released November 11, 2017, as a tribute to World War I.
References
Bays of Turkey
Gallipoli campaign
Landforms of Çanakkale Province
{{Çanakkale-geo-stub