WWI artillery shell on Gallipoli Peninsula destroyed in controlled explosion

CANAKKALE, TÜRKİYE - JANUARY 02: An unexploded artillery shell used during the WWI on the Gallipoli Peninsula was destroyed with the help of a controlled bomb disposal robot.Footage shows the moments of explosion on the peninsula in northwestern Türkiye's Canakkale province.The artillery shell was found during excavation work that is carried out near the Martyrs' Memorial on the peninsula.After an inspection by the teams on site, the shell was destroyed without any damage to the environment.Tens of thousands of soldiers died in one of the world's most ferocious battles 106 years ago, in the Gallipoli campaign in the Ottoman Empire during World War I.The battle took place between April 25, 1915 and Jan. 9, 1916.Britain and France wanted to secure their ally Russia, as the Gallipoli Peninsula provides a sea route to what was then the Russian Empire.Their aim was to capture Istanbul, then capital of the Ottomans.The Turks repelled a naval attack, and there were thousands of casualties on both sides during the eight-month offensive.When the land campaign also failed, the invading forces withdrew.Victory against the Allied forces boosted the morale of the Turkish side, which then went on to wage a war of independence in 1919-1922, and eventually formed a republic in 1923 from the ashes of the old empire. (Footage by Burak Akay/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)