French War Memorial (Morto Bay)

The French War Memorial at Morto Bay stands at the southern tip of the Gallipoli Peninsula in the Seddülbahir area of Çanakkale Province, commemorating the French and French colonial troops who fought and died in the Dardanelles Campaign of 1915. France contributed a substantial expeditionary force to the Gallipoli operation, deploying troops from metropolitan France alongside soldiers from Senegal, Madagascar, and other French territories in Africa. The French sector of operations was concentrated at Cape Helles and the southern tip of the peninsula, where their forces participated in some of the most costly frontal assaults of the campaign.

The memorial is a large, dignified stone monument set within a maintained enclosure overlooking Morto Bay (Ölüdeniz Koyu) and the Aegean Sea. The design reflects French commemorative architectural traditions of the interwar period, and the names of French and colonial officers are inscribed on the memorial panels. Nearby, the French military cemetery contains the graves of soldiers who died on the peninsula, including a significant proportion from French West African colonial regiments — a reminder of the global dimensions of a campaign often described primarily in terms of ANZAC and British experience.

The site is located approximately 25 kilometres from Eceabat by road, on the southern circuit of the Gallipoli Peninsula that also includes the Helles Memorial to Missing British soldiers and the Cape Helles lighthouse. A full visit to the southern peninsula sites takes two to three hours by car. The French Memorial sees fewer visitors than the ANZAC-area sites to the north but is well maintained by the French State.

A visit to the memorial takes 20–30 minutes. The views from the site toward Morto Bay and the Aegean are quietly beautiful. No admission fee is charged.