The Battle of Gallipoli and Its Bearing on Present-Day Perceptions
My great-grandfather landed at Gallipoli on the night of April 25, 1915 as a member of the Australian Light Horse.
Anzac day is the anniversary of the campaign to knock the Ottoman Empire out of the war.
It is now commemorated as the Anzac legend.
There were some 8,709 troops from Australia and 2,721 from New Zealand, who were sent over to fight the Turks.
A French-mounted operation to take Constantinople, now known as lsanbul, turned out be a disaster.
There were heavy casualties on both sides.
Gallipoli is one campaign the Turks won over the Allies.
The British lost 73,485 men, the French 27,000, Australians 26,111, and New Zealanders 473.
The total Allied loss amounted to 141,029.
Turkey had won the battle, but with the Ottoman Empire of old nevertheless declining and ultimately collapsing.
Turkey itself was set up as the Republic of Turkey in 1923 under Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who was the Turkish Commander at Gallipoli.
Now, 99 years after the event, Australians celebrate the Anzac spirit which emerged at Gallipoli and, it is commonly believed, did much to forge the national character of Australia and New Zealand.
As Charles Bean, a journalist of the day, wrote: "But when all is said the fact that will go down in history is that first Sunday's fighting when three Australian brigades stormed in the face of heavy fire tier after tier of cliffs and mountains apparently as impregnable as Govett's leap.
" It is held that the unsuccessful landing at Gallipoli is the story of the young nation which took up the cause of country and empire, but which was betrayed by the British high command.
The Allies believed that Turkey would be an easier target than Germany.
Britain's ally Russia was having difficulty so, if the Ottoman Empire were to fall, it would make it possible for supplies to go north to help Russia to weaken Germany.
The landing at Gallipoli became a battle of attrition.
The Australia-New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) were to be sent to the Western front, and first landed in Egypt where they underwent some training.
The British high command decided to divert the troops to Turkey, which was an ally of Germany.
Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty, conceived the idea of seizing the Gallipoli Peninsula from the Turks.
A French force of 60,00 troops made the first attempt, but failed.
When the ANZAC forces, originally intended to land at Gaba Tepe, landed somewhat further north at a place that has become known as Anzac Cove, it quickly became a disaster, a situation that was to continue for over eight months (25 April 1915 to 9 January 1916).
During that time, Winston Churchill was recorded as saying, "Four calendar months since we landed on Gallipoli...
not much progress made yet.
" 'Anzac' today stands variously for recklessness, valour, enterprise, fidelity, comradeship, and endurance.
It has come to be seen in Australia as the birth of the nation.
Anzac day is the anniversary of the campaign to knock the Ottoman Empire out of the war.
It is now commemorated as the Anzac legend.
There were some 8,709 troops from Australia and 2,721 from New Zealand, who were sent over to fight the Turks.
A French-mounted operation to take Constantinople, now known as lsanbul, turned out be a disaster.
There were heavy casualties on both sides.
Gallipoli is one campaign the Turks won over the Allies.
The British lost 73,485 men, the French 27,000, Australians 26,111, and New Zealanders 473.
The total Allied loss amounted to 141,029.
Turkey had won the battle, but with the Ottoman Empire of old nevertheless declining and ultimately collapsing.
Turkey itself was set up as the Republic of Turkey in 1923 under Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who was the Turkish Commander at Gallipoli.
Now, 99 years after the event, Australians celebrate the Anzac spirit which emerged at Gallipoli and, it is commonly believed, did much to forge the national character of Australia and New Zealand.
As Charles Bean, a journalist of the day, wrote: "But when all is said the fact that will go down in history is that first Sunday's fighting when three Australian brigades stormed in the face of heavy fire tier after tier of cliffs and mountains apparently as impregnable as Govett's leap.
" It is held that the unsuccessful landing at Gallipoli is the story of the young nation which took up the cause of country and empire, but which was betrayed by the British high command.
The Allies believed that Turkey would be an easier target than Germany.
Britain's ally Russia was having difficulty so, if the Ottoman Empire were to fall, it would make it possible for supplies to go north to help Russia to weaken Germany.
The landing at Gallipoli became a battle of attrition.
The Australia-New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) were to be sent to the Western front, and first landed in Egypt where they underwent some training.
The British high command decided to divert the troops to Turkey, which was an ally of Germany.
Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty, conceived the idea of seizing the Gallipoli Peninsula from the Turks.
A French force of 60,00 troops made the first attempt, but failed.
When the ANZAC forces, originally intended to land at Gaba Tepe, landed somewhat further north at a place that has become known as Anzac Cove, it quickly became a disaster, a situation that was to continue for over eight months (25 April 1915 to 9 January 1916).
During that time, Winston Churchill was recorded as saying, "Four calendar months since we landed on Gallipoli...
not much progress made yet.
" 'Anzac' today stands variously for recklessness, valour, enterprise, fidelity, comradeship, and endurance.
It has come to be seen in Australia as the birth of the nation.
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