Australians are most fondly remembered for their public grief and the new sense they gained of nationalism. But, perhaps most importantly, they remember the First World War because of the legend that Anzac created. Although the Gallipoli campaign is widely recognized as the source of the legend’s origin, many historians have also spread it. Ellis Ashmead Bartlett once exclaimed: “The Australians rose to meet the occasion. They did not wait for the orders to come or for the boats that reached the beach to get there, they just jumped into water and formed a line of attack on the enemy trenches. Their comments are undoubtedly accurate as they went ashore with troops.
In popular culture, the stereotype of the First World War soldier is one of a skilled fighter, a loner, distrustful to authority, resourceful, humourous, and most importantly, loyal to his mates. Bean’s Gallipoli Campaign volume 1 states that Bean was known for “doing more than anyone to create the dominant Anzac Legend.” But, it is easy to argue that there is much more to the Anzac story than the Australian troop’s superior fighting qualities. The British were their allies in World War 1. Australians thought they were superior to Britain because of what is known as a’special relation’. This fact is not hard to believe. M.R Foot, a British Historian said that the Anzacs were “probably man-for-man, the greatest combatants this century had ever seen.” One of the key questions historians have been trying to answer is how the Anzac myth was created, maintained, and exploited. Most believe that Bean, Ashmead Bartlett and others were responsible for the origin. These helped to make the legend more accessible to the general public. The Gallipoli campaign, 1915, was where the Anzac myth began to take shape. Almost everyone who saw them noted their Australian involvement.
The troops arrived at Anzac Cove with the intention of attacking Turkey, thus ending the war. They also hoped the Balkans would provide a fresh front for attacks on Austria-Hungary. Apart from those, the campaign’s main objective was to stop Bulgaria forming the Central Powers and expel Austria-Hungary, thus leaving Germany isolated. These plans were thwarted by a variety of factors. The soldiers were not trained to use beaches, so they were just killed. A new commander was appointed to the campaign and he decided to quit. The troop faced several problems including food and water shortages, disease, and even hunger.
The British and French decided to send troops to Gallipoli. They needed an ally. This was primarily how Australia got involved. From newzealandhistory.net: “The campaign had no significant effect on the outcome of the war. This could only happen where the main antagonists confront each other-on Western Front. And the prospect that a Balkan coalition would form to lead a massive offensive from South-East was unlikely, if not for the pitiful condition of the Balkan arms. Moreover, it was not certain that the Turks would have surrendered if their capital had been under attack by Allied naval forces. This chimera was pursued by 120,000 British troops and 27,000 French soldiers.
The Australians arrived on Gallipoli before dawn on April 25th. They couldn’t secure higher ground so the next troops could not advance. Historians continue to debate the authenticity of Anzac cove as a landing spot. After gaining a few hundred metre on their first night, however, little progress was made the rest.
The fighting in Anzac continued into August. However, the Australian Division was subject to heavy casualties throughout the battles. Gallipoli’s failure was costly. Although tactical developments were sometimes promising, the final outcome was decided by strategic factors. The fact is that there weren’t enough men available for the critical moments.
“Australia supplied 331,781 young Australian men for the World War I mincers of France, Belgium and Gallipoli. Nearly 60,000 did not return home. 213,000 of those who returned were either physically or mentally wounded. Another 85,000 Australians served overseas but enlisted. “416,809 men from the nation, all volunteers, were uniformed at some point during 1914-18.” Sydney Morning Herald, 16/04/2005. Many of Gallipoli peninsula’s battlefields have been cultivated and wouldn’t be recognized by men from 1915. The Anzac region is a different story. It is so inhospitable and rugged that the only changes have been to plant trees and establish military cemeteries. Visitors can still see remnants of trenches, can still wander over rugged ravines, and be tripped up by the prickly plants. This is the exact area the Anzacs saw back in April 1915.
Australians see the Anzac forces as loyal, patriotic, courageous, and integral. They are among the most revered Australians throughout history. We can still see the legend through Anzac Day celebrations. As time passed, this has become more apparent to the point that the 25th April has become almost Australia’s national holiday. This just shows the importance of our soldiers’ contributions to Australia.