General information
- The Gallipoli campaign was carried out between 25th April 1915, and the 9th of January 1916 on the Gallipoli peninsula in the Ottoman empire.
- The campaign was thought up by Winston Churchill to end the war early by creating a new warfront that the Ottomans could not cope with.
- The plan would allow the Allies to move troops quickly to and from the Eastern Front.
- In the end, the Allies and Ottomans both had an estimated 250,000 casualties.
Arrival
- On February 19th 1915, British forces began firing on the Turkish position in the Dardanelles.
- The landing started on April 25th, at Anzac Cove.
- The ANZACs landed in the wrong spot, and
- The campaign turned into a stalemate very quickly, and was overall a disaster.
General misconceptions
- It is generally believed that one of the main reasons for the failure was that the Allies underestimated the ability of the Turks.
- In fact, the Turks were weak in the region, and their troops were poorly equipped and supplies were scarce.
Closing
- Even though the Gallipoli campaign was deemed a disaster in terms of the loss of life suffered there and the failure to achieve a military victory, the ANZACs became a legend.
- What happened at Gallipoli made them an important part of Australian culture at a time when the newly federated nation of Australia had not yet established herself at an international level.
- The troops helped to establish their countries’ reputations in the world through qualities of strength and bravery when faced with adversity.
- It put Australia’s mark on the world as something other than a nation descended from convicts.
Digger-like qualities
- The ability to remain cheerful with with a good sense of humour, even in the most difficult of times.
- The ability to be resourceful when they had no supplies; making hand grenades from empty tin cans.
- The spirit of mateship in which a soldier would risk his life for his mate’s.
- Australian courage, which was shown on the very first landing at Anzac Cove where the soldiers continued to charge up onto the beach straight into the line of Turkish fire.
- The notion that people all deserve the same amount of respect, no matter what their background is.
Questions
- What percentage if Australia’s population enlisted overseas?
(324,000 / 5,000,000) x 100 = 6.48%
- Of these men enlisted what percentage were killed (a), wounded (b) or POW (c)?
a. (61,720 / 324,000) x 100 ≈ 19.04% b. (155,000 / 324,000) * 100 ≈ 47.84% c. (4,044 / 324,000) * 100 ≈ 1.25%
- What percentage of POWS died in captivity?
(397 / 4,044) * 100 ≈ 9.82%