Gallipoli Primary Sources

Can you imagine that you are in a boat with 30 other souls, hearing the machine gun fire raining down on you as you exit the boat. Fellow mates and other Anzac are falling to the ground, out of the first 200 men who landed at Gallipoli only, 21 of them survived. These numbers just show how much courage and bravery those men had for running across the beaches of Gallipoli. They love their country, family and

The Gallipoli campaign was described as the baptism of the newly federated Australia, and a chance for Australian soldiers to prove themselves to the world. They were not ultimately victorious, but the soldiers came to represent the character traits of the new country: fit and healthy, duty bound and courageous, good humored and egalitarian. The ANZAC image allowed Australians to both demonstrate loyalty to Britain, and claim an identity of their own. There is much to challenge the factual accuracy of the ANZAC image.

World War One is regarded as a major turning point in history and modern warfare which has impacted Australia monumentally, scarring the nation’s history. Australia played a significant role in World War One and the Gallipoli campaign, which is considered the birthplace of the ANZAC legend. These events have immensely shaped Australia as the nation we know of today. World War One began in 1914 from the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and ended in 1918 on November the 11th which is now recognised as a day of mourning and a time given recognition to the lives taken on the battlefield. To a prominent extent, the ANZAC legend is significant to the concept of Australian identity and nationalism through the origins of the ANZAC legend, the key events that have helped form Australia as an independent nation, and in addition to how ANZAC day is commemorated today.

Yet, the amount of emphasis that is placed on the Anzac legend could be argued to be incorrectly placed and channelled by certain groups for their own gain. This essay will argue that the Anzac legacy of the Australians being the perfect soldier is highly embellished and are no more remarkable than any other soldier. Furthermore the importance and Australia’s involvement in the First World War has been grossly inflated. Additionally, this will analyse claims made by historians and other academics about how the Anzac legend has changed overtime, and Australia’s involvement in wars.

World War 1 war correspondent and historian Charles Edwin Woodrow Bean believed that Anzac Day 1915 saw the birth of the Australian national consciousness maintaining that "The big thing in the war...was the discovery of the character of Australian men. It was a character which rushed the hills at Gallipoli and held on there during the long afternoon and night, when everything seemed to have gone wrong and there was only the barest hope at the end of success". Gallipoli also saw the birth of the 'Anzac Legend' or 'Anzac Spirit'. A term used to illustrate the characteristics of ANZAC soldiers which encompassed bravery, endurance, ingenuity, comradeship and what Australians call 'mateship'. The term developed as a central part of Australia's collective memory and national identity growing popular largely due to Bean's works.

The Gallipoli campaign had a major effect on Australia’s identity and the way the rest of the world saw Australia as a country. The Gallipoli campaign was a trial to test their nationhood. The campaign shown many qualities of the Australian soldiers including bravery, strength, courage, endurance and mateship. All of these qualities reflect on the nation that the troops came from. The involvement of Gallipoli was a major event that has shaped our country’s reputation and the sacrifices made by so many Australians shows the fortitude that many men had to fight for their nation.

The Western Front, while the main focus of combat in WW1, many Australians ignore this part of the war, as they focus more on the Gallipoli campaign and its legend. However with the centenary of the First World War here, many people have begun to realise that Australia was involved in other theatres of the war, and not just Gallipoli. The focus of this essay will be on the Events leading up to Australia’s involvement, the weapons of the western front, life in the trenches, trench warfare, The Battle of Fromelles and the End of the war.

World War one, or ‘The Great war’ first started in late June 1914, when Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated causing threats to start the war by mid August. This was a chance to introduce the world to modernised weaponry such as gas bombs, machine guns and tanks. Australia has always been known as the country where anything goes. Where we enjoy gathering together to enjoy all of Australia’s achievements. That was no different in 1914. Australia was thrilled with the idea of going to war, we wanted the chance to show the world what we could give. Even though Australia had no choice in matter of going to war as it was already arranged. Gallipoli is known as a successful failure

On the 25th of April 1915, Australia took its first major step as a nation by sending soldiers off to fight in Gallipoli; these soldiers charged and fought their way through countless challenges, forging themselves a legend, but more importantly – forging Australia an identity. As time sparks controversy and scepticism, many begin to doubt the validity of the ANZAC legend. This opinion however, is unmistakably inaccurate as many diverse and credible sources document the ANZACS battle against their trials and tribulations as being heroic. The ANZACs endurance, mateship and courage are undoubtedly an accurate depiction of the ANZAC legend.

The ANZAC spirit was born on the twenty-fifth of April 1915, on this day Australian soldiers landed upon the shores of Gallipoli to serve their country for the first time in war. Each year Australians celebrate the mateship, courage and heroism the ANZAC soldiers showed on that day. Although, people tend to depict these soldiers as victims of a catastrophic trauma, yet this passionate sacrifice is what gave Australia its name. Furthermore, there is word of discussion about the truth behind the accuracy of the ANZAC legend. Evidence demonstrates that the ANZAC legend is an accurate portrayal of what occurred the day the ANZAC’S landed in Gallipoli. The legend of mateship, heroism, courage and bravery is an accurate representation of the fighting Australian and New Zealand soldiers in world war one.

Additionally, the Australians began to commemorate the events that occurred in Gallipoli. The pride in the Australian soldiers was strengthened due to the Australian troops fighting on the Western Front. Commemorations to show reverence continues to be held for the 63 163 Australians who were killed in the war and also for the surviving soldiers. Today and in the future, there needs to be a shared focus on both the Gallipoli and Western Front campaigns in these commemorations as the Australian soldiers who fought dauntlessly, endured the hardships and sacrificed themselves had a vital role to play in the victory of the Allies in the war and the freedom of Australia

Australians fought in many wars, but the most successful war was thought to be ‘the war to end all wars’ (World War One). The Anzacs had experienced many hardships in this horrific war; special qualities were developed throughout the war such as endurance, mateship and courage. On the 25th of April the birth of the Anzac legend had risen. As they charged into enemy territories, in the early morning of the 1900s, they were destined to succeed despite the raining gun fire by the Turkish soldiers. Mateship, courage and endurance gradually strengthened deeper into the war; as a result, no one could take away these three imperishable qualities. Many historical records show many different perspectives about the Anzac legend. As a nation, we look upon three main attributes that the Anzacs had demonstrated courage, mateship and endurance. Therefore, the Anzac legacy continues to prosper in its purpose to motivate the modern Australian society.

World War One was not just about the Germans and Russians. But It was the also about those solider who died serving for Australia during the Battle of the lone pine, which we all known as the Anzac today. The Gallipoli Campaign, which happened in 1915 and finished in 1916. It lasted for eight months and two weeks. Gallipoli Campaign had been a bad experience in the Australian War History. After they had fought for almost a year. Anzac was withdrawn from that Gallipoli Campaign. In this essay I’m going to explain about the reasons for the battle, the role of Australian soldiers and the how about how important was the contribution of Australian soldiers in the battle.

The Anzac legend began during the Gallipoli campaign where thousands of Australian and New Zealand soldiers died fighting the Turkish. On the 25th April in the year 1915 Australia and New Zealand troops landed on Gallipoli. Before WW1 Australia had struggled to find a unique identity which would separate it from its English roots. Having recently separated from England and becoming an independent nation Australia and its peoples were still searching for a national identity when WW1 began. WW1 was the first instance were Australia fielded its own national army after separating from England. This allowed Australian values, beliefs, and popular culture to truly start to grow. The Qualities which the Australian

World War I (1914-1918) was considered the 'Great War' and Australia’s Gallipoli campaign has always been considered as the pinnacle of the Australian military feats. This is due to the constant glorification of the event despite the fact it was an unmitigated failure. However, the work of the Australian army force in the most important battleground of WW1 the 'Western Front' is often cast under the shadow of Gallipoli. The battles on the Western Front took place in France, Belgium and parts of Germany and this is where some of the most pivotal battles were fought. The contribution and success of the Australians will be assessed through the analysis of several sources related to four major contributions related to the Western Front. These include the amount of Australians involved, the external opinions of Australia in the Western front, The Battle of