Gallipoli Impact On Australia

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Introduction The Gallipoli Campaign was one of the greatest military failures during World War One. Not only did the Allies fail in achieving any of their objectives to capture the peninsula and provide Russia with resources, but it cost the lives of many men who were eager to serve their country. Soldiers who didn’t die were haunted with psychological trauma of the battle which would remain with them for the rest of their lives and affect the society as a whole by ______. This impacted Australia and New Zealand significantly as it caused the formation of national identity independent from Great Britain and also united them as a community. Therefore, the Gallipoli campaign was unsuccessful but became the tragic tale which moulded the national …show more content…

? The Gallipoli Campaign was filled with expectations. Winston Churchill, the first Lord of Admiralty during World War One believed that “there would be no more war with Turkey.” The crucial purpose which was supposed to be met during this campaign was: “to open the Dardanelles.in the hope that its appearance outside Constantinople (Istanbul) would force the Ottoman forces to surrender” (Crotty 2020, ‘The birth of a nation? Gallipoli Trail and Trauma’) so they would be able to aid Russia against Turkey. When the ANZAC’s landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula on the 25th of April the advance was “minimal” and they were “struggling to move” (Armstrong 2015, ‘A new Australia: The ANZAC Legend at Gallipoli’) and there was “no military victory” (Unknown Author 2019, ‘Dawn of the Legend: The Anzac spirit’). There are many factors which contributed to the absolute failure of this …show more content…

According to David Armstrong, the Gallipoli campaign left “60,000 dead and 156,000 wounded, gassed or taken prisoner” (Armstrong 2015, ‘A new Australia: The ANZAC Legend at Gallipoli’). This left an immense blow on Australian society which only had a population of 5 million people and caused labour shortages due to the rarity of able-bodied men. Most soldiers with fatal injuries were still able to survive due to the progression and improvement of medical practices during the war. Not only did they carry physical scars, but they also carried the mental repercussions of the loss of so many friends and family who fought during the war. “The supreme test for fitness to exist” (Inglis 1979, ‘Australian Dictionary of Biography’) broke so many individuals as the vivid images of “men buried alive, mangled by artillery” while “crying out in pain and desperation” (Crotty 2020, ‘The birth of a nation? Gallipoli Trail and Trauma’) followed them for the rest of life and affected their performance in society. Hugh Throssell won a Victoria Cross while serving at Gallipoli and had a happy marriage but eventually caved in and committed suicide, leaving a note saying “I have never recovered from my 1914-18 experiences.” This was one of many instances

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