The Gallipoli campaign was a military disaster but it is still one of the most important conflicts in which Australia was involved. On 25th April 1915 between 4:30 and 6:30 am the Gallipoli Peninsula was invaded by British, Australian and New Zealand forces. This was to start the long, hard weeks in which the troops were fighting for ground that the enemy controlled in Turkey. They were attempting to gain a supply route to Russia to aid them in repelling the German and Turkish soldiers from their country. I will be discussing the willingness of Australians to volunteer for the war effort and the love and respect they had for their Mother Country, England. I will also discuss how the young, naive soldiers arrived at war not knowing what warfare entailed. They were shocked by the conditions and casualties. I will also discuss the bravery that was shown by the ANZACS in the most dangerous conditions. I will conclude with my reasons of why the Gallipoli campaign holds such value and importance in Australian history and ideology. Australian men were very keen to get involved in the war because they felt that it was their duty and if they didn’t go to war it would make them look cowardly. “Men rushed to enlist. In the first two weeks 7000 Victorian men volunteered for the first Australian Imperial Force (AIF) and 10 000 in Sydney.” It was a man’s duty to go to war. Most people who lived in Australia felt an obligation to England. England was at war so Australians wanted to go and help them. “The war would be glorious, exciting and ‘over by Christmas’.” This is what people were hearing at the time. Australia was not geographically close to the war in Europe and they did not know the realities of war. They got a huge shock when they... ... middle of paper ... ...ory. The willingness of the Australian people to volunteer and help out in the war effort was outstanding. Australians also showed great pride and allegiance to England. One of the problems with people being so ready and willing to volunteer is they didn’t fully understand the realities of war. The ANZACS didn’t know how much bloodshed there was going to be and they were told that the war would be over by Christmas 1915. It obviously wasn’t and it stretched on for more than 4 years from the time it started. With the setback of the Gallipoli landing the soldiers pulled together and fought bravely. The Turkish Army lost 80 000 Soldiers in the fight at Gallipoli, the ANZACS only lost 7800. The British commanders didn’t give much consideration to the ANZAC troops because they were told to land in the wrong place which made them vulnerable and with deadly consequences.
On September 3, 1939 Prime Minister, Robert Gordon Menzies, declared the commencement of Australia's involvement in the Second World War on every national and commercial radio station. From 1942 until early 1944, Australian forces, especially Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders played a key role in the Pacific War forming the majority of Allied strength throughout the South West Pacific. Aboriginal and Torres Strait islanders affected Australia’s World War Two efforts in their extended volunteering and willingness to fight and die in the war. Aboriginal people were a crucial part of defending the Australian home front, in which they had limited or no rights. Many experienced equal treatment to white Australians for the first time in their
The soldiers are remembered for maintaining courage and determination under hopeless conditions. The ANZAC legend owes much to wartime correspondents who used the Gallipoli landing to generate a specifically Australian hero. Among the many reports, which reached Australia, were those of Ashmead-Bartlett. His Gallipoli dispatches described Australians as a 'race of athletes ... practical above all', whose cheers, even in death, 'resounded throughout the night'. Ashmead-Bartlett helped in...
Aboriginal soldiers returned to their country where they had no citizenship rights, controlled by the government policies which prevented them from living in towns, socialising with other Australians and voting. This is evident in phrases such as, “He returned to the outback, no mates did he find. If he had a beer he was jailed and then fined,” and, “Confused and alone he wandered around, Looking for work though none could be found. The Anzac marches he badly neglected, Would show to his comrades how he was rejected.” This informs the reader about how the Aboriginal soldiers did not receive the same benefits as the European soldiers did, even though they made the same sacrifices during the
The novel All Quiet On the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, the poem, “In Flanders Field,” by John McCrae and the film, Gallipoli, Demonstrates how war makes men feel unimportant and, forces soldiers to make hard decisions that no one should half to make. In war people were forced to fight for their lives. Men were forced to kill one another to get their opinion across to the opposing sides. When men went home to their families they were too scared to say what had happened to them in the war. Many people had a glorified thought about how war is, Soldiers didn't tell them what had truly happened to them.
Hypothesis: The Australian public made a significant contribution to the war efforts from 1939 to 1945, through sacrifices on a personal and national level. The determination of the Australian people in bringing their loved ones home safely, created strong relationships between the community, which in many cases, are still prevalent in Australian society to this day.
Women proved their strengths to Australian society as they replaced the shortage of men in the work force. The government was reluctant to let women work. It was initially thought that women were incapable of manual labour but as the war went on, women took on roles such as factory workers, train conductors, bus drivers, taxi drivers and mail deliverers. The government continuously encouraged women to join the work force by displaying recruitment posters. They were used to great effect in Australia just like ‘Rosie the Riveter’, a character used in America to entice women to work in factories. Women were keen to experience a change and as a result, historians have stated that women made up forty per cent of the work force in war-related industries which required heavy-lifting and long hours of work. The most momentous involvement by women during the World War II era was the production of binoculars, bombs and ammunition. The reluctance of the government vanished; therefore, it cannot be denied that Australian women were viewe...
It is well recognised that World War 1 was a traumatic experience for the Australian nation. It claimed 60,000 young lives and another 156,000 men were wounded, gassed, or taken prisoner. But when the trauma abated, it became apparent that Australian society had been changed permanently and positively. Some of the gains realised by Australia as a result of her involvement in WWI included a newfound maturity as a nation, the respect and recognition of other nations, new opportunities for trade and industry, a greater recognition of women’s rights and a massive economic and population boost due to post war immigration programs. This web-site has been created to show you some of the benefits of World War One on Australia.
The Australian participation in WW2 was similar to that of WW1 in many ways. After the British declared war on Germany on September 3rd 1939, an Australian declaration of war was automatic. Aussie troops were soon sent to different parts of the world to help the British and other allied countries. It was not until late 1941 that they were recalled in order to defend the homefront. Darwin had been suddenly attacked by Japanese planes and small enemy submarines had snuck into Sydney Harbour. Darwin was repeatedly bombed by Japanese planes until July 1941, when along with American troops, the Aussies managed to drive them out of the Solomon Islands and northeastern New Guinea and eliminate a strong Japanese base at Rabaul. Without General MacArthur's troops, the enemy may very well have invaded Australia. This illustrates the importance of alliances.
Why should we celebrate the day where the war that killed over 8,000 soldiers began. Anzac day is useless, disgraceful and should not be celebrated. In the beginning of the Anzac day celebrations, the day was about commemoration soldiers who fought and died in the wars. Over years the event has turned into a selfish celebration to demonstrate nationalistic spirit, qualities and Australian identity. Because of the loss of understanding in Anzac day it is becoming a meaningless event. Many children from the newer generations of children would not know what Anzac day is or why we have it. World War 1 was brutal and the soldiers were living in terrible living conditions that caused many deaths because of quickly spread disease. We should not be celebrating the death of so many soldiers. ”The cultification of an imperialist invasion of a foreign nation that Australia had no quarrel with is against all deals of modern society” Said Scott McIntyre. This line quoted from Scott McIntyre outlines one of many people’s beliefs that the war goes completely against what us Australians are supposed to demonstrate in our everyday lives. As Australians we should be demonstrating qualities of respect, kindness and respect for one another, not only within Australia but towards people from other parts of the world rather than what we have done, fought in a war with another country for no logical reason and to come out of the war with no winner and carelessly murder thousands of innocent soldiers from all over the world. Anzac day isn’t only pointless but it is embarrassing and unfair. When celebrating Anzac day, we are celebrating the day the beginning of the war Australia lost began. It is not only unfair on the soldiers who have died, it is unfair for the families of these helpless soldiers to have to celebrate the death date of their loved ones every
Peter Weir’s 1981 film Gallipoli can in every sense of the phrase be called an ‘Australian classic’. The impact and effect this film has had upon the psyche and perspective of several generations of Australians has been significant. Whilst it can be argued that every Australian is aware of the ANZAC legend, and the events that occurred on the Turkish beaches in 1915, Weir’s film encapsulates and embodies a cultural myth which is now propagated as fact and embraced as part of the contemporary Australian identity. The film projects a sense of Australian nationalism that grew out of the 1970’s, and focuses on what it ‘means’ to be an Australian in a post-colonial country. In this way Gallipoli embodies a sense of ‘Australian-ness’ through the depiction of mateship and through the stark contrast of Australia to Britain. A sense of the mythic Australia is further projected through the cinematic portrayal of the outback, and the way in which Australia is presented in isolation from the rest of the world. These features combined create not only a sense of nationalism, but also a mythology stemming from the ANZAC legend as depicted within the film.
Please do not be alarmed to hear that I have joined the War over in Gallipoli. I have left all my jobs as Clerks, watchmaker and jeweller to come join the War. I enlisted on the 21st of August 1914 as a 3rdAustralian field ambulance, and soon departed Australia on the 20th of October 1914, onboard the HMAT Medic 7, along with many other South Australians. The journey was rough, but we made it. We were the first boat to land on the shores at Gallipoli on the 25th of April 1915.
Australian troops fought in many locations during World War 1 not just at Gallipoli. The Western Front was one of these places. The second battle of Viller-Bretonneux shows how a new strategy and experienced battle-hardened men can pull of a victory by overpowering a well-fortified village with many more soldiers than their entire division. However, they did not fight only at Viller-Bretonneux. The Anzacs fought in many more battles on the Western Front.
Although the Gallipoli Campaign was a disastrous few years, with many losses and the failure of victory, the ANZAC’S are still known as legends and heroes. The legend is that the Australian and New Zealand troops helped in establishing their country’s reputation in the world, through qualities of strength and bravery when faced with seemingly insurmountable challenges. The Gallipoli Campaign was a very significant event in history because Australia had only been a
Good morning Mrs. Bayes and classmates. For women, the dangers of war go far beyond the violence of combat. Women suffer some of the greatest health and social inequities in the world. The focus question is “What was the impact of war on Australians and their identity”? The topic I am speaking about is how war had an impact on women.
The First World War is the first war Australia had been involved in, and consequently, a feeling of excitement and patriotism swept the nation. Some poets took to writing about the glory and romanticism of the war, while others wrote poems as a form of passive resistance and defiance towards the war. [Olsen, 2013] One of the most influential Australian anti-war poets was Dame Mary Gilmore, who wrote poetry that revealed the harsh realities of the war, and questioned its essentiality. It was through the tragic and melancholy scenarios depicted in her poetry that Gilmore was able to inspire pity in readers,