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ANZAC DAY
HISTORY
When
Great Britain declared war on
Germany on 4 August 1914 there was
never any doubt which way Australia
would go. As a dominion she was
automatically and legally committed;
but in any case Australian sentiment
was overwhelmingly pro-British, and
Andrew Fisher spoke for the whole
country when he promised to support
her 'to our last man and our last
shilling."
Australia's first acts of war were
to destroy German wireless stations
at Rabaul, Yap and New Guinea, and
to occupy German New Guinea and
nearby islands including New
Britain, New Ireland and Bouganville.
Resistance was weak and casualties
were few. Meanwhile
Brigadier-General W.T. Bridges had
begun organising a volunteer army
for overseas service, to be known as
the Australian Imperial Force and
now famous in history simply as
A.I.F. The response exceeded all his
hopes and in three months a complete
first division of 20,000 men had
been enlisted and partly trained and
was ready to embark. .
It was joined by two brigades from
New Zealand, and on 1 November the
combined contingent sailed from
Albany, W.A. in thirty-eight
transports, escorted by the
Australian light cruisers Sydney and
Melbourne and a British and a
Japanese cruiser. Its destination
was England, via Suez. Nine days
later a wireless station at Cocos
Is. in the Indian Island, signalled
that it was being attacked by a
German cruiser, Emden. HMAS Sydney
left the convoy and in a classic
running battle, disabled the enemy
ship and ran her aground. Owing to a
change of plan, the troops were
disembarked at Alexandria to
complete their war-training in
Egypt. Here they were joined by a
second mixed contingent and united
as the Australian and New Zealand
Army Corps (ANZAC) with General W.R.
Birdwood in overall command
As a part of Allied strategy it was
decided, early in 1915, to attack
Turkey through the Dardenelles and
so provide a safe sea-link with
Russia. The First Lord of the
Admiralty, Winston Churchill, was
sure the British Navy could force a
way through the narrow passage but
the attempt was defeated with heavy
loss. The operation then became a
military one against a forewarned
and powerful enemy. On 25th April
1915 Anzac, British and French
troops stormed ashore on the
peninsula of Gallipoli against
fierce opposition from five Turkish
Divisions. After a day of chaotic,
heroic and bloody fighting the
ANZACS had established a precarious
foothold at what became known as
ANZAC Cove and during the next two
days they held on grimly against
continuous and savage
counter-attacks. Then both sides
paused to lick their wounds and the
ANZACS dug in
During the next few months weeks of
stalemate were interspersed with
days of bitter fighting, with
appalling casualties on both sides.
From the start it was apparent that
the campaign must fail - indeed many
thought it should never have been
launched - and in December
evacuation of the peninsula was
ordered. This was carried out with
such skill that the enemy was
completely deceived and by 8 January
the last Allied troops had left
Turkish soil. In this futile
holocaust of eight months Australian
casualties had totalled 8,587 dead
and 19,367 wounded; but from defeat
the ANZACS had emerged as probably
the best assault troops in history.
One thing they never lost was their
sardonic sense of humour and as they
returned to Europe, battle-shocked
and weary they sang
"We are the ragtime army
The A.N.Z.A.C.
We cannot shoot, we won't salute
What bloody use are we?" |
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MAP OF
GALLIPOLI
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TURKEY TOURS & TRAVEL PACKAGES |
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JASMINE TOUR PACKAGES |
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Istanbul, Cappadocia &
Ephesus 7 Days by flight |
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Cappadocia, Pamukkale &
Ephesus 7 Days |
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Istanbul, Ephesus, Pamukkale
& Cappadocia 9 Days
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Istanbul, Cappadocia,
Pamukkale & Ephesus 10 Days |
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Istanbul, Troy, Pergamum,
Ephesus, Pamukkale &
Cappadocia 11 Days
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Istanbul, Cappadocia,
Antalya, Pamukkale & Ephesus
12 Days |
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Istanbul, Troy, Pergamum,
Ephesus, Pamukkale, Antalya
& Cappadocia 14 Days
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Istanbul, Ephesus,
Pamukkale, Blue Cruise,
Antalya & Cappadocia 15 Days |
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©
Copyright 2001-2010 by Anzac Day Travel
Istanbul, Turkey
Address : Amiral Tafdil Sok.
No:10 Sultanahmet / Istanbul
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Member of TURSAB:
Association of Turkish Travel Agencies
Licence No : 4614 |
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