ANZAC Legend Assignment

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

Thus soldiers used the ANZAC mythology to ignite guilt within the public consciousness. An example of this was the story of the ‘Man in the Bath.’ Published in 1924 in the Sydney Morning Herald the piece depicted the eulogy of Trooper Rolph. The odd placement of the eulogy within mainstream new content demonstrates an active attempt, on behalf of the soldier writing the piece to bring the consciousness of service men’s suffering to the forefront of public discussion. The piece was written by a fellow solider and the article tells the horrific story of the soldier who was ‘flayed alive by barbarous Huns’’. These lines play on the ANZAC myth of the Australian for example the brave Australian hero battling a vicious enemy. The article details Rolph’s return home, as a result of gas poisoning, suffered inflictions that caused daily suffering until in the years leading up to his death. The article written by one of Trooper Rolph’s fellow servicemen uses the graphic imagery of Rolph’s physical afflictions, such as ‘his skin peeled off and refused to grow back’ to elicit concern and a guilty conscious of the public. The discourse relating to veterans suffering is one means soldiers used their role as a powerful symbol to attack the bureaucratic system. Garton argues that this

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 1 (1914-1918) was the first official war that Australians took part in, only thirteen years after federating as a country in 1901. During this time, thousands of lives were lost, families were torn apart, and friends were never seen again. April 25th became the national day to commemorate the ANZAC soldiers who had served overseas. Even now, 100 years later, people still remember those who sacrificed themselves for Australia, those who fought and fell in many battles to protect the country they lived in. The Gallipoli Campaign is the most famous battle of World War 1, the battle that every Australian household knows about. However, other battles such as the ones on the

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.

“No, Dad. You started it… when you dragged me by the hand through mobs of them like this – just exactly like this. That’s all I ever saw on Anzac Day, every year, year after year, a screaming tribe of great, stupid, drunken no-hopers.” (page 95)

Let us acknowledge that we shall forever be in the debt of the ANZACs who unhesitatingly stepped forward to face the enemy, risking life and limb so that we could enjoy a life of freedom, our heads held high.

In order to understand why the Anzac legend became so prominent, an understanding of Australia’s reasons for entering the First World War must be understood. Firstly, it was the first major war Australia would participate in as a state in its own right, less than two decades after Australian became a federation in 1901. According to Stanley,

‘A massive increase in the popularity and national significance of ANZAC Day’ (Source 1), grew throughout the twenty-first century. Since the landing of Gallipoli, it has been celebrated and as it continued, it quickly adapted to the cultural change of the media and technology which further improved the growth of its popularity. This day joins all Australians as one, in celebration to show their respect, compassion and pride for those people who sacrificed their lives for our freedom. Damian Morgan conveyed the change in society, but also the well-kept, treasured ANZAC Spirit.

The Anzac legend is still relevant in today’s society as it reminds Australians and New Zealands of the sacrifice they made to protect our country and let us live in freedom. The legend defines our national identity and helps shape our national reputation so that other countries can look at us as and think of us as a country who are determined, brave, resilient and helps our mates when they are in trouble. Almost a whole generation of young men was lost and they deserved to be remembered. The soldiers continued to fight during challenging times and when they felt as though it was too hard and should give up. They slept in wet and dirty clothes and barely had enough food to survive. Australia wouldn’t be Australia without the legend of the soldiers who sacrificed themselves for us.

On 25 April 1915, during the First World War, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) landed on the Gallipoli peninsula as part of the 70,000 strong Anglo-French operation against Turkey to capture the Dardanelles. Over one million men were involved in the ill-fated Gallipoli campaign which lasted eight and a half months. Of the 44,070 soldiers who were killed during the campaign, 8,000 were Australian. It was the first time that Australians went into combat as Australians, giving Australia a sense of identity and a place in the world.

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

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