The Anzacs - Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (a Poem of Remembrance)
ANZAC War Memorial, Murgon QLD, Australia
John Hansen 2018
Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.
On the 25th of April 1915, Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of the allied invasion that set out to capture the Gallipoli peninsula. These soldiers became known as ANZACs and the pride they took in that name continues to this day.
On the morning of 25th April 1915, the ANZACs set out to capture the Gallipoli peninsula in order to open the Dardanelles to the allied navies. The objective was to overtake Constantinople (now Istanbul), the capital of the Ottoman Empire, and an ally of Germany.
The ANZACs landed at Gallipoli and met fierce resistance from the Ottoman army and the plan to knock Turkey out of the war quickly became a stalemate, the campaign dragging on for eight months.
When the allied forces were finally evacuated at the end of 1915 both sides had suffered heavy casualties. Over 8,000 Australian and 2,779 New Zealand soldiers were killed.
The ANZACs were courageous and although the Gallipoli campaign failed in its military objectives, the Australian and New Zealand actions during the campaign left a powerful impression.
The 25th of April soon became known as ANZAC Day when Australians and New Zealanders remember the sacrifice of those who died in Gallipoli and in every war since.
Source: army.gov.au
I have it in me to be a successful soldier. I can visualize great movements and combinations
— Winston Churchill
The ANZACS
These young men bravely went to war,
Australian New Zealand Army Corps.
Landing on the Turkish shore,
Most would see their home no more.
The officers could not turn down
The orders issued from the Crown
So, turning blind eyes with a frown,
Men charged ahead at bugle's sound.
The price to be paid in taking Gallipoli would no doubt be heavy,” he wrote, “but there would be no more war with Turkey. A good army of 50,000 and sea-power—that is the end of the Turkish menace.
— Winston Churchill
Acting brave and standing tall
While blindly answering the call,
Watching friends and colleagues fall
Recommended
On foreign shores and feeling small.
Mother England had a hide,
Sacrificing many lives,
Ordering mass suicide.
Left shattered parents, lovers, wives.
Through guns and bombs all booming loud
They fought to make their countries proud,
But now just bodies clothed in shrouds,
Remembered by still grieving crowds.
Tributes and songs written and sung,
A special day when heads are hung,
Remembering those who died so young
When Churchill's strategic plans were sprung.
I am the victim of a political intrigue, I am finished!
— Winston Churchill
A platoon of the 13th Battalion, 4th Brigade, AIF, awaits an address by its commander Captain Joseph Lee, in the Sphinx Gully, Gallipoli probably prior to the brigade’s night march on 6–7 August 1915 to attack Kocitemenepe.
Australia Great War
Churchill's Shame
- Winston Churchill’s World War Disaster - HISTORY
A quarter-century before boldly leading Britain in World War II, Winston Churchill spearheaded a World War I military debacle—Gallipoli.
© 2019 John Hansen
