Anzac Day | Australia and New Zealand’s mutual sacrifice…

April 24, 2011 at 3:05 pm · Filed under Australia!, Death Penalty, Democra-see?, Educational, Gun-Play, History, New Zealand, Sunday Series® and tagged: Anzac Day, Australia!, New Zealand, Turkey, War

Australian veteran on Anzac Day

Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand, and is commemorated by both countries on 25 April every year to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who fought at Gallipoli in Turkey during World War One.

Flags on the cenotaph in Wellington for the Dawn Service. From left to right, the flags of New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Australia

It now more broadly commemorates all those who died and served in military operations for their countries. Anzac Day is also observed in the Cook Islands, Niue, and Tonga. It is no longer observed as a national holiday in Samoa. The acronym ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, whose soldiers were known as Anzacs. Anzac Day remains one of the most important national occasions of both Australia and New Zealand. This is a rare instance of two sovereign countries not only sharing the same remembrance day, but making reference to both countries in its name.

Anzac Day marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War.

When war broke out in 1914, Australia had been a Federal Commonwealth for thirteen years. In 1915, Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of an Allied expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli Peninsula, under a plan by Winston Churchill to open the way to the Black Sea for the Allied navies. The objective was to capture Istanbul, capital of the Ottoman Empire, an ally of Germany. The ANZAC force landed at Gallipoli on 25 April, meeting fierce resistance from the Turkish Army commanded by Mustafa Kemal (later known as Atatürk). What had been planned as a bold strike to knock Turkey out of the war quickly became a stalemate, and the campaign dragged on for eight months.

After the First World War, returned soldiers sought the comradeship they felt in those quiet, peaceful moments before dawn. With symbolic links to the dawn landing at Gallipoli, a dawn stand-to or dawn ceremony became a common form of Anzac Day remembrance during the 1920s.

At the end of 1915, the Allied forces were evacuated after both sides had suffered heavy casualties and endured great hardships. The Allied Gallipoli casualties included 21,255 from the UK, an estimated 10,000 dead soldiers from France, 8,709 from Australia, 2,721 from New Zealand, and 1,358 from British India. News of the landing at Gallipoli made a profound impact on Australians and New Zealanders at home and 25 April quickly became the day on which they remembered the sacrifice of those who had died in war.

Kings Park, Western Australia

Though the Gallipoli campaign failed in its military objectives of capturing Istanbul and knocking the Ottoman Empire out of the war, the Australian and New Zealand troops’ actions during the campaign bequeathed an intangible but powerful legacy. The creation of what became known as an “Anzac legend” became an important part of the national identity in both countries. This has shaped the way their citizens have viewed both their past and their understanding of the present.

Related Articles

• Anzac Day marked at services (bbc.co.uk)
• Anzac Day:- Australia (Video Included) (magsx2.wordpress.com)
• Gallipoli battlefield being mapped by GPS (gadling.com)
• All Aussie and Kiwi music thread — for ANZAC Day (current.com)
• The Anzacs – homecoming from Gallipoli… (peter-petterson.blogspot.com)
• Australians rise to commemorate Anzac Day (news.theage.com.au)

Permalink