ANZAC

ANZAC is an acronym that stands for "Australian and New Zealand Army Corps". The term originated in World War I, when Australian and New Zealand troops entered the war as members of the British Commonwealth. ANZACs, as the troops were known, were particularly known for their valiant but ultimately unsuccessful effort to defeat the Ottoman Turks (who, at the time, were allied with Germany) at the infamous Battle of Gallipoli in 1915. Despite landing at the wrong site and fighting against a much more well-equipped and organised Turkish force, the ANZACs at Gallipoli were able to fight to a stalemate before withdrawing. ANZACs would continue to demonstrate their valour on the battlefields of Europe and Palestine. One year after the Gallipoli campaign began, 25 April was declared Anzac Day, in honour of the Australian and New Zealand troops who fought during the war. Today, Anzac Day honours all Australian and New Zealand servicemen and servicewomen, past and present.

Background

In 1901, the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain granted independence to the Commonwealth of Australia. Six years later, Britain recognised New Zealand as a dominion of the British Empire, granting that nation autonomy as well. Australia and New Zealand both remained loyal to the Crown after these achievements, however—when World War I began in 1914 and threatened Britain, Australia and New Zealand pledged their support.

In both nations, troops were rapidly raised to support Britain, Russia and France (the Allied Powers) against the German Empire and its allies, Turkey and Austria-Hungary (the Central Powers). However, these troops (many of whom were teenaged boys who falsified their ages) were largely untrained. Nevertheless, the Australian and New Zealand volunteers were excited to join the war against Germany, buoyed by the idea that a British-led military effort would result in a swift victory.

In early November of 1914, a convoy of Australian ships carrying the Australian and New Zealand forces departed the Western Australian port of Albany, bound for Europe via the Suez Canal. When they arrived at Suez, they camped in British-controlled Egypt so that they could complete the necessary training before heading onward. While there, the Australian and New Zealand troops were dubbed ANZACs as shorthand for telegraphy. Meanwhile, Allied military leaders believed that the Central Powers' push into Russia along the Eastern Front could be halted if Germany's allies were attacked. A key target was the Dardanelles, a Turkish peninsula that provides an opening from the Mediterranean Sea through Constantinople (now Istanbul) to the Black Sea and Russia. After a naval campaign to open the Dardanelles failed, Britain believed that a land attack could prove successful.

As part of the campaign, British military planners targeted Gallipoli, a peninsula located on the northern coast of the Dardanelles, making it a surprising target in comparison to the southern and western coasts. It was surmised that Gallipoli would be relatively unprotected by Turkish troops (only a few hundred Turks were determined to be stationed there). With proper planning, the Allies believed they could clear away Turkish defenders at Gallipoli and help take the Dardanelles. The ANZACs were chosen to lead the assault, with British and French troops attacking other sites on the Dardanelles.

ANZACs at Gallipoli

There are no available detailed records of the Allies' attack on Gallipoli. However, many accounts suggested that when the ANZACs landed at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915, they did so with incomplete or incorrect information about Gallipoli and the Ottoman forces they were to engage. The landing site—which was later dubbed "Anzac Cove"—was a small beach (giving the impression that the site was not a likely spot for an invasion), flat and easily accessible. (Whether Anzac Cove was intentionally selected as the original landing spot remains subject to scholarly debate, however.) Inland, the arriving ANZAC troops encountered a rocky, steep shoreline. Landing at night, in mist and on a boulder-strewn seabed, the ANZACs also arrived at the beach out of formation, confounding their invasion plans. Landing was thus a far more difficult task than military planners anticipated. To their benefit, the ANZACs initially found only a few hundred enemy forces, far fewer than the thousands of ANZACs arriving in the first and second waves.

The ANZACs, upon landing, quickly moved through the beach and toward the ridges inland. The Ottomans, meanwhile, were well-organised and equipped, had orders from superior officers to hold their positions until a stronger wave of reserve troops could arrive at Gallipoli. The ANZACs encountered stiff resistance from well-placed Ottoman artillery fire and snipers, while the Allies' artillery had not yet arrived onshore to cover the ANZACs. As a result, the ANZACs were able to land and advance only to the second ridge on the Gallipoli shore before they were effectively pinned down. The outmanned Ottoman forces at Gallipoli, however, could not drive back the invading ANZACs. With neither side able to accomplish its goals, the battle sank into a stalemate.

The static situation at Gallipoli continued for months after the initial landing in April. Lice, diarrhoeal disease, inadequate rations and water, and rotting bodies all threatened the health of the combatants. The weather also played a challenging role—baking heat, torrential downpours and a blizzard all took place during the several months in which the two sides were locked in combat. In some locations, no-man's-land (the field between combatants) was only about nine metres wide—ANZACs and Turks could sometimes hear each other's conversations. There were also reports of the enemies tossing cigarettes and food to one another across the battle lines in shows of good will. Four months after the initial landing, British commanders called upon the ANZACs to launch an offensive to finally advance toward their objectives. Over the next four days, Ottoman troops fought just as hard as the ANZACs, sending them back to their previous positions.

On 22 November 1915, British leadership declared that the ANZACs should withdraw. Beginning on 7 December, the evacuation was to be gradual and secretive, occurring at night over the course of two weeks. The Ottoman troops continued to fire artillery at the ANZAC positions, but as the evacuation was taking place, this fire was, unbeknown to the Turks, increasingly falling on unoccupied positions. ANZACs set up rifles and other devices to continue firing haphazardly as they left. On 20 December 1915, the ANZACs had fully withdrawn; the evacuation was so well-executed that among 80,000 evacuating troops, only about a handful of casualties were reported during the process. Retreating troops were gathered in Egypt once more and then separated into two main divisions, which went on to serve in France and Palestine and the Sinai, respectively.

Impact

The New Zealand and Australian troops' valour and bravery at Gallipoli, which would be repeated in the European and Palestinian theatres in 1916 and 1917, became the stuff of legend in the Commonwealth and Dominion. To commemorate the battle, 25 April was declared Anzac Day in both Australia and New Zealand, a holiday that continues to be observed. The battle sites at Gallipoli have also been well-preserved—in 2005, the Turkish, Australian and New Zealand governments agreed to allow archaeologists to research the site in order to unearth the secrets about the nearly eight-month-long battle between the Ottomans and the ANZACs.

Bibliography

"ANZAC Acronym." Australian War Memorial, www.awm.gov.au/encyclopedia/anzac/acronym. Accessed 11 June 2024.

Broadbent, Harvey. "Gallipoli's First Day: A Day of Riddles." ABC, 2009, www.abc.net.au/innovation/gallipoli/historical‗analysis.htm. Accessed 11 June 2024.

"First World War 1914–18." Australian War Memorial, www.awm.gov.au/ atwar/ww1. Accessed 11 June 2024.

McGibbon, Ian. "First World War." Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, 20 June 2012, www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/first-world-war. Accessed 11 June 2024.

100 Years of ANZAC: The Spirit Lives 2014–2018. Australian Government, www.anzaccentenary.gov.au/about-anzac-centenary/use-word-anzac. Accessed 11 June 2024.

Patel, Samir S. "ANZAC's Next Chapter." Archaeology, 8 Apr. 2013, www.archaeology.org/issues/92-1305/letter-from/765-anzac-gallipoli-wwi-battlefield-allied-german-ottoman. Accessed 11 June 2024.