Anzac Day

Landing at Anzac Cove

Today is the 90th Anniversary of the Allied invasion of the Gallipoli Peninsula during WWI.

{...}The landings, which infamously saw waters on the coast stained red with the blood of dead soldiers, were intended to open a passage through the Dardanelles Straights separating Europe from Asia to provide a relief route to allied Russia via the Black Sea.

Instead the expedition ended in retreat and failure, after eight months of what Helen Clark, the New Zealand Prime Minister, today described as "hell".

Perhaps the most poignant illustration of the failure of the expedition is the fact that, with the allies forced to retreat from Gallipoli and unable to return until after the war, only 9,000 of the 22,000 Commonwealth soldiers who were buried lie in identified graves. The remains of more than 14,000 have never been found, their bones resting in the rugged terrain of Gallipoli.

Fierce resistance from the under-rated Ottoman forces, inhospitable terrain and bungled planning, spelt disaster for the campaign, which involved British, Irish, French, Indian, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand forces.

Among those who suffered the greatest losses were the Anzacs, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, who made the first landings, swept by an unexpected current to a narrow cove rather than the wide beaches the planners intended. The campaign is seen as a defining moment in the move towards nationhood in both countries, and April 25 is marked as Anzac Day in both countries.

The campaign, centred on territory close to the site of the ancient city of Troy, was one of the biggest maritime invasion attempts ever staged. Unlike the recent D-Day commemorations there were no surviving veterans of the campaign at today’s international gatherings.{...}

For more information on Gallipoli, go here. Make sure to pay attention to the numbers of wounded and dead.

{Photos Courtesy of The Anzac Photo Gallery}

Posted by Kathy at April 25, 2005 01:42 PM