Apple Chip Tidbit: ANZAC

Death and suffering are part of the stuffing that makes up the tragic nature of human existance. The idea of Australia and Australians as being a place and people seperate from Great Britain was forged in such death and suffering. The First World War and specifically the Dardanelles(Gallipoli) campaign of 1915-1916, were essential components in forging this national consciousness. Soldiers primarily from New Zealand and Australia were sent by Winston Churchill to invade Turkey, capture Istanbul and knock Turkey out of the war, thus braking a stalemate on the Western front of the war. The landing in April of 1915 quickly turned into a quagmire and ended in defeat with many casualties on both sides, Turkey still in the war and the Australians and New Zealnd Army Corps Task Foce(ANZAC) forced to withdraw. Australians felt there soldiers whom by all accounts fought bravely were abandoned without much support against the Turks, who were fighting from a geographically adventageous position defending their homeland. This sense of disregard and abandonment led to a greater questioning of the relationship between the U.K and the Australian Commonwealth and a sense of sharing a seperate national destiny than that of Britain. Thus ANZAC resonates deeply here in Australia.