Gallipoli 1915 ..What were Anzacs doing thousands miles away from their home?

Question

Is this what they are proud of ,,fighting under the command of English,,for nothing but a bloody & mortal waste of their youth

belittle ? no
fighting for democracy by pouring blood on soil..what a controversy..,
i hate heroic statements & thoughts fed with emperialist poison

Answer 1

It is usually a mistake to judge the acts of past generations according to current values. You must remember that when it comes to the First World War we have the advantage of hindsight. We realize what a horrendous wholesale slaughter and a useless, needless, waste of human lives it was, for the sake of stupid, petty, short-sighted goals, but people living in 1914 when the war started didn't know how it was going to turn out.

People living then had been raised with stories, songs poems, artworks, etc. that glorified war as a noble endevor. They did not have the documentaries and movies that we have showing just what happens when a human body is torn apart by an exploding shell. They actually believed on one level or another that although some men might be wounded or killed (dying in a most noble manner of course) the mere fact that they were courageous and that their cause was right would ensure their victory and shield them from enemy bullets. i.e. "God won't allow it!"

As far as why the Anzacs faught for Britain, keep in mind that most of them were only one or two generations removed from Britain. If their fathers hadn't been born in the British Isles their grandfathers almost certainly had been. There had not been time for them to develop much in the way of separate national identities. They saw themselves first and foremost as British subjects, so when war broke out there was never any question that it was their war too.

If they had known what was going to happen at places like Gallipoli and if they'd had our understanding of what caused the war and how it all would end, and if they had understood with what contempt their British masters viewed them, as second-class citizens, suitable to be used for cannon fodder, I imagine they would never have fought for Britain.

But then I'm a Texan, (Lately I tend to emphasise that over "American.") so I can't say that I truly understand what Austrailians or New Zealanders feel regarding the issue. I'm just guessing based on what I understand of people in general. Hope I haven't misrepresented anyone's opinion.

Answer 2

The Anzacs were allies of, not just the English as you put it, but the Allied Powers...........that's why they were there. In exactly the same way as the British Army is seeing action far away from home in Afghanistan and Iraq, and fought in the Falklands.

You should also note the death toll of the Allies at Gallipoli : 21255 UK, 10000 (estimated) France, 8709 Australia, 2721 New Zealand, 1358 India, 49 Newfoundland.

These men gave their lives in the pursuit of a free and democratic world..........do not belittle their sacrifice by saying it was a waste.

Heroic statement? No - just a statement of fact. The loss of all these lives as well as those of the Ottomans they fought is abhorrent, but war happens and there will always be those that sacrifice their lives in the pursuit of a cause. To allow them to be proud of their sacrifice and not to say it is a waste is not imperialist.......it is sympathetic. How would your family feel if you died fighting for something you believed in, only to be later told that it was a waste?

Answer 3

Who are you to decide what is a waste of youth? You may not like war, but it is a necessary evil, you should not belittle their sacrifice that probably saved your nation at some point that you will never see, and allowed you to be typing what you are saying now freely without interference.

Answer 4

They were with the Antant forces and they didn't fight well at Callipoli. If they had won a lot of things would be different now...