90 years ago today, a very young nation sent its men onto an obscure beach in another new country. Australia’s (and NZ’s) soldiers stormed the wrong beach on Gallipoli Peninsula. At the behest of Britain’s High Command, on the idea of the First Lord of the Admiralty, Churchill; soldiers from multiple nations were attempting to take control of a bottleneck of control to the Black Sea and Russia. Turkey, also on the cusp of becoming a nation, defended and defeated the invaders.
It is paradoxical that Australia considers a major defeat-of-arms as the official day of rememberance and national holiday �(rather than November 11th). This goes to the heart of Australia’s laconic nature to thumb its nose at convention in this manner. After the 8 months of battle, where many thousands of soldiers died for no strategic gain; they left the peninsula without casualty.
To those who gave their lives for future generations; either by never returning to their families or those who returned changed men – the debt is difficult to measure.