Posted on 04/25/2006 3:50:30 AM PDT by Aussie Dasher
AS dawn broke over Gallipoli today, thousands of Australians and New Zealanders were reminded of the bloody beginning of the Anzac legend they had gathered to honour.
During the solemn service before more than 7000 people, Australian Governor-General Michael Jeffery outlined the ghastly scene that unfolded after the landing at Anzac Cove 91 years ago.
"Perhaps it's from the relative safety of our time that we can fully comprehend the scale of what was won and lost in the hard-fought battle of the Gallipoli campaign," Major-General Jeffery said.
"We lost the campaign with 26,000 casualties but had won for us an enduring sense of national identity based on those iconic traits of mateship, courage, compassion and nous."
He called on the crowd to recall the sacrifices of all Australians at that time.
"Today, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, at this most moving of places, we are summoned to recall the battle sacrifices of Australian farmers and clerks, teachers and labourers (who fought), and to commemorate outstanding courage and strength of character in the face of incredible and sustained adversity," he said.
"But in losing the campaign, they won us a greater prize – an enduring sense of national identity.
"Let us never forget."
An alcohol and rock music ban put in place by authorities in March kept the crowds low-key in the lead up to this year's Gallipoli service.
There was outrage last year when revellers left the site covered by rubbish and drunken tourists upset veteran groups.
Instead of Bee Gees video clips that shattered the peace last year, the 2006 program featured war documentaries and live interviews with crowd members conducted by Andrew Denton prior to the service.
New Zealand's Major-General Clive Lilley said people were drawn to Gallipoli on Anzac Day not to celebrate war but to honour the soldiers' courage.
"Anzac Day has a simple theme – it is about remembrance," he said.
"We are here this morning to remember those who served our countries during conflict and crisis.
"We are not here to celebrate battle today or to applaud carnage or to glorify war.
"However, to overlook the deeds of those before us would in some way devalue them and leave us poorer for failing to acknowledge them."
As dawn broke, the light revealed flags at half mast and thousands of people draped in flags and rugged up against the cold.
A letter written by the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who had fought at Gallipoli, drew applause from those gathered.
"Those heroes who shed their blood and lost their lives, you are now lying in the soil of a friendly country, rest in peace," it said.
Not Winnie's best plan.
There is a sentence I never thought I would read.
It is amazing how many times since the US civil war that "Get everyone to charge at the same time and courage will win the day" against fortified positions is considered the best plan.
It's called "bad leadership", pure and simple.
Unimaginative military "leaders" with zip for tactical thinking resort to human wave attacks. Stalin was the grand master; he sent untold millions of his own boys to horrific deaths this way because he was SO unbelievably clueless.
What was this battle? Was it in WWI? Sorry for my lack of historic knowledge.
Amen...so people who are unaware of the sacrifices can learn and honor..unlike some people who waste time p*ss*ng on their grandfathers.
Horrible losses at Gallipoli, but the courage these Men showed was second to none.
Here's to you Anzac
May they rest in peace.
World War I
The Great War. An attempt to force the Straits and topple the Turkish regime, which was aligned with the Central Powers.
Yes very bad leadership, but in defense of the leaders.. they were all that way. British, French, Aussie, German, Austrian, Russian.
They were all operating on tactics developed as far back as the American Civil war and had not learned (yet), the truth of the Machine Gun.
At least they sure didn't act like they had learned anything.
First World War. An idea ordered by Churchill; allied forces [also included some French]led by Sir Ian Hamilton who left most operational efforts to subordinates. [He had stated, at one time, that no supervisor could adequately handle more than 6 subordinates.]
The unfortunate results forced Churchill out of the British cabinet.
From what I read about the Iran-Iraq war, the mullahs ordered some human wave attacks in terrain that was hard to defend and they worked well initially. Then the Iraqis changed tactics and fell back to more favorable terrain. The Iranians threw away about 500,000 lives trying the same things over and over.
mark
Started before WWI when Chuchill delayed handover of two Turkish battleships just completed in Britidh yards. When war was declared they were siezed. turks upst.
On the outvbreak of war a German battlecruiser in the Mditerranean eluded the Britiah fleet and entered a Turkish port. As Turkey was still neutral, the ship would have been anliged to leave within three days, except it was annouced the battlecruier (and its escort cuiser) had been purcaghes by Turkey.
Two months later, the "Turkish" ships - still manned by Germans - left port ans attacked the Russian Fleet at Sevastopoil. This forced Turkey to decalre War on Russia, ans brought Turkey into the war on the side of the Cetral Powers.
Then came Churchill's second cunning plan, to knock Turkey out of the war by sending a battle fleet to capture Constantinple. However Tirkey had mined the Dardenelle Straits (only 3 miles wide). While the Turkish shore batteries weren't strong enough to stop the battleships, they could keep minsweepers from clearing the straits
Then came plan #3, land troops on the north side of the peninsula to capture the shore batteries, clear the minefields, and sail to Constantinople
First amphibious assault of modern times - noone knew what they were doing
I know.
Being forced to march shoulder to shoulder into a hail of gunfire is a senseless tragedy.
God rest the souls of the Australian dead.
God rest the souls of the Australian dead.
&&
Amen. Such brave men.
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