I remember it all too well. I was merely fifteen years of age when I was called upon to go into the war. Young, naïve, I craved a sense of masculinity and pride for my country. So there I was, in a navy vessel, halfway across the world from home in a completely unknown territory. After much intensive training in Egypt, we had been summoned to the Dardanelles in Turkey. I think it had something to do with communication with Russia.
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Recruitment and Conscription in World War One |
It was perhaps around 4:30 in the morning on the 25th of April. The sun had barely come out. I almost sensed that something was not quite right as we landed on the shore of Galliipoli. As soon as we clambered out of our boats, they fired. Everywhere around me, troops fell. Clambering low, I took shelter in a small crevice and hid. From there, I could see that the Turks could easily attack us from their position upon this cliff. We were so vulnerable. Why had we been sent to our deaths? Halfway during the day, the remainder of the ANZAC arrived to the bloodshed and many suffered the same kind of terrible, tragic fate.
This soon turned into a trench war stalemate. Both our forces and the Turks had many casualties. This perhaps lasted about six months before we were all evacuated from the disastrous, failed mission. Nobody, I repeat, nobody, should ever have to witness the horror I did that day.
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| Australian troops landing at Anzac Cove at 8.00 am, 25th April, 1915. |
A great account of April 25th. Your writing 'paints' a clear image of what it was like. How many ANZAC troops landed in Gallipoli? Can you expand on the idea of 'coomunications with Russia'?
ReplyDeleteThanks Mr Wilkins, on the 25th of April, around 8000 ANZAC troops landed in Gallipoli. The communications with Russia were to do with nations of the Triple Alliance keeping in touch with each other during times or war. So this would've meant Britian trying to communicate with Russia through Turkey.
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