ANZAC DAY DAWN SERVICE
25th April 2014
Dawn Service
Friday, Apr 25, 2014, 06:00 AM
Gallipoli, Turkey
TICKETS
Teens (12-19) - $40
Adults (over 19) - $60
All profits will be donated to legacy.
About WW1
THE CAUSES OF WW1
World War 1, also known as the Great War, was started by a series of events, one of these was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand who was the Archduke of Austria-Hungary and the heir to the throne. This however was the straw that broke the camel's back- it brought about the start of war. Before WW1 there were many alliances among the nations of Europe, and these countries could be called upon to militarily back their allies if necessary (Kelly, 2013).
These alliances were:
- Russia and Serbia
- Germany and Austria-Hungary
- France and Russia
- Britain and France and Belgium
- Japan and Britain
AUSTRALIAN INVOLVEMENT IN WW1
The Australians were mostly involved at Gallipoli and on the Western Front. These however were some of the most intense and most devastating battlegrounds of WW1.
The ANZACs first fought at Gallipoli, after this they were strengthened with fresh troops in Egypt, then went on to France to fight in the trenches (Darlington, Smithies and Wood, 2012: 242).
SIGNIFICANT AUSTRALIAN BATTLES
Gallipoli - Gallipoli is located on the western side of the Gallipoli Peninsula, Turkey. For most Australians Gallipoli is a very important and significant event that they chose to commemorate each year. The courage, perseverance, commitment and bravery of the ANZACs still inspires thousands of people today. Gallipoli was well planned out but poorly executed. The ANZACs drifted off course and landed on the wrong beach. This lead to the ANZACs being unable to exploit the opportunities that the right beach would have provided, therefore making it a lot harder for them to advance north. The beach they intended to land on was slightly sloped and a more favourable landing spot, the beach where they actually landed had steep ledges and cliffs (Pelvin, 2004: 27).
Western Front - The Western front was over 500 kilometres long, and ran from the North Sea to Switzerland (Darlington, Smithies and Wood, 2012: 240). After Gallipoli the ANZAC troops returned to Egypt to be reinforced with fresh troops, from here they were then sent to France to fight on the Western Front in the trenches. Trench warfare created terrible conditions for the soldiers quite apart from the mud, vermin and disease. Appalling losses were suffered on both sides due to the nature of this kind of warfare, where each side took turns at sending their soldiers out over the top into "no man's land". They would be completely exposed- most of them were shot and in the end there were no clear winners and all that was achieved was a continuous stalemate.
IMPACT ON AUSTRALIANS AT HOME
The effects of World War 1 extended beyond the soldiers sent to fight- it also had a huge impact on the people at home. Over 60 000 Australians died during WW1, and double that were wounded- as you can imagine a lot of people's family members died and were injured. People lost husbands, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, fathers and grandfathers during World War 1, and many of those who did come home suffered life long effects from both physical and psychological trauma (Wiest, 2001: 234).
SIGNIFICANCE OF ANZAC DAY
ANZAC day is an important day in Australia and New Zealand as it provides the opportunity for everyone to stop and remember the sacrifices of those who have served our country. We are encouraged to recognise the acts of bravery, courage and mateship that the ANZACs demonstrated during WW1.