Yr 9 History Project
World War I-Gallipoli
To Australians the Gallipoli Campaign hugely affected their lives. Australia was no longer seen as a young dependent country, the Anzac’s (Australian New Zealand Army Corps) proved that Australia was a brave and courageous country. They fought for their country’s freedom and many were volunteers who fought willingly side by side with British troops.
What was surprising about the Australian force was the number of volunteers; almost the entire army were volunteers. The Australians, never experienced war and thought it would be a once in a life time chance for a big adventure. The men also went since you were considered by the women a coward and not manly enough if didn’t go to war. By halfway through 1916 though, voluntary enlistment had plummeted down to less than half of before since the Australians have learnt about the conditions of war and the terrifying lifestyle of living in fear and anticipation every minute. There were attempts to introduce conscription but these attempts failed and the AIF (Australian Imperial Force) continued to be an entirely voluntary force for the rest of the war after the failed conscription campaign.
The Anzac’s first war was in World War I, where they participated in overseas conflict. Australian troops were first combined with New Zealanders into a single combined corps, later the Anzac corps was separated in early 1916. Australian divisions fought in the Gallipoli campaign, on the Western Front, while smaller forces helped take control of Germany's Pacific territories in late 1914.
Australia's major contribution was the Australian Imperial Force. Some 331,000 men, and a few women, enlisted for service overseas in its ranks, and it remained the only army made up entirely of voluntary enlistment for the whole length of the war, a success which brought consequences of its own since a significant amount of the force were killed or wounded. Of the army, almost 59,000 were...