ANZAC
Today, 25 April, is celebrated in Australia and New Zealand as ANZAC day. The word is an acronym for Australia New Zealand Army Corps, and remembers Australia's and New Zealand's war dead. The date was chosen for the day of the Gallipoli landings in the First World War. This was in 1915 before the US entered the war.
In Gallipoli Australia suffered over 8,000 casualties in the eight-month-long confrontation with the Turkish army under the command of Kemal Ataturk. Eventually, Australia along with the British and New Zealand forces withdrew, a victory for Turkey, and one of the pivotal historical points in the formation of Australia as a nation.
This year will be the 95th Anzac Day, with the occasion being proclaimed in 1916.
By the end of the war, about 1.38% of the Australian population was dead, and more than twice that many were wounded. The figures, proportionately, were even higher for New Zealand, and higher still for the UK (994,000 dead).
Despite its late entry, the US also suffered huge losses: over 100,000 dead, although obviously it was a much smaller proportion of its population.
As we say in Australia: Lest We Forget!
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May '10
Re: ANZAC
Tangentially, Tom Sowell points out that France also suffered enormous losses in WW1 (more than 4% of the population). These losses (by various countries) led to the pacifist movements of the 20s and 30s, which led to the demoralization of the populations, which led Hitler to be bold.
Sowell says that France lost so many young men that large numbers of women could not marry and the population declined.
Mar '11
Re: ANZAC
The UK had awful horror stories too, largely because of its method of regimental formation. These would be raised on a town-by-town, county by county basis. Then when they'd have one of those over-the-top-boys attacks, entire towns-full of men would be mown down by machine guns, widowing or orphaning a whole community at once.
Feb '11
Re: ANZAC
Re the losses in France: the French general Andre Beaufre said that when he attended the military academy at St-Cyr between the wars, there was a plaque for each class listing the names of those graduates who had fallen in their country's service. For the class of 1914, there were no names--the plaque said, simply, "The Class of 1914."
Two books about the psychological impact of WWI which I think are particularly important are Paul Fussell's "The Great War and Modern Memory" and Erich Maria Remarque's novel "The Road Back," which is sort of a sequel to "All Quiet on the Western Front"..and an even better-written book, IMO. I reviewed "The Road Back" here.
Feb '11
Re: ANZAC
To me, the way to look at the losses is not as a % of total population, but % of male population in the age cohort (typically 18-30 y.o.) and then the losses were horrendous. Australia and New Zealand have always been steadfast allies and insufficiently appreciated.
Feb '11
Re: ANZAC
The Imperial War Museum has a very good set of pages on Gallipoli.
Dec '10
Re: ANZAC
Thanks for the reminder Stephen,
Great Britain could not have succeeded in winning the First World War without the support of her commonwealth. Gallipoli was a tragic lesson in how not to conduct amphibious landings. Fortunately, the ANZACs faired much better on the Western Front and were crucial in cracking the line. Hats off to them..!
Jul '10
Re: ANZAC
Churchill took the fall for Gallipoli, but the fault was primarily Admiral Fisher. He was an elderly admiral long past his prime for whom Churchill had an ill-founded admiration. The key to victory was swiftness but Fisher's havering led to fatal delay.
Sep '10
Re: ANZAC
thanks for you great post.
Apr '11
Re: ANZAC
WW1 was also when Canada found its legs as a country. The Battle of Vimy Ridge remains to this day the most famous battle in our military history.
BTW, I had the pleasure to be in Australia during ANZAC in the early 90's. In the town of Warnambool in Victoria. With an Australian on our our survey crew as a guide, we attended the local veterans hall to play "Two-Up", a traditional gambling game during ANZAC Day. Don't remember if I won or lost that day, but I do recall looking around the circle of about 40 locals flipping coins in the air and betting on how they would land, and thinking that I wasn't going to find this activity in a tourist guide. We were all Australian on that day.
May '10
Re: ANZAC
My mother, a violinist, used to have bows made and maintained by Arthur Bultitude, who was on of the great English makers of the 20th Century. He told her that there were no French bowmakers any more (at that time - ca. 1975) because all the apprentices had been killed in the First World War. We have, thank God, no idea how France (and so many other countries) suffered in that terrible conflict.
Jun '10
Re: ANZAC
I salute our comrades in arms and echo the sentiment, "Lest We Forget!"
Eric Bogle's video, "The Band Played Waltzing Matilda, is always appropriate, as is Terry Kelly's "A Pittance of Time."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WG48Ftsr3OI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kX_3y3u5Uo&feature=related