In 1927, for the first time, every state observed some form of public holiday on Anzac Day. For the remaining years of the war Anzac Day was used as an occasion for patriotic rallies and recruiting campaigns, and parades of serving members of the AIF were held in most cities.ĭuring the 1920s Anzac Day became established as a national day of commemoration for the more than 60,000 Australians who had died during the war. Marches were held all over Australia in the Sydney march convoys of cars carried soldiers wounded on Gallipoli and their nurses. In London more than 2,000 Australian and New Zealand troops marched through the streets a London newspaper headline dubbed them “the knights of Gallipoli”. The day was marked by a wide variety of ceremonies and services across Australia, a march through London, and a sports day in the Australian camp in Egypt. In 1916 the first Anzac Day commemorations were held on 25 April. What became known as the “Anzac legend” became an important part of the identity of both nations, shaping the ways in which they viewed both their past and their future. Gallipoli had a profound impact on Australians at home, and 25 April soon became the day on which Australians remembered the sacrifice of those who died in the war.Īlthough the Gallipoli campaign failed in its military objectives, the actions of Australian and New Zealand forces during the campaign left a powerful legacy. More than 8,000 Australian soldiers had died in the campaign. At the end of 1915 the allied forces were evacuated from the peninsula, with both sides having suffered heavy casualties and endured great hardships. What had been planned as a bold stroke to knock Turkey out of the war quickly became a stalemate, and the campaign dragged on for eight months. The Australian and New Zealand forces landed on Gallipoli on 25 April, meeting fierce resistance from the Ottoman Turkish defenders. The ultimate objective was to capture Constantinople (now Istanbul), the capital of the Ottoman Empire, an ally of Germany. In 1915 Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of the expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli peninsula in order to open the Dardanelles to the allied navies. When Britain declared war in August 1914 Australia was automatically placed on the side of the Commonwealth. When war broke out in 1914 Australia had been a federated nation for only 13 years, and its government was eager to establish a reputation among the nations of the world. The soldiers in those forces quickly became known as Anzacs, and the pride they took in that name endures to this day. It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War.ĪNZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. Anzac Day, 25 April, is one of Australia’s most important national occasions.
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