The Quality And Qualities Of The Anzacs During The First World War

Australia’s new dependence on America resulted in a large influx of American soldiers to Australia and while Australian society was initially accepting and welcoming of their unorthodox culture, behaviours and morals, this quickly turned to contempt and created an unsavoury relationship between Australians and Americans whom they saw as being a bad influence on the women and youth of Australia. Australians regarded Americans as being, “overpaid, oversexed and over-here”. However, while this had the possibility to cause influential divides in society, Australians realised the necessity for the American presence in their country and the security they had provided, overruling any irritation felt towards them. The Australian war effort in the pacific regions had also served to amplify and fuel the ‘Anzac legend’ creating a national sense of pride and unity during the war. Australia’s involvement in the Second World War thus served to create a more independent Australia, in charge of its own policies and decisions in foreign affairs, creating cohesion within society.

What is the Anzac Spirit or Legend? Who portrays it? Its characteristics are in no doubt displayed by Australian and New Zealand defence force personnel. Arthur Bourke stated that the Anzac spirit is a sensation that can only be felt in every Australian and New Zealander that nurtures intense patriotism in the innermost soul of everyone.

Significantly, the ANZAC legend is the result of a devastating loss, rather than a great victory. The soldiers are remembered for maintaining courage and determination under hopeless conditions. The ANZAC legend owes much to wartime correspondents who used the

World War 1 (1914-1918) was the first official war that Australians took part in, only thirteen years after federating as a country in 1901. During this time, thousands of lives were lost, families were torn apart, and friends were never seen again. April 25th became the national day to commemorate the ANZAC soldiers who had served overseas. Even now, 100 years later, people still remember those who sacrificed themselves for Australia, those who fought and fell in many battles to protect the country they lived in. The Gallipoli Campaign is the most famous battle of World War 1, the battle that every Australian household knows about. However, other battles such as the ones on the

Many events have led up to the shaping of the ANZAC legend along with various individuals and groups contributing to how these events took place. The ANZAC legend is also known as the ANZAC myth, referring to the representation of Australians and New Zealanders that fought for their countries (Australian War Memorial, n.d, online). A vast number of significant individuals played a role in leading the ANZAC’s to World War One and leaving lasting legacies behind them. One of the men, named Battery Sergeant Major G Ellsworth served as an Australian solider and upheld his duty as a proud ANZAC solider until his

Let us acknowledge that we shall forever be in the debt of the ANZACs who unhesitatingly stepped forward to face the enemy, risking life and limb so that we could enjoy a life of freedom, our heads held high.

Yet, the amount of emphasis that is placed on the Anzac legend could be argued to be incorrectly placed and channelled by certain groups for their own gain. This essay will argue that the Anzac legacy of the Australians being the perfect soldier is highly embellished and are no more remarkable than any other soldier. Furthermore the importance and Australia’s involvement in the First World War has been grossly inflated. Additionally, this will analyse claims made by historians and other academics about how the Anzac legend has changed overtime, and Australia’s involvement in wars.

‘A massive increase in the popularity and national significance of ANZAC Day’ (Source 1), grew throughout the twenty-first century. Since the landing of Gallipoli, it has been celebrated and as it continued, it quickly adapted to the cultural change of the media and technology which further improved the growth of its popularity. This day joins all Australians as one, in celebration to show their respect, compassion and pride for those people who sacrificed their lives for our freedom. Damian Morgan conveyed the change in society, but also the well-kept, treasured ANZAC Spirit.

The Anzac legend is still relevant in today’s society as it reminds Australians and New Zealands of the sacrifice they made to protect our country and let us live in freedom. The legend defines our national identity and helps shape our national reputation so that other countries can look at us as and think of us as a country who are determined, brave, resilient and helps our mates when they are in trouble. Almost a whole generation of young men was lost and they deserved to be remembered. The soldiers continued to fight during challenging times and when they felt as though it was too hard and should give up. They slept in wet and dirty clothes and barely had enough food to survive. Australia wouldn’t be Australia without the legend of the soldiers who sacrificed themselves for us.

World War 1 war correspondent and historian Charles Edwin Woodrow Bean believed that Anzac Day 1915 saw the birth of the Australian national consciousness maintaining that "The big thing in the war...was the discovery of the character of Australian men. It was a character which rushed the hills at Gallipoli and held on there during the long afternoon and night, when everything seemed to have gone wrong and there was only the barest hope at the end of success". Gallipoli also saw the birth of the 'Anzac Legend' or 'Anzac Spirit'. A term used to illustrate the characteristics of ANZAC soldiers which encompassed bravery, endurance, ingenuity, comradeship and what Australians call 'mateship'. The term developed as a central part of Australia's collective memory and national identity growing popular largely due to Bean's works.

The Gallipoli campaign had a major effect on Australia’s identity and the way the rest of the world saw Australia as a country. The Gallipoli campaign was a trial to test their nationhood. The campaign shown many qualities of the Australian soldiers including bravery, strength, courage, endurance and mateship. All of these qualities reflect on the nation that the troops came from. The involvement of Gallipoli was a major event that has shaped our country’s reputation and the sacrifices made by so many Australians shows the fortitude that many men had to fight for their nation.

When the war broke out in 1914, Australia was a country who had federated only 13 years prior. Although the government was keen to support the British Motherland (Cook, 1914), WW1 was a time of change for how the Australian society viewed their own identity. What happened at Gallipoli is well known and the courage, determination, and mate-ship demonstrated by the soldiers helped to form Australia’s new identity. The ANZAC legend and the values associated with it continue to shape the way many Australians view themselves and have become an important part of our national identity. The war brought in a new sense of nationalism and helped Australians form this idea of coming together as one country fighting a large battle as a whole. On the 2nd of July, 1915, Galway said “If any day is to be chosen for Australia’s day I think it should be April 25 . . . Those heroes will hand down the finest traditions to their sons and their sons’ sons, and still further on . . .” (Galway, 1915) which showed how majority of Australian society viewed the significance of the events that took place at Gallipoli and how the fight would be remembered in the hearts of Australians forever. The impact of WW1 on Australia’s growing society is present when focusing on how it defined the countries national identity. The Great war brought attention to many significant events in Australia’s

World War I (1914-1918) was considered the 'Great War' and Australia’s Gallipoli campaign has always been considered as the pinnacle of the Australian military feats. This is due to the constant glorification of the event despite the fact it was an unmitigated failure. However, the work of the Australian army force in the most important battleground of WW1 the 'Western Front' is often cast under the shadow of Gallipoli. The battles on the Western Front took place in France, Belgium and parts of Germany and this is where some of the most pivotal battles were fought. The contribution and success of the Australians will be assessed through the analysis of several sources related to four major contributions related to the Western Front. These include the amount of Australians involved, the external opinions of Australia in the Western front, The Battle of

The Anzac spirit was born on the twenty-fifth of April 1915, when Australian soldiers landed upon the shores of Gallipoli to serve their country for the first time. Each year Australians celebrate the mateship, courage and heroism the Anzac soldiers showed during the Gallipoli campaign. Although, people tend to depict these soldiers as victims of a catastrophic trauma, yet this passionate sacrifice is what gave Australia its name. Furthermore, word of discussion argues the truth behind the accuracy of the Anzac Legend. Through the analysis of sources, it is demonstrated that the Anzac Legend displays numerous inspirational characteristics. Thus, the Legend of mateship, heroism and courage is an accurate representation of the fighting Australian and New Zealand soldiers in world war one.

The mateship of Archy and Frank is based on the sportsmanship culture of Western Australia, which was a popular recruitment method for young men that joined ANZAC and, eventually, fought in the Gallipoli Campaign. Archy is a the blindly loyal nationalist that relies on his running skills to put peer pressure on Frank to join ANZAC. Frank initially declines, but the sportsmanship culture encourages a deep bond with a fellow short-distance runner in the effort to maintain mateship. However, there were many different soldiers from a wide variety of backgrounds, such as lower class backgrounds, which define a different and less romantic view of sportsmanship that Weir presents in this film. In reality, man men from the lower working classes joined ANZAC as a way to avoid poverty and low wage work. Archy and Frank’s relationship is a heroic and romantic view of the Gallipoli Campaign, yet it does show the horror and carnage of “bloody murder” of young men, such as Archy, that died in this failed attack against the Turkish Army. In this manner, the film Gallipoli provides insight into some aspects of mateship and sportsmanship between Archy and frank that was certainly valid, but it does not provide a comprehensive and realistic understanding of the multiple perspectives of class status and identity that defined enlistment in ANZAC in WWI.