Our Journal: First World War Studies

The reasons for the allied defeat at Gallipoli in 1915 have been much debated and disputed. Yet one factor which has not been seriously considered is the role of food. This paper argues that food, water and diet played a significant role in the Gallipoli campaign. It provides eight reasons why the provision of food and water at Gallipoli was logistically complex, sometimes unique to the peninsula and warrants special attention. It then goes on to discuss the physical and psychological effects of a monotonous, un-nutritious diet which depleted the immune systems of previously healthy men. The vast majority of the Anzacs quickly succumbed to the infectious diseases spread by the plague of summer flies. Once sick, providing the men with the same unappetising, un-nutritious rations just made them sicker. Gallipoli should be infamous not only for the poorly planned and executed military campaign, but as the place where the Australian Imperial Force evacuated twice as many men for sickness than it did for the treatment of wounds. In other words, the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force (MEF) did a better job of depleting the fighting strength of its own forces than the enemy. One of the main reasons for this was the failure of the MEF to provide its army with a nutritious, palatable diet and sufficient water.

Key Words: Gallipoli, logistics, diet, nutrition, Anzac, Mediterranean Expeditionary Force

The Gallipoli campaign occupies an important place in modern Turkish history, a position reinforced by the release of new publications and the construction of additional monuments to mark the centenary of the conflict. However, these are comparatively recent developments as, just decades ago, the Gallipoli campaign was not regarded as significant to the foundation of the Turkish Republic nor as a powerful source of national identity. While popular Turkish remembrance and commemoration of the campaign began with the wartime propaganda and myth-making of the period, the Turkish War of Independence proved more significant to the national consciousness, inspiring its own particular myths and legends. Yet, with the passage of time, official military histories, personal war narratives, the construction of the Dardanelles Martyrs’ Memorial in the early 1950s and the official campaign of the 1980s to create a more articulated Gallipoli history proved instrumental in establishing Gallipoli as crucial to the foundation narrative. Alongside this, recent political and sociocultural developments have also seen the creation of an alternative Islamic myth (with the controversy that accompanies it) while reinforcing the omnipresence of Gallipoli in Turkish history and national consciousness.

Key Words: Official military history, war memorials, memory, remembrance, Gallipoli, Turkey

This article examines differences of emphasis in Australia and New Zealand in the rituals of Anzac Day, the anniversary of the Gallipoli landings on 25 April 1915. Whereas Anzac Day in New Zealand is solemn, with a focus on the laying of wreaths and services at war memorials and churches, in Australia the day is distinguished more by marches of returned servicemen, cheered by large crowds. By exploring the emphasis on different components of what are shared rituals, on the march of the veterans and the laying of wreaths, the article aims to outline and explain how and why Anzac Day is more funereal in New Zealand. It proceeds to highlight the ‘NZ’ in Anzac through a study of myth, ritual, memorialisation, heroes, and reinvention, and finds that, contrary to accepted views, the conscription debate in Australia is insufficient to account for this divergence of emphasis in Anzac formalities from 1916. Rather the article suggests that the coincidence of the South African War and Australian Federation at the dawn of the twentieth century, different nationalisms, and political, social, and cultural disparities between the dominions provided the context for divergent scripts of remembrance and meaning enacted in Anzac Day rituals since the First World War.

Key Words: Anzac Day, Gallipoli, rituals, remembrance