Centenary Anniversary of ANZAC & The Painful Facts

Centenary Anniversary of ANZAC &The Painful Facts

Anzac day - Gallipoli 2015

Its been some time since I have blogged, I found this one I wrote on the day of the Centenary Anniversary of Anzac Day. As Australia and New Zealand commemorate and reflect on the disastrous Gallipoli campaign which saw 8,709 Australian, and population comparable number of New Zealanders dead let alone the wounded and physically and mentally scared and crippled it is high time for both countries to highlight and underline the facts and live with the unpalatable historical reality. That reality is that neither the Australian nor the New Zealand troops whose sacrifice and heroism we celebrate were destined to fight the defunct Ottoman Empire Turks (Young Turks) in Gallipoli. 

The ships that carried them were destined and heading on their way to the Western Front in France to fight the Germans. Why Gallipoli? Simply some months earlier a flotilla of British ships on their way to Russia met their destiny whilst passing through the narrow Turkish Dardanelles. This knockout blow to the British caused the Westminster War Cabinet to go back to the drawing board and rethink its war strategy. The Australian and New Zealander ships were informed when they arrived to the port of Aden in Yemen. The ships were diverted to Egypt which was still British protectorate. 

After some six or seven weeks in Egypt the Australian and New Zealanders were ferried by boats through the Mediterranean and given incorrect landing navigational coordinate. More than 2,000 lost their lives on the first day. They had to carry their armours and make their way up steep terrain in full view of entrenched Turkish forces under the command of the tried and proven Young Turks Officers led by Mustafa Kemal, the father of modern Republic of Turkey.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustafa_Kemal_Atat%C3%BCrk

After the initial Turkish onslaught the Australian, New Zealanders, and British troops dug trenches and gave the Turks well deserved beatings often hand to hand with bayonets and machetes. Lone Pine became a well known battle landmark. But as Australia and New Zealand commemorate the centennial anniversary 25 April 2015 what exactly are they commemorating?

Had it not been for the disastrous Gallipoli campaign it would have been highly likely Mustapha Kemal would not have become the hero and dubbed Ataturk the ‘Father of the Turks’ and the founder of the modern Republic of Turkey. So in reality the ten or fifteen thousand Australian and New Zealanders, including the Prime Minister of both countries, and numerous dignitaries and military chiefs who went on this centenary occasion to commemorate those who lost their lives and whose remains are still scattered in the neatly decorated cemeteries, plagues and ANZAC Memorials are in fact and reality commemorating Mustafa Kemal defeat of not only the ANZAC forces but also his defeat of the Greeks at Sakarya in 1921 and Dumplupinar in 1922, the abolition of the Ottoman ‘Caliphate’ (Sultanate) and the declaration on 29 October 1923 the Republic of Turkey and him as President. Needless to say plus giving sizeable boost to the Turkish economy that is comparatively doing much better than the Australian economy.

In his later days Mustapha Kemal lost lot of his popularity and became reclusive before dying in 1938 aged 57. Besides being excellent military commander who was able to use his knowledge of the region and the Gallipoli peninsula, Mustapha Kemal was also compassionate man who was well aware of the pain caused to the families of those slaughtered and never returned to either Australia or New Zealand or Britain. 

In 1934 he was honoured with the title ‘Ataturk’, Mustapha Kemal made one of the best reconciliation speech ever to his Gallipoli foes, the Australians, the New Zealanders, and the British:

‘Those heroes who shed their blood and lost their lives… you are lying in the soil of a friendly country.

Therefore rest in peace.

There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us they lie side by side in the country of ours…

You, the mothers who sent their sons from far away countries, wipe away your tears.

Yours sons are now lying in our bosoms and are in peace.

After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well’.

The exact words that are carved in stone at the ANZAC Cove Memorial at Gallipoli reads:

‘Those heroes from England, France, Australia, New Zealand and India who shed their blood…’

Kemal Atatürk Memorial inCanberra, Australia.