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Added April 2009

ANZAC Legend Begins - And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda

On 25 April 1915, the Anzacs (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) landed at a difficult and desolate spot on the Gallipoli peninsula and the Turks appeared to be ready for them, a defeat was inevitable, The Gallipoli campaign was a debacle, Military censorship prevented the true story being told but a young Australian journalist, Keith Murdoch (father of Australian newspaper tycoon Rupert Murdoch) smuggled the story about the scale of the Dardanelles disaster back to the Australian Prime Minister who sent it on to the British Prime Minister David Lloyd George, who was no friend of the British military establishment. It led directly to the dismissal of the British commander, Sir Ian Hamilton who never again was to hold a senior military position.

The British Government ordered an evacuation. By day, the ANZACs kept up their attacks with more ANZACs observed to be landing - by night the force was withdrawn, broken only by sporadic rifle and gunfire. On 20 December 1915, the Anzac retreat was complete, unnoticed by the Turks who continued to bombard the Anzacs' empty trenches. On 9 January 1916, the Turks carried out their last offensive on Gallipoli, revealing only that the entire force had withdrawn without casualty. The evacuation was the Allies most successful operation in Gallipoli.

A British Royal Commission into Gallipoli concluded that from the outset the risk of failure outweighed Its chances of success. The British had contributed 468,000 in the battle for Gallipoli with 33,512 killed. 7,636 missing and 78,000 wounded.

The ANZACs lost 8,000 men in Gallipoli and a further 18,000 were wounded. The ANZACs went on to serve with distinction in Palestine and on the western front in France.

Australia had a population of five million - 330,000 served in the war, 59,000 were killed.

New Zealand with a population of one million lost 18,000 men out of 110,000 and had 55000 wounded.

Rare Anzac Footage

Letter from Gallipoli

Frank Clark's letter from Gallipoli produced for the Auckland War Memorial Museum by Storyboards.


Gallipoli - ANZAC legend - heroes song


Over 8,000 Australian soldiers died in the Gallipoli campaign, and even though the campaign was a military failure, the ANZAC legend was formed. Australia was a young nation and the courage and character shown by Australians at Gallipoli was quickly recognised and honored back home.

The Battle of Gallipoli took place at Gallipoli from April 1915 to December 1915 during the First World War. A joint Imperial British and French operation was mounted to capture the Ottoman capital of Istanbul and provide a secure sea route for military and agricultural trade with the Russians. The attempt failed, with heavy casualties on both sides.

(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) In Turkey, the campaign is known as the Çanakkale Savaşları, after the province of Çanakkale. In the United Kingdom, it is called the Dardanelles Campaign or Gallipoli. In France it is called Les Dardanelles. In Australia, New Zealand and Newfoundland it is known as the Gallipoli Campaign or simply as Gallipoli.

The Battle of Gallipoli resonated profoundly among all nations involved. To this day, ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) Day is commemorated in Australia and New Zealand (2,721 New Zealand soldiers died at Gallipoli), the battle often considered to mark the birth of the national consciousness of each nation, replacing their former collectivised identity under the British Empire.

In Turkey, the battle is perceived as a defining moment in the history of the Turkish people - a final surge in the defense of the motherland as the centuries-old Ottoman Empire was crumbling. The struggle laid the grounds for the Turkish War of Independence and the foundation of the Turkish Republic eight years later under Atatürk, himself a commander at Galipoli.

The song on this video is a national war memorial song and a tribute to the ANZAC spirit of mateship, courage, and sacrifice.

The song is timeless and honours the memory of those who have died in the service and defence of Australia in war.

The marching theme of the song is especially powerful and supports the spirit of ANZAC Day.

Any public broadcast or performance of the song requires the permission of the author - please contact Peter Barnes by email here or phone 0418 82 7756.

You can contact the author of the song if you would like to use the song for commemorative purposes for ANZAC Day and Remembrance Day. Music sheets are also available.

Concept, title, lyrics and copyright owner of the song: Peter Barnes