Oy Oy Oy.
Anzac Day down under, mates. Eh…call it a slow blogging day.
Anyway…
ANZAC Day – 25 April – is probably Australia’s most important national occasion. It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. The soldiers in those forces quickly became known as ANZACs, and the pride they soon took in that name endures to this day.
So, basically they wanted to capture Istanbul (not Constantinople…or is it the other way around?)…and well, failed. But it’s a big pride thing, Australia was shiny new country back then….for them to travel halfway across the world to topple the capital of the Ottoman Empire? Takes stones, y’know?
John Donovan honors our Aussie brothers with the his usual roundup of old military gear. No idea where he digs this stuff up, but I bet his basement is a trip.
And Greyhawk launches a new grassroots campaign: Free Aussie Milbloggers!
Me? I’ll probably down a few Fosters and go leave some drunken comments at Tim Blair’s place.
Update: Crittenden takes the lame route. Not one Outback Steakhouse reference. Sheesh, at least I brought up Fosters.
There is a memorial to Mustafa Kemal, who commanded an Ottoman division at Gallipoli and who latter became the first president of Turkey and became known as Kemal Ataturk (father of the Turks). The memorial features his words:
Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives… you are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours… You the mothers who sent their sons from far away countries wipe away your tears. Your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. Having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.
And watch Breaker Morant, where the mention of “Rule 303″ gave rise to Rule 308!
Well, the Dardanelles campaign was a British strategy. (Churchill’s idea, actually). Australian troops were still under British command at that time. I believe that control of the Black Sea channel was the immediate strategic goal.
And of course the campaign was a failure, but our troops behaved gallantly despite their losses and withdrew with skill. As always defeat provides more opportunity for heroism than victory.
I’m sure you know that the Outback Steakhouse is not Australian cuisine. And Fosters? Don’t make me laugh. Fosters is what we sell to foreigners ;)