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| Massed Pipes and Drums Bands, Sydney, ANZAC Day 2015 |
ANZAC Day, the 25th of April each year commemorates the service and sacrifice of Australians and New Zealanders during war. This special public holiday has generally enjoyed widespread public support particularly with attendances at the Dawn Service and the March of veterans from all wars later in the morning. The choice of the actual date of ANZAC Day being the 25th April has, in more recent years, been something of a question as it commemorates the landing at Gallipoli for the Dardanelles campaign in World War 1 which took place on that date. This particular campaign was a spectacular failure and led eventually to a retreat from the beaches after thousands of casualties in dead and wounded including 8,705 Australians and 2,721 New Zealand troops who were killed in action.
Why then choose the 25th April ? The choice of date originates from 1916 in the middle of World War 1 and it was selected to acknowledge the first military action of Australian and New Zealand Forces. However there were many more battles and campaigns yet to come and the outcome of the War was uncertain at that time. Acknowledging sacrifice via the commemoration of a poorly executed and mishandled campaign is highly debatable. There are other dates of significance which equally could meet the requirement for honouring bravery, sacrifice and loss - on 31 October 1917 the Australian Light Horse fought a hard battle to win at Beersheba in the Palestine Campaign which was a major turning point. The Battle of Hamel on 4 July 1918 is another significant date as the 4th Australian Division under Sir John Monash achieved a significant success which was followed by several other battles on the Western Front under the newly formed Australian Corps, the first time the Australian forces had fought together under Australian command. 45,000 Australian troops died on the Western Front and another 124,000 were wounded, often several times. This sacrifice far exceeds the Gallipoli campaign in both significance and impact. The 25th April as a commemorative date and a symbol of sacrifice and service is a misnomer with far greater events and dates occuring later in the history of WW1.
Why then choose the 25th April ? The choice of date originates from 1916 in the middle of World War 1 and it was selected to acknowledge the first military action of Australian and New Zealand Forces. However there were many more battles and campaigns yet to come and the outcome of the War was uncertain at that time. Acknowledging sacrifice via the commemoration of a poorly executed and mishandled campaign is highly debatable. There are other dates of significance which equally could meet the requirement for honouring bravery, sacrifice and loss - on 31 October 1917 the Australian Light Horse fought a hard battle to win at Beersheba in the Palestine Campaign which was a major turning point. The Battle of Hamel on 4 July 1918 is another significant date as the 4th Australian Division under Sir John Monash achieved a significant success which was followed by several other battles on the Western Front under the newly formed Australian Corps, the first time the Australian forces had fought together under Australian command. 45,000 Australian troops died on the Western Front and another 124,000 were wounded, often several times. This sacrifice far exceeds the Gallipoli campaign in both significance and impact. The 25th April as a commemorative date and a symbol of sacrifice and service is a misnomer with far greater events and dates occuring later in the history of WW1.
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