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The proportion of single soldiers in the first two divisions that were sent
to Gallipoli would have been even greater, ensuring that, for these young
and inexperienced troops, Gallipoli would prove to be a ghastly initiation
to war for our soldiers.
The fact that most were still young and not married encouraged them to
be rebellious and to show off in front of their peers. “Taking out the
Mickey” of the stiff upper lip was a skill to be practiced and to gain
acceptance from your fellow equals. It was a skill not always enjoyed by
any of their commanding officers who had to do extra to gain acceptance
and respect. Most teachers have empathy with that feeling.
Lastly, it should always be remembered that the response that we call the
Anzac legend was always going to be greater and more influential on the
Western Front where weapons were more life threatening, the scope of
battlefields much greater, more Australians were involved (Five divisions
to Gallipoli’s two divisions) and casualties considerably greater in
number.
Any statistical information to support my argument has been taken from
the AIF Project; a study of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) with the
main features of each AIF soldier’s participation listed in a database with
a pointer to the information stored by the National Australian Archives.
The majority of my information comes from primary sources like the
Embarkation Roll, Roll of Honour and its respective battle losses and
achievements in Unit Histories from the Australian War Memorial and
services found in the National Archives of Australia and National Library
resources.
The following World map shows the vast distances that the AIF
contended with to just get to the war in Europe and Gallipoli and that
ensured that this separation had a considerable influence on the Aussie
spirit and mentality especially when faced with the dreadful realities of
war on the Gallipoli peninsula and northern Europe.
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