Today is a special day for Kiwis.

New Zealanders consider 25th April to be an important national day of commemoration - not of war and the horrors of war, but of bravery and valour, “brotherhood”, and nationhood.

Indeed, for many of us it is considered now to be the day, back in 1915, when our small developing nation, regarded dispensable by British war lords, deserted in its most dreadful hour by Mother England, truly became of age.

It is a special day of reflection in my own family, my father-in-law having fought at Gallipoli back then. I never knew him as he was a much older man when my husband was born, and died long before I met his son. But the family memories remain, and it will not be forgotten how these men fought so bravely, as did the Turks opposing them. Both sides had enormous respect for each other, which made fighting that much more difficult. It is easier if you hate your enemy, but when that does not turn out to be the case, one has to remember the bigger picture… that the man in the uniform could well become your friend, but what he stood for was something else.

These days there is a special relationship between Kiwis, Aussies and Turks. This was evident when my husband, on business in Turkey, happened to mention his father’s participation in the Gallipoli campaign. It opened many doors and he was greeted like a brother. Note the words below of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881 - 1938), the Founder of the Turkish Republic and its first President, on the Ari Burnu Memorial, Gallipoli. It was this same man, Lt-Col (later Colonel) Mustafa Kemal Bey (Ataturk), who commanded the Turkish forces pitted against the ANZAC troops on the Gallipoli Peninsular in 1915:

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

~ ATATURK, 1934

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We have not forgotten you, those of you to whom Colonel Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (1881-1938) were referring when he said these very moving words in 1934…

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

We will not forget you, not any of you, and what you did for the rest of us.

~ requiescat in pace ~

They shall grow not old, As we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, Nor the years condemn, At the going down of the sun And in the morning We will remember them. ~ Laurence Binyon (1869-1943)

New Zealanders consider 25th April to be an important national day of commemoration - not of war and the horrors of war, but of bravery and valour, brotherhood and nationhood.
Indeed, for many of us it is considered now to be the day, back in 1915, when our small developing nation, regarded dispensable by British war lords, deserted in its most dreadful hour by Mother England, truly became of age.

Today is a special day for Kiwis.

To read more: ANZAC Day

The words on the memorial above read as follows:

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

~ ATATURK, 1934

These are the words of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881 - 1938), the Founder of the Turkish Republic and its first President, on the Ari Burnu Memorial, Gallipoli. It was this same man, Lt-Col (later Colonel) Mustafa Kemal Bey (Ataturk), who commanded the Turkish forces pitted against the ANZAC troops on the Gallipoli Peninsular in 1915.

April 25 is known as ANZAC Day. This year it is the 91st anniversary of the landing of the Anzacs on the beaches of Turkey’s Gallipoli Peninsular, 25 April 1915.

ANZAC is the acronym for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, the formation created in December 1914 by grouping the Australian Imperial Force and New Zealand Expeditionary Force stationed in Egypt under the command of Lieutenant-General William Birdwood. Initially the term ‘Australasian Corps’ had been mooted for this force, but Australians and New Zealanders were reluctant to lose their separate identities completely.

The Significance of Anzac Day

On 25 April 1915, eight months into the First World War, Allied soldiers landed on the shores of the Gallipoli peninsula. This was Turkish territory that formed part of Germany’s ally, the Ottoman Empire. The troops were there as part of a plan to open the Dardanelles Strait to the Allied fleets, allowing them to threaten the Ottoman capital Constantinople (now Istanbul) and, it was hoped, force a Turkish surrender. The Allied forces encountered unexpectedly strong resistance from the Turks, and both sides suffered enormous loss of life.

The forces from New Zealand and Australia, fighting as part of the ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps), played an important part in the Gallipoli campaign. At its beginning, people at home greeted with excitement the news that our soldiers were at last fully engaged in the war. New Zealand soldiers distinguished themselves with their courage and skill, establishing an enduring bond with the Australians they fought alongside.

The Gallipoli campaign was, however, a costly failure for the Allies, who after nine months abandoned it and evacuated their surviving troops. Almost a third of the New Zealanders taking part had been killed; the communities they came from had counted the cost in the lengthy casualty lists that appeared in their newspapers. And the sacrifice seemed to have been in vain, for the under-resourced and poorly-conducted campaign did not have any significant influence on the outcome of the war.

Although Anzac Day, the anniversary of the first day of conflict, does not mark a military triumph, it does remind us of a very important episode in New Zealand’s history. Great suffering was caused to a small country by the loss of so many of its young men. But the Gallipoli campaign showcased attitudes and attributes - bravery, tenacity, practicality, ingenuity, loyalty to King and comrades - that helped New Zealand define itself as a nation, even as it fought unquestioningly on the other side of the world in the name of the British Empire.

After Gallipoli, New Zealand had a greater confidence in its distinct identity, and a greater pride in the international contribution it could make. And the mutual respect earned during the fighting formed the basis of the close ties with Australia that continue today.

Over recent years there has been increasing interest shown by New Zealanders generally in the observance of ANZAC Day with Dawn Parades and commemorative services held at cenotaphs around the country. Many of us would like this day to replace Waitangi Day (NZ Day) to become our National Day, and it would be very fitting for it to become so, being the day in history where we were left alone by “Mother England” to cope the best we could with the botched decisions made back in Whitehall - the day we trace back to our coming of age as a nation that stood on its own feet, stood the ground, and stood with courage under terrible odds. I personally would like to see that happen.

Previous ANZAC Day entries to Judah’s Journal

I wish I could have been there.
The atmosphere must have been quite interesting at Anzac Cove (Ari Burnu) on Turkey's Gallipoli Peninsular this past Monday.

NZ's top military man, Chief of Defence Force Air Marshal Ferguson, told those gathered for the dawn service that the failed campaign was "a combination of extreme tragedy, gallantry, occasional inspired leadership at lower levels, gross incompetency at higher levels, and of endurance, cruelty and compassion."
He said all this and more - that it was "a folly of high command, joint warfare at its worst from the British side, a lack of focus, blunders and a squandering of life" - all in front of Prince Charles who sat there listening to it all.

At long last these things are being said out front. They have been thought in private for long enough.
It was not at all what I was taught in school, but it was certainly what I discerned when I took history a little more seriously and read for myself some time later on.
Neither are these notions gleaned from the 20/20 vision of hindsight.
That the colonials - the Aussies and the Kiwis - were considered dispensable canon fodder is a matter of attitude.
Likewise, the Turks were discounted as a serious fighting force, plus no topological map was considered necessary for planning such an invasion.
There were some real "know it alls" in the bunkers of Whitehall.

The Anzacs did die valiantly, but could their sacrfice have been not so much for freedom's sake as a pagan atonement for the sheer arrogance of those in office?

Yet by asserting such beliefs, I have no wish to upset my British friends.
They are not responsible for bad decisions of some men in power now 90 years ago.
No offence intended, and I hope that neither will offence be taken.
After all, Prince Charles was said to be "not concerned one bit", an interesting springboard itself for potentially treacherous thoughts.
I must not make the jump. The rocks below are surely encrusted with a seditious paranoia.

But the week has moved on and other matters will soon be barging in to take their turn for the mulling.
Apart from Scottish porridge, I shall continue to spare you from a knowledge of my breakfast menu.
That is, anyone who cares to read any of these words anyway…

Ninety years ago today (25 April) NZ and Australian troops (known as the ANZACs) landed on beaches of the Turkish Gallipoli Peninsular with orders to take Chunuk Bair, the high point of extremely rough terrain beyond which was the strategic waterway, the Dardanelles.

This daring and ill-conceived plan back in 1915 was the brainchild of the British First Lord of the Admiralty, Sir Winston Churchill, who had not reckoned with the hostile geography of Gallipoli nor the fighting courage of the Turks.

Already in position at Chunuk Bair, Turkish troops under the command of General Mustafa Kemal, later called Ataturk ("Father of the Turks"), rained down deadly artillery and machine gun fire, pinning the ANZACs to their narrow strip and decimating them.
Casualties were extreme, 32% Kiwis killed and a further 55% badly injured and maimed. The Australians suffered likewise. It was a slaughter.

Meanwhile, the British and French forces were landing at Cape Helles, some 30 kms to the south, and after coming ashore to no resistance were enjoying cups of tea upon the beach.

Fighting continued another 9 months with massive casualties on all sides - including the Brits, the French and the Turks.

Lt.Colonel Malone of NZ's Wellington Regiment initially refused orders to take Chunuk Bair, saying ‘I am not going to send them over to commit suicide.'
He was not popular with British command for his adamant stance that never again should NZ forces be commanded by another country's generals.
However, he waited until just before dawn on August 8th and successfully seized Chunuk Bair. At about 5.00 pm that same day some long-awaited help came in the form of an artillery bombardment from a British warship just offshore.
But the shells and shrapnel burst amongst the few surviving Kiwis causing further casualties. Of the 760 troops who began the assault at first light, only 70 were left unhurt by the end of the day.
Ironically, William Malone was one of those killed by a shell fired from the British destroyer out at sea.

These days the Turks and the ANZACs share strong bonds of friendship based on mutual admiration for each other's courage and honour during that terrible Gallipoli Campaign.
General Ataturk established a memorial to the ANZACs at Anzac Cove, the beach where they landed, and showing the measure of the man he was, wrote these very moving 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 to us between the ‘Johnnies' and the ‘Mehmets,' where they lie side by side here in this country of ours. . . You, the mothers, who sent your sons from faraway countries, wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well."