Anzac day

[Marc Montgomery]

Curious to know of our ANZAC friends --and even Canadians-
if they are aware that 1000 Newfoundlanders participated in the Gallipoli campaign, Sept 1915 to Jan 1916 and also were tasked with the rear guard during withdrawal?

I tend to doubt the vast majority of Cdns know anything about this at all, but because Gallipoli is so ingrained in Aus and NZ..I wonder if it's known there?

[Richard Coutts-Smith]

Nope, not common knowledge over here, and not just Newfoundlanders either:

"On the allied side there are the French, who always get left out of the story. Their casualties were almost twice those of the Australians. Of course troops came from New Zealand, from India, from Australia, from all parts of the Empire –- even Canada: right near the end troops from Newfoundland arrived. And from the United Kingdom itself there were troops from England and Ireland, from Scotland and Wales. This is mostly unknown to Australians and I think it’s a really important part of the story and it puts the Australian role into perspective."
From
https://www.awm.gov.au/blog/2013/04/...ridge-too-far/

Now you have pointed it out I feel more than a little embarrassed, never let the facts get in the way of a good story.
Rich

[Marc Montgomery]

Didn't know the French were involved so learned something there thanks. I guess everyone else every involve got hammered. One newfoundland letter said hundreds of bits were killed during a landing killed
before they ever fired a shot. Newfoundland landed in Sept and the book you linked to said force
pulled out in Dec. . But newfoundland left in Jan so they must have really been rear guard about half the force died shot and disease with many cases of frostbite from wet frozen feet

[motto]

The French contributed 79,000 men to the campaign with a significant number of them being colonial troops from Senegal and Algeria who get very little mention. From memory, the French force was initially landed on the Asiatic side of the straits before being withdrawn and re-deployed on the peninsula.
And yes, at the tip of the peninsular the British troops were slaughtered as they tried to come ashore from the River Clyde that had sally ports cut in the bow and was deliberately run into the beach. I've stood where this happened and the beach is like the focal point of a large ampitheatre with the Turks on the high ground unable to be reached and with magnificent fields of fire. It was far worse than the Anzacs faced on the day. If it hadn't been for a slight shelving of the beach the devastation would have been total.

David

[hrpearce]

For a birds eye view of Gallipoli and descriptions of who was where a good book to read is Gallipoli Air War by Hugh Dolan.

[Marc Montgomery]

you really have to wonder about those in the high command that would send a force into such an untenable situation.