Gallipoli or Other Peoples' Wars Revisited: Sundry Reflections on ANZAC: a Review Article

Abstract

When one reads that the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps “invaded” Turkey on 25 April 1915 at the behest of the British one wonders really about the writer’s ability to reach a balanced historical judgment. Some seem to forget a number of crucial facts that would need to be taken into account such as that the Dardanelles campaign was a joint operation planned by the British and French for the purpose of establishing a line of communication with their beleaguered Russian ally who was being invaded in Eastern Europe by Prusso-Germany. The latter power was out to do two things, namely first to establish hegemony over mainland Europe and secondly to destroy the British Empire. To accomplish this the Prusso-German power-elite, a reactionary militaristic, anti-democratic aristocracy, had cultivated its dream of Mitteleuropa, meaning German domination of central Europe stretching from a conquered and despoiled France and an occupied Belgium in the West to the Urals in the East where Russia was to be reduced to resemble an insignificant Persia. AustriaHungary was to assist in this gigantic endeavour as junior partner. Over the former