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'Gallipoli, for the average Australian, is the most famous battle that our volunteer soldiers ever fought, because it was our first entry as a nation into the war, and our people were keen to prove themselves. It would be, however, a long time before the families back home, and the nation as a whole, heard of the terrible conditions on the peninsula and the waste of life that took place there. Although Gallipoli was a crushing defeat, it was, and still is, celebrated as a victory.
'In this updated commemorative edition, published 100 years after the 25 April 1915 landing, the Gallipoli story is told day by day, using the words of the diggers, drivers, soldiers, and war correspondents at the front-line. War historian Jonathan King has gathered together an unequalled series of extracts from letters and diaries, written by hundreds of Anzacs at Gallipoli, accounting for every one of the 240 days of the eight-month campaign — and even identifying the actual days of the week. Reading the men's own words, including misspellings and mistakes, we share in the soldiers' experiences.
'These Australians, of exceptional calibre and good cheer, each wrote for different reasons, although many made light of their hardships. It is all here — the fear, the frustration, and the boredom, as they scrounged for bully beef; went mad from the flies, the lice, and the stench of the unburied dead; swapped cigarettes with enemy Turks; dodged shrapnel while swimming at the beach; celebrated birthdays; sheltered from rain and shivered in snow; and waited for action while praying for deliverance.
'Although generals, historians, and war scholars have had their stories told many times, it is only now, when we read the private words of the men at the front-line, that we can glimpse what Gallipoli was really like.' (Publication summary 2014 edition)
Notes
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Dedication: To the Anzacs: Those 8709 brave Australian'diggers' who died fighting at Gallipoli and their 2701 Kiwi ;cobbers' not to mention the Brits and their Allies who were killed in that bold but hopeless campaign. And not to forget the poor old Turks who lost more than anybody else defending their homeland.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Remembering Gallipoli and the Men Who Fought There
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 22 April 2006; (p. 12)
— Review of Gallipoli Diaries : The Anzac's Own Story Day by Day 2003 anthology diary -
Miscellany
2003
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 13-14 December 2003; (p. 12)
— Review of Cathy : Her Own Story 2003 single work autobiography ; Gallipoli Diaries : The Anzac's Own Story Day by Day 2003 anthology diary ; My Island Home : A Torres Strait Memoir 2003 single work autobiography -
Untitled
2003
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Bookseller & Publisher , October vol. 83 no. 4 2003; (p. 36)
— Review of Gallipoli Diaries : The Anzac's Own Story Day by Day 2003 anthology diary
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Untitled
2003
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Bookseller & Publisher , October vol. 83 no. 4 2003; (p. 36)
— Review of Gallipoli Diaries : The Anzac's Own Story Day by Day 2003 anthology diary -
Miscellany
2003
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 13-14 December 2003; (p. 12)
— Review of Cathy : Her Own Story 2003 single work autobiography ; Gallipoli Diaries : The Anzac's Own Story Day by Day 2003 anthology diary ; My Island Home : A Torres Strait Memoir 2003 single work autobiography -
Remembering Gallipoli and the Men Who Fought There
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 22 April 2006; (p. 12)
— Review of Gallipoli Diaries : The Anzac's Own Story Day by Day 2003 anthology diary
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Gallipoli,
cTurkey,cMiddle East, Asia,