Australias War Essay Research Paper Australia s

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Australias War Essay, Research Paper Australia s economic and military contribution to the World War 1 allied victory. England entered the First World War on August the 4th 1914, after Germany refused their demands to respect Belgium s neutrality in the war. Australia also entered the war in 1914 for the simple reason it was a British colony, not a sovereign state and it had no choice but to be 1 involved in the war. According to Beaumont (1995), Australian s felt a deep attachment to England and the outbreak of the war was greeted and embraced in Australia, with great public enthusiasm2. This enthusiasm was due among other reasons to the fact that many of the Australian immigrants and culture had originated from Britain. This deep attachment to the mother country motivated

Australia to contribute to and become involved in the allied war effort on many different levels. One of the main contributions Australia made to the allied war effort was its military involvement. Australia s first military contribution was its rapid recruitment, formation and dispatch of a military contingent, shortly after the outbreak of the war. Within weeks a force of 20,000 troops, which had previously been promised to the British, was formed, by a flood of volunteers (many thousands of who were rejected because they did not fit the standards of fitness).3 Three months later on the 1st November, 20,000 members of the Australian Imperial Forces (AIF) and two NZ brigades where sailed to Egypt for training. The troops spent four and a half months training in Egypt, until they

were sent to the Gallipoli peninsula on the 25th of April 1915, to fight the Turkish. Due to a navigational error the Australian troops landed one mile off course of their intended landing zone, and where faced with unexpectedly perilous and steep terrain. The Australian troops dug in to the steep beach slopes, establishing a tenuous foothold and despite attempts by both sides to overrun the other, a stalemate situation ensued which continued for the rest of the year. The Gallipoli campaign or the battle at Anzac cove has received the most attention and recognition of any campaign of the AIF during the war. After this campaign the AIF became more recognised and after Gallipoli the potent Anzac legend was forged . 4 The Anzac legend was another contribution that Australia made to

the war effort. The Anzac legend portrayed the Australian soldier as a superb fighter who was deeply loyal to his mates. 5 This supposed ascendancy or eliteness of the Australian troops would have given the British troops serving with them a boost in moral and instilled confidence in the allied soldiers fighting along side them. After Gallipoli the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) was reorganised over a three-month period and expanded from two to five infantry divisions. Beginning on March 1916 all of these divisions were progressively transferred to the Western front in France, to relieve pressure on the strained French troops. On the 19th of July the 5th Division where committed to a diversionary attack at Fromelles in which they suffered 5,533 casualties in a single twenty-four

hour period. On the 23 July 1916, the 1st Division of the AIF attempted to capture the German stronghold at Pozieres on the Somme. Although previous attempts by British troops to capture the hamlet had failed, the Australian troops initially succeeded in capturing their objective. 7 The 1st division where then heavily bombarded by German Artillery and the 2nd and 4th division where brought in as reinforcements. The campaign lasted for 45 days until the AIF where relieved in which time 23,000 casualties were incurred. In 1917 the Australians began the year with an offensive against the Hindenburg line at Bullecourt in April and May in which they eventually captured part of the German lines and unusually held it for nearly a year, at the cost of 7000 casualties. 8 On the 7th of