For those of you not familiar with the British Empire and their participation in WWI, there are a number of good references out there on the participation of the colonies in operating under the British Flag in the war effort.
Perhaps the most notorious of these was the blood bath at Gallipoli where Australia and New Zealander troops attempted to take a Turkish Strong hold directly uphill in the face of machine gun fire. Needless to say, there were thousands of deaths without success. The “bold strike against the Ottoman Empire” envisioned by Winston Churchill became a total blood bath.
The 25th of May April [thanks to Catdownunder for reminding me since I don’t have always have a clue about when either things happened or what month I am in ] has become a day of national remembrance.
Besides the NZ and Australian contingent on ship, there were a significant number of allied military and friends for both the memorial service and luncheon.
Actually it is the 25th April not May – and few people remember that the Turks lost more men than the allied forces – but yes, a significant event in military history…and a deeply disturbing one
Thanks for the correction – I will get it fixed. And here I was in April (complete with dead brain…..)