The Official History Of Australia In The War Of 1914 1918 Volume Ii The Story Of Anzac From 4 May 1915 To The Evacuation

The second volume in this series covers the period immediately following the ill-fated Gallipoli landing of 25 April 1915 until January of the following year. It tackles in detail the evacuation of Helles, the struggle for Krithia, the repulse of the Turks, the battles of Lone Pine and Sari Bair, and the landing at Suvla Bay. Kitchener's visit to Anzac and the subsequent British Government order to evacuate Anzac and Suvla are also given good coverage. The Struggle for Krithia. The Change to Trench-Warfare at Anzac. The Anzac Artillery and the Problem of the 400 Plateau. The Problem of Monash Valley. The Turkish Attack of May 19th. The Open Flank at Anzac. May 29th - The Turks Break into Quinn's. The Solution of the Problem in Monash Valley. The Growth of the Anzac Line. Operations in June and July. German Officers' Trench.˚The Beach. The Sickness of the Army. The self-government of the AIF. New Troops and a Mental Change. The Plan on the Second Offensive. The Preparatory Demonstrations - Leane's Trench. The Attack upon Lone Pine. The Counter-Attack at Lone Pine. The Night Advance on Sari Bair. The Feints of August 7th. The Checking of the Advance on August 7th. The Attempt upon Hill 971. Chunuk Bair - The Climax in Gallipoli. Chunuk Bair - The Climax in Gallipoli (continued). Hill 60. The Fate of the Expedition. The Autumn. The Onset of Winter. The Evacuation. The Final Stage. The Official History of Australia in the War of 1914-1918 is a 12-volume series covering Australian involvement in the First World War. The series was edited by C.E.W. Bean, who also wrote six of the volumes, and was published between 1920 and 1942. The first seven volumes deal with the Australian Imperial Force while other volumes cover the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force at Rabaul, the Royal Australian Navy, the Australian Flying Corps and the home front; the final volume is a photographic record. Unlike other official histories that have been aimed at military staff, Bean intended the Australian history to be accessible to a non-military audience. The relatively small size of the Australian forces enabled the history to be presented in great detail, giving accounts of individual actions that would not have been possible when covering a larger force.

Commemoration of war is done through sport on Anzac Day to remember Australia's war dead. War, Sport and the Anzac Tradition traces the creation of this sporting tradition at Gallipoli in 1915, and how it has evolved from late Victorian and Edwardian ideas of masculinity extolling prowess on the sports field as fostering prowess on the battlefield.

The Australian Imperial Force, first raised in 1914 for overseas war service, became better known by its initials - the "AIF". There was a distinct character to those who enlisted in the earliest months and who were destined to fight on Gallipoli. During the war the AIF took its place among the great armies of the world, on some of history's oldest battlefields. The Australians would attack at the Dardanelles, enter Jerusalem and Damascus, defend Amiens and Ypres, and swagger through the streets of Cairo, Paris, and London, with their distinctive slouch hats and comparative wealth of six shillings per day. However, the legend of the AIF is shrouded in myth and mystery. Was Beersheba the last great cavalry charge in history? Did the AIF storm the red light district of Cairo and burn it to ground while fighting running battles with the military police? Was the AIF the only all-volunteer army of World War I? Graham Wilson's Bully Beef and Balderdash shines an unforgiving light on these and other well-known myths of the AIF in World War I, arguing that these spectacular legends simply serve to diminish the hard-won reputation of the AIF as a fighting force. Graham Wilson mounts his own campaign to rehabilitate the historical reputation of the force and to demonstrate that misleading and inaccurate embellishment does nothing but hide the true story of Australia's World War I fighting army. Bully Beef and Balderdash deliberately tilts at some well-loved windmills and, for those who cherish the mythical story of the AIF, this will not be comfortable reading. Yet, given the extraordinary truth of the AIF's history, it is certainly compelling reading.

In Australia, Anzac Day, the anniversary of the first landings at Gallipoli, is one of the most important dates in the national calendar. Yet in Britain, the campaign is largely forgotten. The key to this contrast lies in the way in which the campaign's history has been recorded. To many Australians, the Anzac legend is a romantic war myth that proclaims the prowess of Australian participants in the campaign. It is an exercise in nation-building. In Britain, the campaign is also remembered in romantic terms, but the purpose here is to assuage the pain of defeat. Reconsidering Gallipoli broadens the debate over the cultural history of the First World War beyond the Western Front. The final chapter traces the influence of the early accounts on subsequent portrayals including Alan Moorehead's 1956 book, Bean's post 1965 rehabilitation, Peter Weir's 1981 film, and revisionist attacks on the legend.