How did The Battle of Gallipoli impact the soldiers and their families?
The Battle of Gallipoli impacted soldiers and their families to an intense level where these soldiers experienced something that they hadn't before. It was both a physical and mental challenge due to the inadequate training and preparation that lead to the battle. The edginess of being given the word to attack on demand took a toll on some soldiers while others shined after the 5 months of training in Egypt.
Christopher Pugsley argues that "most of the young men who went had no real idea of what war was like imagining that they would return from it, even if some others would not". Many soldiers were high spirited due to the chance of travelling, because of this their mindset was not the war but adventure and this mentally painted an unrealistic picture of what to expect of the war. Among the many reasons of soldiers volunteering to go to war in 1914 was that they thought of it as a way adventure, a chance that shouldn't go a miss. These soldiers did not take into consideration, nor could they have possibly imagined the conditions that they would face while their trip overseas. Although the ANZAC soldiers may have only landed a few kilometers from their intended landing location, the soldiers were impacted by the change of territory which was complete opposite to what they had prepared themselves and expected to be faced against. The uneven area left nowhere to find cover as troops scattered neglecting to stay in their units thus making them easy targets for the Turks who were dominantly positioned high up in the cliffs. This would have affected the soldiers mentally doubting their life expectancy as men were dying around due to the disorganization. Just on the first day there were 2300 casualties. This instantaneously demoralized the high spirited soldiers and awakened them to the reality of the world that they now lived in and came to realize what they were fighting for.
The main impact that the battle of Gallipoli had on the soldiers was psychological as the morality decreased due to a chain of unsuccessful attacks. More than anything the battle at Gallipoli was a mental battle seeing friends and fellow soldiers falling in front of their eyes. As deaths increased men felt trapped and thought that they would be next, this restricted some soldiers skills as they began to self doubt, to fighting for their nations. "Flying overhead an allied armed man looked down & reported the water was absolutely red with blood".
A major effect of the battle for about 80, 000 soldiers was shell shock. Shell shock is psychological disturbance caused by prolonged exposure active warfare and in this case it was heavily the result of bombardment from artillery guns. As some even described the constant sound of bullets being fired as “Moaning Minnie”. There were many mild symptoms that could have meant anything such as headaches, tiredness and being unable to concentrate would have all had cases of shell shock but didn't know about it. So, most of the time soldiers were unaware of what they were suffering from, who later had mental breakdowns in the front lines making it hard for them continue further on.
The Gallipoli Peninsula had steep valleys, and high cliffs soaring above long narrow beaches. In summer the weather used to be hot and in winter it would be cold. Most of 1915 this landscape was home to thousands of young men, many of whom like the New Zealanders, were far away from home. Both the sides dug to protect themselves against enemy firing guns. These were known as trenches or in other words the Front line defense for either side. As seasons changed at Gallipoli it became harder for soldiers to keep safe in the bad weather and unsanitary conditions. This change became a physical battle to survive more than anything as the bad weather lead to tougher fighting situations as it went from severely hot to chilling cold to thundering rainstorms. They weren't prepared to the changes of weather as in Egypt it was extremely hot all the time. A medical condition that became common due to the change in weather all the time was trench foot where soldiers would spend time in the wet, cold and unsanitary trench conditions for as less as 13 hours causing Trench Foot. Trench Foot caused some soldiers to have fungal infection resulting in gangrene where at some extremities some would have even needed to get their feet amputated.
A historian claims that "when in November however, they were subjected to a blizzard, followed by some days of frost, they suffered all the more from weather conditions so far unknown to them" which further supports the idea of the lack of knowledge the men had of their surroundings while fighting the battle. This left many young soldiers to "suffer".
Fresh food was considered a delicacy at Gallipoli during 1915 as the main diet of the ANZAC soldiers consisted of tinned food which tasted like “chewing rock”. These tinned foods were bully beef, sugar, jam and hard biscuits. Though there were enough to go around it was not healthy for these soldiers and didn't provide them with the nutrition’s and proteins to be active. Soldiers were impacted by the lack of proper food available for consumption because it restricted their energy levels and their vitality. Due to the availability of water soldiers were given commands by their officers on when to drink water as it was scarce. Some even stole water bottles those who shot to death in the battlefield. This would have left some soldiers feeling like they were betraying their fellow troop members by taking their resources off them when they should have at least given them a burial. As their principles had changed. The lack of appropriate food and contaminated water caused soldiers to catch diseases such as Dysentery a painful gut disease where when examined by doctors over three quarters of the ANZAC’s suffered from it. A historian has the same perspective from the NZ history website in saying "It was no wonder that men fell ill. Disease, especially dysentery, flourished among men already weakened by weeks of inadequate food".
Gallipoli definitely wasn't a holiday for the ANZAC’s who went there as soldiers became sleep deprived and most of those wound died. About 64% had terrible skin sores that overtime became infected due to the minimal sanitary conditions at Gallipoli. Rat’s also became a huge problem for soldiers as they started infesting on the in rubbish in no man’s land and later moved to the food kept in the dug outs which lead to a widespread of diseases, that couldn't be controlled as there were too many rats and not enough repellents .
Many of the soldiers who had volunteered to fight for the British Empire where in search of adventure; World War One gave them the opportunity to fulfill their dreams for a short period of time. But for some soldiers the journey didn't leave up to their expectations. Many of these young lived in an alternative reality as most of them didn't know what war was like as they hadn't even merely stepped out of their towns or villages in the past. Soldiers minds had caught up to the reality of what the world had come to and this started to deteriorate their hopeful chance of survival for the future. Most men were homesick than anything, life was so much easier back home for the ANZAC’s where innocence rained free. Though some how the ANZAC’s had proved everyone wrong as they had been told “the world was watching them” and this motivated them to make not only themselves proud but their nation as well. Soldiers overcome the doubts that were on their shoulders as they entered the war.
"In New Zealand patriotic feeling felt high.......Part of a mighty empire we were proud to defend......It was adventure that took me there the last thing I thought about was my king and country"
This gave many of the young men determination to keep going as they were fighting for their freedom as well and it became of importance to them as soldiers to fight for their nation after seeing what the consequences of war truly was. This allowed soldiers to remember that death was evident in a war like this but it was up to them as soldiers to decide their fate. The ANZAC soldiers were better trained than other allied soldiers and their mindset to live helped them to capture Chunuk Bair for a moment. The ANZAC’s remained highly optimistic through the battle of Gallipoli as giving after losing so many of their troop members was needed to be avenged.
It is said that nothing good comes out war but in Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front, a positive characteristic that shined: comradeship. The Australian and New Zealand soldiers fighting against the Turks had created a bond with each other that would last a lifetime. They would pick each other up through the toughest times and always pushed each other to see the sun the next day. Despite having high death tolls soldiers obeyed orders and held their ground from the first day they landed at Gallipoli as they now had the objective to see what they had all came to do. Comradeship had affected soldiers on both the sides as a brief truce had been called during the Battle of Gallipoli for the ANZAC’s and Turk’s on working together to bury the dead in a large communal grave. Some might argue it was to clear up the no man’s land for space and get rid of the infestations while other say it was to pay respect to the people they called “Friends”. In some ways the cruelty of war had brought the best out of soldiers in their trust for one another due to their loyalty.
As the evacuation plan started to go ahead many of the ANZAC’s soldiers were infuriated by the decision to leave the Battle at Gallipoli as losing all those men from day one would have meant nothing. Many of those wounded died on stretchers because of the long wait for the evacuation on the beach. Many men who went back home alive after the war were impacted both positively and negatively as in the eyes of the New Zealand general public they were perceived to be “Heroes” and were treated with respect and honor for their contribution on the freedom of their nation. While this was happening a number of the young soldiers were scarred forever, though it wasn't visible to others. They didn't want to talk about the war as what they saw had changed their lives forever and didn't want to be reminded of the horrific state that existed in the world at such a peaceful time.
The Battle of Gallipoli had not only impacted the soldiers who went off to fight in the war but their families as well. At the time the New Zealand society was feeling patriotically high to be fighting alongside big nations such as Britain and France. The New Zealand society was developing and finally recognized at a national level. As Fathers, Brothers and Sons volunteered to recruit the army families came to their side for support. So, after training in Egypt for so long the nation of New Zealand was delighted to hear the new positioning of the soldiers. Families were proud to have known someone to be fighting for their country after training for so long. This excitement died down as families started to learn what war was? One thing was for sure that neither the soldiers nor their families think of the consequences that lay ahead.
The extreme loss of lives publicized in the daily newspapers darkened the New Zealand mood and impacted not only the soldiers at war but the people back home becoming increasingly concerned with the outcome of the war. Families became restless anxiously waiting for the end of the war. Whilst staying connect with their family members at Gallipoli supporting each other in any way possible such as by writing letters which kept the soldiers sane. At times these letters would take weeks to come back panicking families back home of their safety. Since, some families had all the men in the family fighting at war. A historian from the documentary Gallipoli- NZ story states that "As a nation we would embrace war so warmly ever again", a misconception that the New Zealand soldiers families had back in the time.
New Zealand’s involvement in the Battle of Gallipoli had impacted families to ration their food as well by having meatless days once a week and recycling clothes that they wore. It wasn't a huge impact like the soldiers were facing in the trenches but more like a compensation for not being able to fighting along and so they supported in any way that they could.
As the evacuation began at Gallipoli, the New Zealand mood darkened further as families thought that the abandonment meant that all the lives lost was for nothing which infuriated them making a Gallipoli a worthless cause.
Those injured soldiers who traveled back home were scarred more mentally and didn't want to speak of their perplexing experience at Gallipoli. Family members felt helpless as they didn't have the knowledge on how to make these soldiers feel like themselves again. So, most of the time they didn't ask questions and the communication that existed within families were now blocked.
To many people at the time The Battle of Gallipoli almost seemed like a worthless cause that shouldn't have taken place. It was a chain of misfortune starting with it being “poorly conducted” and “under resourced”. The men who came home were changed by their experiences and for those who never came home; their families were changed for generations. As coming home and dying in the battlefield had the same extent of horror because all sanity was lost, after the realization of what war conditions truly were.
The Gallipoli didn't have a positive impact on the soldiers and their families but for the nation as whole it was just only the start.
These words were written to help soldiers do their best, but the words used were saddening and self-inflicting of whether they even had a chance of winning if not, why were they even going to put up a fight, almost giving up which would have impacted soldiers not to perform to the best of their skills.
The landing at Gallipoli at ANZAC Cove was so far from other allies that the soldiers were completely on their own. Kilometers away whilst other troops landed closely to each other, having the thought in the soldiers head of support being only a few kilometers away while the ANZAC soldiers suffered great ordeal and lack of reassurance.
"Trench Foot"
Tea and other drinks were scarce which impacted soldiers to save and enjoy with whatever they got.
The food they had to bare was so bad that when "thrown at the Turks who sometimes threw them straight back", showed the challenges they faced.
In seeing such a long list of causalities those dead families to break losing their loved ones.
Though it is not commonly spoken off some soldiers were forced to a tipping point of killing themselves in seeing the horrors of the war as it had drastic negative effect.
For many getting wounded and dying had the same effect as the wounded waited for assistance they died. Some soldiers effect was inevitable as they were going to end up in either situation.
Everywhere they turned they had to be careful as the wreckage had created obstacles such as holes which these soldiers are using as a protection ground. The battle had an impact on soldiers to always be aware of their surroundings.
The soldiers had to live in crowded areas having no space as their home, which lead to being homesick. 40,000 men to a dairy farm was the limited amount of territory that they were able to gain and it impacted soldiers to feel suffocated.
As soldiers were falling at Gallipoli mothers back home mourned for their sons and what the war had done to them.
The excruciating losses that families had to face were to a huge extent. Families back home were impacted hugely in losing their loved ones as children never got the chance to grow up with their fathers.
The soldiers impacted so badly that they shot at anything "they saw or heard, real or imagined", They were "frightened" as it was something unlike that they had experience before.
Another Impact that many soldiers faced which affected the people back home, was soldiers going missing without a trace. Leaving families to wonder whether dead or alive.
A common problem that the soldiers were impacted with was the lack of water and they felt confused and tried unwilling to write their journey. For some the battle effected their spirits to the way that they had, had when entering the war.
Ormond Burton was a soldier who had fought in the battle of Gallipoli but when it came to the second world war didn't want to part of something that destroyed lives but rather finding peace within by putting the arms down.
"We looked now for the new world for which we had paid as a purchase price, the best blood of a generation…"