Tag: ANZAC
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The War with the Ottoman Empire
The Great War looms very large in Australian society and culture, something which the commemoration of the centenary years emphasises but certainly didn’t create. Some of the stories about the Great War are ill-informed, prone to sentimentality and dominated by myths and popular beliefs. Australia’s part in the war with the Ottomans exemplifies these tendencies…
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Oxford Word of the Month – December: Billzac
Billzac – noun: a typical Australian soldier. During the First World War a number of terms for the typical Australian soldier appeared. In the early stages of the war a name from the Boer War, Tommy Cornstalk, was revived and used, along with Tommy Colonial. After the landings at Anzac Cove in 1915, the term…
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The Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force – September 1914: Australia’s first ever joint military operation
One hundred years ago, in September 1914, Australia began its first ever joint military operation. The occupation of German New Guinea, taking place more than seven months before the Anzac landings, will always be overshadowed by the larger and more violent event at Gallipoli, but in its own regional context it was at least equally…
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Oxford Word of the Month – November: Snowball March
Snowball march – noun: a march held during the First World War to encourage army recruitment, particularly from rural areas. During the First World War, a method for recruiting soldiers, especially from rural areas, was the snowball march. After the outbreak of war, committees were formed in most Australian towns to organise and encourage recruitment….