20
December 2015
A century passes since the evacuation
from Gallipoli
Today,
Sunday 20 December, marks 100 years since the last
Australian and New Zealand troops were evacuated
from Gallipoli.
Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and Minister
Assisting the Prime Minister for the Centenary of
ANZAC, Stuart Robert, said the evacuation of the
Anzac and Suvla areas of Gallipoli occurred over 12
nights, from 8 to 20 December 1915, with only
minimal casualties, in what would be celebrated as
the greatest achievement of the unsuccessful
Gallipoli campaign.
"By
December 1915, as the campaign dragged on into its
eighth month, it became obvious that the stalemate
on the battlefield could not be broken. The August
Offensive had failed and increasingly heavy shelling
pounded the Anzac-held sectors," Mr Robert said.
"After
months of deliberation, the snow, blizzards,
frostbite, illness, and shortages of supplies and
reinforcements finally forced a decision: the
peninsula would be evacuated and the Gallipoli
campaign would be over.
"Although Turkish soldiers were probably aware that
something was taking place, the evacuation
operations were a triumph of staff planning, and on
the last two nights the final 2,000 Australians
silently boarded the waiting boats and left
Gallipoli behind.
"Those
who were among the last to leave kept up the
appearance of normality, maintaining the sporadic
fire that had come to characterise the fighting on
the peninsula. Anzac losses had been heavy on the
peninsula, totalling more than 28,000 Australian
casualties, almost 9,000 of whom had been killed in
action or died of wounds or disease."
To this
day almost half of these servicemen have no known
graves, having been reported "missing in action" or
"buried at sea". The New Zealanders, British,
French, Indians, and other allied troops similarly
counted their casualties in the thousands.
The
campaign involved a total of almost one million men
on both sides. The heaviest losses were among the
Turkish forces, who suffered more than 251,000
casualties, of whom 87,000 died.
In the
second volume of the Official history of
Australia in the war of 1914–1918, Australia’s
war historian Charles Bean wrote: "There were few
people in Australasia of whom some near relative or
close friend did not lie on those hillsides
abandoned to the enemy."
As part
of the commemorations, Minister Robert will
introduce the Last Post Ceremony at the Australian
War Memorial today, focusing on the story of Staff
Sergeant Harry Bowser, who was one of the few
Australian casualties resulting from the evacuation.
Representatives of many of the countries that took
part in the Gallipoli campaign will also attend and
lay wreaths at the Last Post Ceremony.
Media Contact:
Richard
Briedis (Minister Robert’s Office): 0477 391 174
Dale
Starr (Department of Veterans’ Affairs): 0428 805
578
