REMEMBERING OUR ANZAC ALLIES 
ANZAC Day is the anniversary of the landings on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey by allied forces on 25th April 1915. What followed was one of the bloodiest battles of the First World War, with heavy casualties sustained on both sides.
Including those wounded or evacuated for sickness, the total number of Allied casualties numbered around 142,000. The Turkish forces lost over 86,000 in addition to more than 164,000 wounded. Australian and New Zealand forces fought for the first time under a united command as the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, or, more famously, the ANZACs.
Casualties at Gallipoli amounted to almost 9,000 Australians killed and in excess of 19,000 wounded. For New Zealand, near to 3,000 lost their lives and over 5,000 were wounded. These figures do not include those who died in the years following as a result of their physical wounds or mental trauma. For many the very personal cost of war continued daily long after the end of the war.
While the guns fell silent, those fortunate enough to survive returned to a world forever changed, many left to face their own personal battles. First officially recognised during the First World War, shell-shock, combat fatigue - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder - is an enduring experience of all wars.
In both countries, ANZAC Day, 25th April, not only commemorates those first landings at Gallipoli, but also all Australians and New Zealanders who have given of themselves in the service of their countries and communities in the years since then.
#LestWeForget
