A soldier from New Zealand or Australia.
[A(ustralian and) N(ew) Z(ealand) A(rmy) C(orps).]
Anzac An'zac' adj.
Anzac
Dictionary:
An·zac (ăn'zăk')  |
n.
A soldier from New Zealand or Australia.
A soldier from New Zealand or Australia.
| 5min Related Video: Anzac |
| Military History Companion: Anzac |
Anzac (see also Australian Imperial Force). Anzac is by turn an acronym, a place, a day of commemoration, and a cultural force. During the preparations for the Gallipoli landings the term was coined as ‘telegraphese’ to describe the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps commanded by Birdwood. The stretch of Turkish coastline where the Australians and New Zealanders had gone ashore quickly became known as Anzac Cove, and the whole of their position as ‘Anzac’, while the men themselves were known as ‘Anzacs’; this was underpinned with the subsequent issue of a small letter ‘A’, sown on the colour patch, worn by all survivors of the campaign. Anzac Day, 25 April, was first observed in Egypt, London, and Australia in 1916 and has evolved into Australia's true (though unofficial) national day. It is marked by solemn services at dawn and a march of veterans later in the morning and continues at the end of the 20th century to draw increasingly large crowds in attendance.
The Anzac legend grew out of the Great War experience, and helped to define the national character and national symbols in a country which had only been created in 1901. Although there were many writers, artists, and public figures who had a hand in shaping the Anzac legend, foremost among them was C. E. W. Bean, the official historian of Australia's war effort. The legend, like the control of Anzac Day observances, has been contested territory within Australian public life, and critics have argued that it militarizes the national culture and excludes those groups, especially women, for whom war service was generally not an option. While there is some truth in this, Anzac Day itself has functioned in a more inclusive manner in recent times with veterans from the communities of post-1945 non-British migration claiming a place in the march.
— Jeffrey Grey
| British History: Anzacs |
The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps was raised at the beginning of the First World War. Australia, with a population of 5 million, raised 322, 000 volunteers, of whom 60, 000 lost their lives—one of the highest casualty rates. New Zealand, with 1.1 million people, raised 124, 000 troops, of whom 17, 000 died. They took a major part in the 1915 landings at Gallipoli, a plan imaginative in concept, disastrous in execution.
| Wikipedia: Australian and New Zealand Army Corps |
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The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps was a First World War army corps of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force that was formed in Egypt in 1915 and operated during the Battle of Gallipoli. The corps was disbanded in 1916 following the evacuation of Gallipoli. The corps is best remembered today as the source of the acronym ANZAC which has since become a term, "Anzac", for a person from Australia or New Zealand.
Plans for the formation of the corps began in November 1914 while the first contingent of Australian and New Zealand troops were still in convoy bound for, as they thought, Europe. However, following the experiences of the Canadian Expeditionary Force encamped on Salisbury Plain, it was decided not to subject the Australians and New Zealanders to the English winter and so they were diverted to Egypt for training before moving on to the Western Front in France.
The British Secretary of State for War, Horatio Kitchener, appointed General William Birdwood, an officer of the British Indian Army, to the command of the corps and he furnished most of the corps staff from the Indian Army as well. Birdwood arrived in Cairo on 21 December 1914 to assume command of the corps.
It was originally intended to name the corps the "Australasian Army Corps", this title being used in the unit diary, following the common practice of the time, which often saw New Zealanders and Australians compete together as "Australasia" in sporting events. However, protests from New Zealand led to the name "Australian and New Zealand Army Corps" being adopted. The administration clerks found the title too cumbersome so quickly adopted the abbreviation "A. & N.Z.A.C." or simply "ANZAC". Shortly afterwards it was officially adopted as the codename for the corps but it did not enter common usage amongst the troops until after the Gallipoli landings.
At the outset the corps comprised only one complete division, the Australian 1st Division. In addition there were the New Zealand Infantry Brigade and two mounted brigades — the Australian 1st Light Horse Brigade (1st LH) and the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade (NZMR).
Another convoy transporting an Australian infantry brigade (the 4th) and two light horse brigades arrived shortly afterwards. Initially the brigades were arranged by combining the two extra infantry brigades into the "New Zealand Division" and the mounted brigades into the "Mounted Division" but this was deemed unsatisfactory. Instead the New Zealand and Australian Division was formed with the two infantry brigades plus two mounted brigades (1st LH and NZMR). The remaining light horse brigades became corps troops. These two divisions would remain the core of ANZAC for the duration of its existence.
Despite being synonymous with Australia and New Zealand, ANZAC was a multi-national body. In addition to the many British officers in the corps and division staffs, ANZAC contained at various times:
- the 7th Brigade of the Indian Mountain Artillery (corps artillery)
- the Ceylon Planters Rifle Corps (150 men, corps troops)
- the Zion Mule Corps (transport)
- two half-brigades (4 battalions) of the Royal Naval Division
- the British 13th (Western) Division
- one brigade of the British 10th (Irish) Division
- the 29th Indian Infantry Brigade
See also
- Anzac Day
- Anzac spirit
- Military history of Australia during World War I
- Alec Campbell, the last living ANZAC at Gallipoli[1]
- ANZACs at Gallipoli
- Travel to Gallipoli
References
- Scanned PDF volumes from the Australian War Memorial of the Official History of Australia in the War of 1914-1918:
- Visit Gallipoli: Australian site about Gallipoli and the Anzacs, includes previously unpublished photographs, artworks and documents from Government archives. A site by the Australian Department of Veterans' Affairs.
- New Zealanders at Gallipoli
- ^ Shaw, John. "Alec Campbell, Last Anzac at Gallipoli, Dies at 103," New York Times. May 20, 2002.
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 | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Military History Companion. The Oxford Companion to Military History. Copyright © 2001, 2004 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| British History. A Dictionary of British History. Copyright © 2001, 2004 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. Read more |
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Mentioned in
- Mutiny on the Western Front: World War I (1981 Film)
- bungaloid growth (architecture)
- Against the Grain: More Meat than Wheat (1981 Film)
- FM William Birdwood
- Anzacs: The War Down Under (1985 War Film)
- Mauri (1989 Thriller Film)
- Grated Carrot, Apple, and Raisin Salad (recipes)
- Original Masters: Night Passage (1998 Album by Alan Lamb)
- Nola Luxford (Actor, Drama/Western)
- Gallipoli campaign
- (Cedric) Bruce Dellit (art)
- Australian Imperial Force
- Utu (1983 Historical Film)
- Gallipoli
