Saturday, April 24, 2010

Did ANZAC at Gallipoli save England?

"Gallipoli cost Turkey the flower of her army as it was at the outbreak of war. Heavy casualties reduced most of her selected regiments of veteran troops."

What if no ANZAC landing?
What if ANZAC went straight to France?
ANZAC including the Light Horse may have been in earlier offensives in France.
Many more ANZAC would have died in the early attempts at rushing the German trenches.
With no ANZAC to protect Suez Canal, and Murray's lack of leadership, would the canal have fallen to Turkey?
"Murray possessed some great qualities as a soldier, and many charming qualities as a man. But he was the wrong man for Egypt at that time.
The War Cabinet, while insisting upon absolute safety for the Canal and for Egypt, demanded at the same time the release of every man who could be spared for other fields of activity."

"All British soldiers are hero-worshippers, and Murray was not in their eyes a hero. The front was without any sense of the presence of a great leader."

Shipping via Cape of Good Hope would have taken longer, and German submarines may have had more success on this shipping.
Only later with Allenby and the Light Horse did the Suez Canal become secure and final victory at Damascus.
So despite the lack of success at Gallipoli, the question did it save England?

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