Why did Australian troops go to Gallipoli?

I will contribute a two part answer to this question The tactical reason that troops were sent to this area was a foolish plan designed by Churchill, a mid level English military leader in 1915 The plan was to occupy the area, force the Turkish army to abandon their largest city, Istanbul/Constantinople. This would cut off all supply from Europe, including Germany, to Central Power armies in Asia minor, Syria, Arabia, etc. Thus, these areas could quickly be overrun by Allied armies and a great victory achieved. Of course, even a cursory review of a map reveals that the logistical support for such a campaign would be daunting.

Distances were huge. German/Turkish support was readily available via rail. The invasion beaches were poorly selected.

The weather was awful. The Turks proved excellent fighters and quickly contained the British positions. German submarines in the Mediterranean shot up many Allied warships in the close quarters.

Ultimately the entire fiasco was cancelled by the Allies and the survivors withdrawn. The area remained under Central Power control for the wars duration. Churchill, rightfully, lost much prestige over this campaign.

However, he learned nothing from the disaster. In 1941 he began planning again for a campaign of a similar fashion. This new plan was to invade.....Italy.

Again, the troops got bogged down in rough terrain and terrible weather. Again, the effort in this peripheral arena drained resources that were critically needed on other fronts, thus extending WWII as it had WWI My second answer is in regards specifically to the use of Australian troops in this battle.It is well known by most history buffs that the English love to use 'colonials' for their heaviest fighting. The English may take the credit for victory later, but they prefer that most casualties be in the column of others.

Thus they used Australians to fight in Turkey in 1915, Canadians to 'test' invade France in 1942, Canadians and Americans in 1944 to do almost all the heavy fighting in Normandy, and Americans to invade Italy in 1943 (even when the American leadership opposed the Italian campaign as a waste and irrelevant to the main issue). Thus as you read details on various 'English' engagements in WWI and WWII, you will note that very often the troops involved are Scottish, Indian, South African, Australian, New Zealanders, etc Answer To support to the British Empire during World War One However the colonial British ( Australians ) were not committed to the fighting in Europe at the time the British government decided to attempt to knock Turkey out of the war as Turkey had sided with Germany and was a threat to British interests in the middle east . It was also considered to a way of supporting Russia as Russia was fighting against the Germans The plan was to attack the capital of Turkey by using the British and French navies to sail through the Dardanelles ( a narrow waterway leading to the Turkish capital ) and shell Istanbul thereby forcing the Turks to surrender That plan failed because of the fierce resistance of the Turks on each side of the Dardenelles and mines which sank many of the ships A new plan was devised to land troops and capture the forts blocking the way French , British and ' Australian' troops landed on the Turkish peninsular near Gelibolu ( Galipoli ) but were held and finaly repulsed by the Turks Which meant that the British attempt to knock Turkey out of the war had completely failed .

The British and allied forces retreated and the survivors were sent to fight in Europe The Australian AND New Zealand troops were originally sent to assist in taking over Constantinople. Since there were mines in the Dardanelles the fleet were forced to land up the coast, but due to miscalculations we landed in Gallipoli, faced with nothing but hills and cliffs.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.