Contains over 55 photos and 10 maps. “Someone once remarked that the ‘NZ’ in ANZAC is silent, and perhaps people associate ANZAC especially with Australia with its ANZAC Day parade and commemorative services. This book, part of the Official History of New Zealand’s effort in the Great War, clearly shows the extent of New Zealand’s part in that ill-fated Gallipoli campaign. The NZEF sailed from Wellington on 16th October 1914, in all 351 officers and 7410 other ranks making four infantry battalions, four mounted rifles regiments, an artillery brigade, sappers, signals, medical and other divisional troops. They disembarked in Alexandria on 3rd December and the infantry battalions were attached to the Canal defence force where, in February 1915 they had their first brush with the Turks, repelling an attack on the Canal. In Egypt they combined with Australian troops to form the New Zealand and Australian Division, landing on Gallipoli on 25th April 1915. By the end of the campaign they had suffered 7,197 battle casualties (Medical History of the War ) or almost one hundred per cent of the original expeditionary force. [It] gives a clear picture of the terrain over which the battles were fought, the climate, the conditions, the intensity of the fighting and a realistic account of the horrors of the battlefield. The easy-to-read text is supported by a wealth of contemporary photos and clear maps. There is a list of honours ... (one VC) including Mention in Despatches .... The appendices also contain tables showing ships transporting the NZEF and which units each carried; the ships carrying the division to Gallipoli; the detailed strengths, by units, of the original expeditionary force and subsequent units raised during the Gallipoli campaign. There is a very useful glossary of all the place names mentioned in the text with translation of some of the Turkish features e.g., Tepe, a hill; Kale, a fort; and there is a Gallipoli Diary.” —N&M Print Ed.

Illustrated with more than 25 photos and 3 maps. In these gripping battlefield memoirs of Lt.-Col Weston, he recounts his experiences of the bloody fighting that the New Zealanders experienced fighting in Europe during the First World War. The Author sailed from his home in New Plymouth in 1915, as an ex-cadet he volunteered for active service, his destination was to be Egypt as thence to the hellish conditions of Gallipoli. He fought side by side with his men of the Wellington Battalion until the eventual evacuation of all the Allied forces. Little respite was allowed to the author and the other Anzacs who had survived Gallipoli as they were pitched into the fighting on the Western Front during the battle of the Somme in 1916 and then again in the fierce battles of Messines, La Bassée and Passchendaele. By this point Weston had been promoted Lieutenant but was wounded by artillery fire at Ypres in 1917 his war was at an end, being invalided from the service with full honours.

Revealing and often heartbreaking, this collection of letters offers a powerful firsthand account of a pivotal event in New Zealand history: World War I's Gallipoli Campaign in 1915. Grouped in chronological order, the correspondence—gathered from archives, newspapers, and family collections—details the campaign's harrowing conditions and key events, from preparation and landing on the Ottoman peninsula to the December withdrawal. In these epistles, the intense emotions of the men who survived the trenches are made known, whether it be jubilation at ground gained or sorrow at the passing of friends. Biographical notes on the letter writers, historic photographs, and a comprehensive introduction are also included.

An essential account of the ill-fated 1915 campaign, led by the British and supported by its allies from the Empire, to open the Bosphorous sea route to Russia. Tells the complete story of the military operations, the experience on the ground as it was lived by those who fought there; and the impact that the conflict had on colonial society. This is the New Zealand story of Gallipoli, but one that also illuminates the campaign as a whole, taking into account the Australian, British and Turkish experience. Draws on the diaries, letters and reminiscences of New Zealanders who were there, and extensive research into primary and sceondary source material and photographs to give a narrative that takes into account every aspect of this legendary campaign - separating out the reality of the battlefield from the mythologising that ensued.

Excerpt from The New Zealanders at Gallipoli Of the New Zealanders who survived, Russell was beyond doubt the outstanding personality on the Peninsula. Steady as a rock, with a clear head and a firm character, he belongs to the type of soldier who will shoulder responsibility and never leave either his men or his commander in the lurch. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.