The battle of Gallipoli remains a significant battle in New zealand history for a number of reasons. Firstly we have a whole day dedicated to remembering the people who fought in gallipoli (Anzac day 25th April). The day first became a national holiday for NZ in the 1920s and its been celebrated ever since. -1- . It's significance over the years has definitely increased , now hundreds turn up to memorials held all across the country to remember those who lost their lives fighting for us. For NZ this date shows a sense of unity more than any other date as this was the battle which brought all of NZ together and where NZ gained a national identity instead of just being part of Britain. On this day people wear poppies as a symbol of remembering those who lost their lives. This battle also sheds light on the idea that war is futile. 2721 New Zealanders died as a result of this battle -2- . A huge loss for New zealand which would affect many families physically by not having their husband or son there but also mentally by knowing their gone. Neither side can win this tells us that even though the allies eventually won the war was it worth it? losing thousands and thousands of men in an effort to bring peace. Right now wars are still happening over the world one of them the Afghanistan war by the US as a result of the 9/11 attacks. Over 21000 Afghanistan civilians have been killed -3- a huge loss. This is a battle which many say is a futile battle and will just end more worse than is started. The battle of gallipoli continues to have a lasting effect today because of what NZ lost and gained that day. In that battle we lost a lot of men which affect communities around NZ but we also gained an national identity. The New Zealanders who fought in that battle proved themselves to be on par with the rest of the soldiers, this gained us respect from the other allied soldiers who they fought beside. When the news of Gallipoli reached NZ people were happy to hear that our soldiers were finally fighting however this opinion quickly changed as we heard of how the campaign was a costly failure and many families were filled sadness reading the causality lists and seeing their family member on it. But because of this battle -4- and how the NZ troops displayed traits of courage, bravery and loyalty to their king and allies we gained a national identity and defined NZ as a nation. Because of this new found identity NZ had greater confidence in it's international endeavors and new found allies. We made more contributions to the world and strengthened the close ties we formed with Australia during the war.
-1- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallipoli_Campaign#Legacy
-2- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallipoli_Campaign#Casualties
-3- http://costsofwar.org/article/afghan-civilians
-4- http://www.anzac.govt.nz/significance/
-1- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallipoli_Campaign#Legacy
-2- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallipoli_Campaign#Casualties
-3- http://costsofwar.org/article/afghan-civilians
-4- http://www.anzac.govt.nz/significance/