A SOLDIER has told Anzac Day crowds that the Gallipoli campaign represented the first time Australian troops were subjected to the grim reality of war, but the Australian spirit still shone through.
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Captain Zachary Williams, based in Tamworth with the Royal Australian Army Corps' Hunter River Lancers, retold the story of the Anzacs to a crowd of old and young in Gunnedah on April 25.
Hundreds of people gathered in the town to march and pay their respects on Monday, the 107th anniversary of the landing of Australian and New Zealand forces on the Gallipoli peninsula.
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The 1915 campaign, led by the British and the French, aimed to seize control of the Turkish straits and expose Constantinople to bombardment by Allied shipping.
The Australians were the first to arrive on the cove, now known to the world as Anzac Cove, and the New Zealanders would follow later in the day.
They were met with fierce Turkish resistance with little cover against enemy fire.
"In short, the sands were littered with the bodies of the dead and dying," Captain Williams said in his special address.
"Every inch of ground gained was paid for with the blood of thousands."
Some 2000 Australians were killed or wounded on that first day alone. The campaign locked into a gruesome stalemate. Many soldiers also fell to disease and illness due to deplorable conditions on the front line.
"But still, the Anzacs fought on," Captain Williams said.
After eight months and limited success, the campaign was lost and the decision was made to evacuate. About 8700 Australians and almost 2700 New Zealanders had been killed.
Despite the disastrous outcome, Captain Williams said the day marked a milestone to be remembered.
"For the first time, Australian troops fought under their own banner, and in the interests of their own country," he said.
"Gallipoli was so much more than a lost campaign in a far off land.
"It became ingrained into our nation's psyche, into our identity, our very literal baptism by fire."
Captain Williams served in Iraq and East Timor, and said it was an important responsibility to pass on the knowledge of Gallipoli to the young people of Australia to learn and be inspired.
Gunnedah Shire Council mayor Jamie Chaffey spoke at the service, and said there was an obligation to show gratitude for peace.
"Let us take strength in the knowledge and hope that our sons and daughters will never forget the example set by their forefathers," he said.
During the past century, Anzac Day has come to honour all those people who have served.
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