Harvey Broadbent, Turkish language expert and author of Gallipoli books

If you only read one book about Gallipoli this year, we suggest you make it one of Harvey Broadbent’s.  

Harvey Broadbent is a Turkish language expert, and he spent five years in Turkish military archives unearthing the Turkish side of the Gallipoli story. He was granted access to an extensive collection of previously unresearched documents, ranging from official government records to military and personal diaries and correspondence of soldiers. The result is the fullest possible, most comprehensive account of the Turkish defence yet produced, and this fills a huge gap in the history of the Gallipoli campaign.

He has produced two books about Gallipoli – 

Gallipoli, the Turkish Defence is the primary academic publication arising from his research. It is a very readable reference book for details of the Ottoman Turkish military operations and the personnel involved. It is illustrated with maps, some of them original, and archival photographs and quotations from historical documents.


Defending Gallipoli, the Turkish Story is a condensed version, designed to appeal to the general reader interested in learning about the other side of Gallipoli. It relates the Turkish story at Gallipoli in an engaging style.  Maps are included that help explain the troop movements, especially some reproduced field maps.

Assoc. Prof. Broadbent writes “As a historian, you strive to find out the truth about history. For something as important to Australia as the Gallipoli campaign has turned out to be, it is essential to find out the facts, and we’ve never had a comprehensive account.

“What we’ve known of the Turks so far has been general and superficial, from limited sources. Even the Turks haven’t transliterated most of their own documents (from the archaic language of Osmanlinca to contemporary Turkish), so we’re really breaking new ground by doing that – both for Australia and Turkey.”

Both Turkey and Australia appreciate the importance of the Gallipoli Campaign in their national identities and ideals. These books give a factual account of events not previously given in Gallipoli accounts.  They provide understanding of how the Ottoman forces at Gallipoli affected the outcomes that led to the Allies failure, and show how the Turkish commanders and their troops responded to the invasion of their homeland and were able, under great pressure, to resist, persevere and ultimately succeed. 



Reading the accounts of the Gallipoli landings from the Turkish point of view is simply astounding. The initial ANZACs were held off by so few. Mustafa Kemal, that brilliant tactician, features, as do other commanders, such as those facing the Australians at the Nek. The Turkish soldiers are humanised – no longer just ‘Johnny Turk’ – but named, and shown to be suffering as all did at Gallipoli, especially conscripts.  


Assoc. Prof. Broadbent’s work was made possible by a partnership between Australian and Turkish organisations to mark the centenary of the Gallipoli Campaign. We have all of Assoc. Prof. Broadbent’s books in the City of Ballarat collections, and they are available for you to borrow.

Meanwhile, back on the Peninsula

The 8th Battalion, with many Ballarat and district men in its ranks, has been resting on Lemnos Island, away from Anzac since early September.  Now it is time for the men to return to "have another shot at 'Joe Turk'". First the men were marched out and embarked on the Abbassia, but as the piers at Anzac Cove had been damaged in a storm, and there was nowhere to land them, they disembarked and returned to camp - which had been struck, on their departure. The entire battalion camped overnight in the YMCA hut.

On the evening of 21st November, the battalion boarded the Princess Ena, and departed for Anzac Cove, where they were sent up to Bolton's Ridge, and occupied support trenches just vacated by the 10th Battalion.

Now the 8th Battalion worked at sapping tasks, but the change of weather from July to November could not have been more extreme.  On 24th November a blizzard left half a metre of snow on the ground, followed by severe frost.  The weather conditions provided further justification for an evacuation of Gallipoli, but the men themselves were unaware of this possibility.

A snow covered gun position of the 9th Battery in November 1915. [AWM P00046.040]

Spirit of ANZAC: Centenary Experience

Ballarat is fortunate to be one of the first stops in the nationwide tour of the Spirit of ANZAC travelling exhibition.  The exhibition tells the story of Australia’s involvement in the First World War, and also dedicates one gallery to the history of Australia’s armed forces up to the present day - involved in conflict, peacekeeping, peacemaking, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief around the world.  A key feature of the Experience are the curated ‘local stories’ zones, created in collaboration with local communities; these zones contribute a legacy for each region the exhibition visits.

Spirit of ANZAC is the flagship community project of the Anzac Centenary national programme - it is free to attend, but it is essential to book, as each visit to the Experience is expected to last around 60 minutes after admission. People are advised to arrive promptly at the time specified on tickets to allow enough time for briefing.

 I've just been exploring the website, which is very good, and also very enticing. Spirit of ANZAC features genuine artefacts and historical stories in "a fully immersive space" - I'm looking forward to my visit to the exhibition on Monday.  All the booking information can be found on the website, and a plan of the Experience so you can see what to expect. For schools there is a series of useful teaching kits, and there is a space if you wish to write your own story to commemorate an Australian service man or woman from the Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour.

Spirit of ANZAC will be in Bendigo next, in case you miss it here, or it will be in Geelong 2017, after having been all round Australia.

http://www.spiritofanzac.gov.au/

Australian War Census

As the casualties in Gallipoli continued to mount one of the confronting issues facing new Prime Minister Hughes was recruitment for the AIF.  A War Census was established that required males aged between 18 and 60 to complete a questionnaire  about their potential for military service. Questions they were asked included their age, marital status, occupation, state of their health and any military training they may have had. Prime Minister Hughes had also raised the stakes by promising Britain a further 50,000 more troops in addition to the monthly 9,500 troops which were being sent as reinforcements for the 60,000 troops that were already overseas. The War Census established that 600,000 fit men between 18-44 wre avaiable for military service.  Each of these men was sent a personal letter asking them if they were willing to enlist now or if not when they would be willing to enlist.  If they stated that they were not willing to enlist at all they had to state a reason why as explicitly as possible. The War Census did have its opponents as it was seen as a precursor to military conscription. An issue which later in the war would divide Australia.

The following is an article from the Ballarat Courier providing the results of the War Census.

Ballarat Courier 22 October 1915

This is one of the recruitment posters used during this time. Depicts the national symbol of the kangaroo against a backdrop of advancing soldiers. Full title reads: 'Australia has promised Britain 50,000 more men. Will you help us keep that promise?'

Courtesy of Australian War Memorial  ARTV00021