Evening star., 1941-01-10
Fighting Australians

1t was in keeping with Australia's
traditional part in defending the
British Empire that the Dominion's
troops formed the spearhead of the
attack which finally reduced Bardia,
adding one more brilliant chapter to
the annals of Australian military
history. During long months of
waiting tens of thousands of Aus
tralians had languished in Egypt,
yearning for action as did another
Australian army twenty-five years
ago. When their moment came, they
went into battle with a song on their
lips. These men are individual fight
ers. They fight not as part of a
machine but with all the fervor of
human beings who are fighting a
righteous, personal battle, glorying in
the chance to lay down their lives, if
need be, for their democracy.
The victory of Bardia is a worthy
companion piece to the Anzacs' land
ing on the Gallipoli Peninsula in 1915.
Inflated from the very start. that
expedition to capture the straits from
the Turks is still a glorious incident
in Australian history, worth retelling
as explanation of the Australians
ferocious assault at Bardia When
the decision was made to attack the
Turkish straits, the Anzacs were
given the honor, for which they had
clamo' ed, of making one of the two
prir -ipal landings on the Gallipoli
Peninsula. The plan, drawn with
little regard for ultimate objectives,
Va. for the Anzacs to land on a
each at Gaba Tepe, which the Turks
had prepared with barbed wire far
but into the water. BY mischance, in
the darkness of the early morning
of April Is, 1915, the landing was
made not where the Turks had ex-
pected it, but a mile north, on
narrow beach lined by high cliffs
and opening out into long gullies
which were perfect for Turkish en-
filading fire.
The Australians and brother New
Zealanders made their landing in
the face of terrific bombardment
and attack from the Turks. Their
attack has been credited as the
greatest of the assaults of the Battle
of the Landing, as the first assault
of the Gallipoli campaign was known.
Four thousand were first sent ashore
and this number was increased to
twelve thousand by the next after
noon. The Anzacs showed their
mettle that day and for many days
to come until the decision to evacuate
the peninsula. They held on day
after day against Turkish shrapnel
and snipers. The forty thousand who
ultimately were landed at Gallipoli
proved their will and stamina under
the most intense strain on physical
endurance. These men were officered
largely by Australian reservists, busi-
ness and professional men who had
spent their, vacations at training
camps. Through the First Battle of
Anzac Bay in May, the Second Battle
of Krithia the same month, the at
tack on Sari Bair in August and the
capture of Hill go, which was the last
important position won by the Med
iterranean Expeditionary Force at
the Dardanelles, the empire troops
gave additional proof of their
prowess. That the fight finally was
given up was not their fault.
Australia has sealed her bonds with
the British Empire with the blood of
her sons. She sent 329,883 troops
overseas in the other World War.
Of these, casualties totaled 314,O78,
and 59,302 died from wounds or
disease. The imperial bonds are
just as strong now, as the prime part
played by the Australians at Bardia
demonstrates.