Who Were The ANZACs?

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ANZAC is the acronym for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. The first ANZAC Corps was formed in December 1914 when the Australian Imperial Force and New Zealand Expeditionary Force stationed in Egypt, were combined under the command of Lieutenant-General William Birdwood.

The name 'Australasian Corps' was originally suggested but both Australians and New Zealanders were reluctant to lose their separate identities completely.

Painting by Ellis Silas,

The ANZACs made their operational debut at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915. The cove where they landed quickly became known as 'Anzac Cove', and the title ANZAC was soon being used to describe all Australian and New Zealand soldiers who fought at Gallipoli, and eventually any Australian or New Zealand soldier.

In both Australia and New Zealand, Anzac Day on 25 April, is the day of remembrance for the fallen in all wars. On 31 August 1916 the word 'Anzac' was protected by law to prevent its exploitation for business or trade purposes.

The above was researched with the assistance of the following websites which contain a lot more interesting info on the history of the ANZACs - I recommend a visit:

• The Australian Government's ANZAC-commemorative site.
• NZ History.net's ANZAC site.
• The Home of ANZAC Day.org.
• A great World War I archive site.