The Anzac Fantasy Analysis

Intro
Bean is perhaps most remembered for his Official Histories of Australia. The story of the Anzac legend may have never been told if it was not for this talented writer, however while some elements of it are well accepted, others have been greatly disputed by other researches and historians of the time, the validity of his accounts and his strengths and weaknesses will be discussed in this essay.
Paragraph one: - What did bean set out to do in his writings?
Bean was concerned about how Australians would perform in battle. He saw World War One as the plain trial of national character. His approach was to accurately record and analyse what happened on the battlefields. Beans method was generally to describe the setting of the war, then …show more content…
Critics have however depicted Bean’s observations and Eric Andrews’ author of ‘The Anzac Illusion’ claims that what Bean had described as the ‘heroic endurances’ of Australian soldiers at war, was merely a product of limited choice. Andrews goes on to observe that what Bean has called patriotism and loyalty of our troops, could have in fact just as easily have been homesickness. Allister Thomson, one of Beans more prolific and persistent critics argues that what Bean perceived as ‘uniquely Australian mateship’ was actually a primary relationship between most soldiers in all armies. Coulhart suggests that mateship was not unique the Australian army for the German, French and British forces all had strong traditional ties of friendship, fostered and exploited by the military hierarchy as a moral boosting and motivational tool to achieve difficult