Anzac Legend On The Western Front Essay

Rivalry between the nations of Europe, fuelled by nationalism, led to the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Australia, as a former British colony, still had very close connections to Britain. Therefore, it was no doubt, after Britain declared war on Germany, August 1914, Australia would immediately support “The mother country”. Many Australian and New Zealand men joined the war in result to capitalise on the Western Front in France. Although the Western Front was deemed a success, after 4 years of battle, these Anzac soldiers were given little to no recognition for their heroic efforts. However, the Anzac soldiers on the Western Front were equally as heroic as the soldiers on Gallipoli, yet still tend to receive less attention than them. While the commemoration of the Gallipoli campaign should be recognised, the significance of the Anzac legend on the Western Front should be further enhanced. …show more content…
The first major battle for Australian and New Zealand soldiers took place on the Western Front in France. The Western Front took the life of 46,000 Anzac soldiers and gave lifelong mental scarring for the other survivors, Encyclopedia Britannica 2018 Gives a glimpse of destruction after the gruesome, war-torn area. During the Western Front, the Anzac soldiers were required to take the Town of Villers-Bretonneux, back from the German soldiers. The town of Villers-Bretonneux was a trading port for the allies, which was taken by the Germans on the 23rd April 1918, this was the spring point for the 100-day offensive, where the allies pushed the central powers back past Belgium from France (Australians on the Western Front. 2018.) The Anzacs on the Western Front contributed majorly to the success of the offensive and proved why they, as Anzacs should have significantly more recognition than what they do