University of Queensland Press 1994

The Anzac legend has almost sacred significance in Australia and the date of the Gallipoli landing - 25 April - is a national day of remembrance.

Using official documents never before studied by historians, as well as private papers, Denis Winter sheds new light on the landing. The events leading up to 25 April are reconstructed through three interwoven strands in the narrative: the men, strategic planning and operational aspects.

The individual experiences of the men are explored - their attitudes, their feelings on the eve of battle and during it, the impact on survivors - are juxtaposed against the larger picture: the serious planning for Gallipoli that had begun as early as 1903 and the operational aspects that went so disastrously wrong and ensured that the campaign was doomed from the very outset.