The experience of the ANZACs during World War One highly contributed to the development of the ANZAC legend. ANZAC was the name given to any Australian of New Zealand soldier that fought in World War One (The Australian War Memorial, Unknown). The ANZAC legend is one that is close to one hundred years old and is based on the characteristic of the soldier like endurance, courage, ingenuity, good humour and mateship. It will be shown that the experiences of the ANZAC soldiers of World War One contributed considerably to the development of the ANZAC legend. Indigenous Australian ANZACs, The conditions and the Turks advantages are all experiences that shape the ANZAC Legend.
Indigenous Australian ANZACs involvement in the war significantly impacted on the development of the ANZAC Legend. About 800 – 1000 Indigenous Australians enlisted (Government; 2014) however at the start, only those who were considered ‘white enough’ (State Library; 2014) were able to go but later in the war because so many people…show more content… ANZACs had to overcome the harsh conditions like freezing blizzards and torrential rain, limited fresh food and water and disease spread quickly due to rodents and insects. Some men soldiers froze to death at their post and other had to have their toes or feet amputated. In the early days of the war the soldiers had to live on a diet of Julienne; dried vegetables in a tin; and Maconochies; tinned meat with potato and some other vegetables. Many Diseases were spread because of rodents, insects, insufficient sanitation and trenches filled with stagnant water. Flies were one of the main reasons disease was spread as the flies spent most of the time on human excrement, rotting food, open wounds and corpses (Skwirk; 2014). This showed how the ANZACs endured the worst with no complaint. These experiences help shape the soldiers and the ANZAC