(HISTORY) Exploding the 5 myths of Gallipoli...by Ashley Ekins

The Gallipoli campaign of World War I cost 9,000 Australian lives. Their courage has never been in doubt but there are myths that have persisted. Those who died and those who survived deserve to have their story told accurately, as Ashley Ekins reports.
The Gallipoli campaign exerts a powerful hold on the Australian imagination. Its influence grows every year as increasing numbers of Australians travel to the Gallipoli battlefields. The crowds of mainly young Australians and New Zealanders attending the dawn service ceremonies at Gallipoli on Anzac Day now number almost 16,000 – matching the numbers of Anzacs who first landed there on April 25, 1915.
Yet as Gallipoli’s appeal grows, so too do the popular myths and misconceptions about it. The story of the Australian achievement at Gallipoli is more compelling when stripped to its essential truth. Five major myths surround the Anzac landing.
by Ashley Ekins, a senior historian with the AWM
from http://bulletin.ninemsn.com.au/

It should be noted that although I reproduce this article I do not agree with every part of it. For example the writer contends that the Anzacs were landed in the correct place. This is at odds with the General in charge of the operation (Hamilton ) who said at the time that they landed "rather more than a mile north of where I intended". Also he claims that a beach held by two companies (200 to 350 men) is "heavily defended"
. Against a Divisional attack no two companies can survive even with arty and wire. Webmaster.

Myth 1: The Anzac landing was heavily opposed

Myth 2: The Anzac troops were landed in the wrong place

Myth 3: The Anzac commanders displayed superior ability to the British commanders

Myth 4: The Australians overran their objectives

Myth 5: The Anzac soldiers displayed superior fighting spirit to the British soldiers

04/21/2004 , Ashley Ekins is a senior historian with the Australian War Memorial, where he is writing the official history of the Australian Army in the Vietnam War. He has led the memorial’s battlefield tours to Gallipoli for nine years, assisting Australians to understand the events of 1915.

Details:( and more subjects on Gallipoli)
http://www.diggerhistory2.info/graveyards/pages/history/myths-gallipoli.htm
or
http://ausgallipoli.net/ > Gallipoli War Related >Gallipoli War Details > Myths