2005 marked 90 years since the beginning of the Gallipoli campaign, in recent
years, as the last veterans have faded away, there has been increasing interest
in this First World War campaign, this resurgence has been shown in books on the
subject mostly from the Australian and British viewpoint.
With 'Bloody Gallipoli', Richard Stowers has created a highly readable and often tragic account of this doomed campaign
from the New Zealand perspective.
This is a book that clearly and concisely sets
out New Zealand's involvement from the first declaration of war until the final
evacuation of the Gallipoli Peninsula. Detailed within are the battles that have
long haunted New Zealand military history such as the Daisy Patch, Hill 60 and
of course Chunuk Bair. Drawing on personal diaries and reproducing over 350
photographs, this book will appeal to a wide range of people, from military
history buffs to family researchers.
One of the treasures of this book is the
detailed casualty list that for the first time allows the reader to comprehend,
battle by battle, the enormous sacrifice New Zealand towns and communities made
in supporting Great Britain's efforts to 'knock Turkey out of the war'. This
book provides new insights into a campaign that 90 years on shows no sign of
losing its poignancy to new generations of New Zealanders and serves to
reinforce the contention that our nationhood was first forged on the hills and
ridges of 'Bloody Gallipoli'.
Contents:
Author's Note
Foreword
A Look at Gallipoli
Serving King and Country
The Battle of the Landing
Dead Man's Ridge
Daisy Patch
First Blood for the Mounted Rifles
Cease-fire on Anzac
Disaster at No. 3 Outpost
New Zealanders Take Over Courtney's and Quinn's
Holding the Line
Break-out from Anzac - the August Offensive
Unconquerable on Chunuk Bair
Under Turkish Counter-Attack
Mounted Rifles Attack Hill 60
More Trench Warfare
First Talk of Evacuation
The Great Blizzard
Evacuation of Anzac
Return to Gallipoli in 1918
New Zealander's Contribution
A Dirty Existence
Bully Beef and Biscuits
Sentenced to Death
Life After Gallipoli
The New Zealand Dead
Prisoners of War
Honours and Awards to New Zealanders
New Zealand Recommendations
New Zealand Cemeteries and Memorials
Places on Gallipoli Familiar to the New Zealanders
Gallipoli Slang
Select Bibliography
Index
Reviews:
'Richard Stowers is to be congratulated for a significant and most innovative
contribution to the New Zealand story of Gallipoli. This book, together with the
accompanying exhibition at the Auckland War Memorial Museum, is indeed a fitting
means of marking the 90th Anniversary of Gallipoli.' - part of a review by Dr
Stephen Clarke, RSA Review
