 on the Western Front , the Australians were instead sent to British @-@ controlled Egypt to pre @-@ empt any Turkish attack against the strategically important Suez Canal , and with a view to opening another front against the Central Powers .   Aiming to knock Turkey out of the war the British then decided to stage an amphibious lodgement at Gallipoli and following a period of training and reorganisation the Australians were included amongst the British , Indian and French forces committed to the campaign . The combined Australian and New Zealand Army Corps ( ANZAC ) — commanded by British general William Birdwood — subsequently landed at Anzac Cove on the Gallipoli peninsula on 25 April 1915 . Although promising to transform the war if successful , the Gallipoli Campaign was ill @-@ conceived and ultimately lasted eight months of bloody stalemate , without achieving its objectives . Australian casualties totalled 26 @,@ 111 , including 8 @,@ 141 killed .   For Australians and New Zealanders the Gallipoli campaign came to symbolise an important milestone in the emergence of both nations as independent actors on the world stage and the development of a sense of national identity . Today , the date of the initial landings , 25 April , is known as Anzac Day in Australia and New Zealand and every year thousands of people gather at memorials in both nations , as well as Turkey , to honour the bravery and sacrifice of the original Anzacs , and of all those who have subsequently lost their lives in war .   = = = Egypt and Palestine = = =   After the withdrawal from Gallipoli the Australians returned to Egypt and the AIF underwent a major expansion . In 1916 the infantry began to move to France while the cavalry units remained in the Middle East to fight the Turks . Australian troops of the Anzac Mounted Division and the Australian Mounted Division saw action in all the major battles of the Sinai and Palestine Campaign , playing a pivotal role in fighting the Turkish troops that were threatening British control of Egypt . The Australian 's first saw combat during the Senussi uprising in the Libyan Desert and the Nile Valley , during which the combined British forces successfully put down the primitive pro @-@ Turkish Islamic sect with heavy casualties . The Anzac Mounted Division subsequently saw considerable action in the Battle of Romani against the Turkish between 3 – 5 August 1916 , with the Turks eventually pushed back . Following this victory the British forces went on the offensive in the Sinai , although the pace of the advance was governed by the speed by which the railway and water pipeline could be constructed from the Suez Canal . Rafa was captured on 9 January 1917 , while the last of the small Turkish garrisons in the Sinai were eliminated in February .   The advance entered Palestine and an initial , unsuccessful attempt was made to capture Gaza on 26 March 1917 , while a second and equally unsuccessful attempt was launched on 19 April . A third assault occurred between 31 October and 7 November and this time both the Anzac Mounted Division and the Australian Mounted Division took part . The battle was a complete success for the British , over @-@ running the Gaza @-@ Beersheba line and capturing 12 @,@ 000 Turkish soldiers . The critical moment was the capture of Beersheba on the first day , after the Australian 4th Light Horse Brigade charged more than 4 miles ( 6 @.@ 4 km ) . The Turkish trenches were overrun , with the Australians capturing the wells at Beersheeba and securing the valuable water they contained along with over 700 prisoners for the loss of 31 killed and 36 wounded . Later , Australian troops assisted in pushing the Turkish forces out of Palestine and took part in actions at Mughar Ridge , Jerusalem and the Megiddo . The Turkish government surrendered on 30 October 1918 . Units of the Light Horse were subsequently used to help put down a nationalist revolt in Egypt in 1919 and did so with efficiency and brutality , although they suffered a number of fatalities in the process .   Meanwhile , the AFC had undergone remarkable development , and its independence as a separate national force was unique among the Dominions . Deploying just a single aircraft to German New Guinea in 1914 , the first operational flight did not occur until 27 May 1915 however , when the Mesopotamian Half Flight was called upon to assist in protecting British oil interests in Iraq . The AFC was soon expanded and four squadrons later saw action in Egypt , Palestine and on the Western Front , where they performed well .   = = = Western Front = = =   Five infantry divisions of the AIF saw action in France and Belgium , leaving Egypt in March 1916 . I Anzac Corps subsequently took up positions in a quiet sector south of Armentières on 7 April 1916 and for the next two and a half years the AIF participated in most of the major battles on the Western Front , earning a formidable reputation . Although spared from the disastrous first day of the Battle of the Somme , within weeks four Australian divisions had been committed . The 5th Division , positioned on the left flank
Ġon Ġthe ĠWestern ĠFront Ġ, Ġthe ĠAustralians Ġwere Ġinstead Ġsent Ġto ĠBritish Ġ@ - @ Ġcontrolled ĠEgypt Ġto Ġpre Ġ@ - @ Ġempt Ġany ĠTurkish Ġattack Ġagainst Ġthe Ġstrategically Ġimportant ĠS uez ĠCanal Ġ, Ġand Ġwith Ġa Ġview Ġto Ġopening Ġanother Ġfront Ġagainst Ġthe ĠCentral ĠPowers Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠAim ing Ġto Ġknock ĠTurkey Ġout Ġof Ġthe Ġwar Ġthe ĠBritish Ġthen Ġdecided Ġto Ġstage Ġan Ġamphib ious Ġlod gement Ġat ĠGall ip oli Ġand Ġfollowing Ġa Ġperiod Ġof Ġtraining Ġand Ġreorgan isation Ġthe ĠAustralians Ġwere Ġincluded Ġamongst Ġthe ĠBritish Ġ, ĠIndian Ġand ĠFrench Ġforces Ġcommitted Ġto Ġthe Ġcampaign Ġ. ĠThe Ġcombined ĠAustralian Ġand ĠNew ĠZealand ĠArmy ĠCorps Ġ( ĠAN Z AC Ġ) ĠâĢĶ Ġcommanded Ġby ĠBritish Ġgeneral ĠWilliam ĠBird wood ĠâĢĶ Ġsubsequently Ġlanded Ġat ĠAn zac ĠCove Ġon Ġthe ĠGall ip oli Ġpeninsula Ġon Ġ25 ĠApril Ġ1915 Ġ. ĠAlthough Ġpromising Ġto Ġtransform Ġthe Ġwar Ġif Ġsuccessful Ġ, Ġthe ĠGall ip oli ĠCampaign Ġwas Ġill Ġ@ - @ Ġconceived Ġand Ġultimately Ġlasted Ġeight Ġmonths Ġof Ġbloody Ġstal emate Ġ, Ġwithout Ġachieving Ġits Ġobjectives Ġ. ĠAustralian Ġcasualties Ġtot alled Ġ26 Ġ@ , @ Ġ111 Ġ, Ġincluding Ġ8 Ġ@ , @ Ġ141 Ġkilled Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠFor ĠAustralians Ġand ĠNew ĠZealand ers Ġthe ĠGall ip oli Ġcampaign Ġcame Ġto Ġsymbol ise Ġan Ġimportant Ġmilestone Ġin Ġthe Ġemergence Ġof Ġboth Ġnations Ġas Ġindependent Ġactors Ġon Ġthe Ġworld Ġstage Ġand Ġthe Ġdevelopment Ġof Ġa Ġsense Ġof Ġnational Ġidentity Ġ. ĠToday Ġ, Ġthe Ġdate Ġof Ġthe Ġinitial Ġland ings Ġ, Ġ25 ĠApril Ġ, Ġis Ġknown Ġas ĠAn zac ĠDay Ġin ĠAustralia Ġand ĠNew ĠZealand Ġand Ġevery Ġyear Ġthousands Ġof Ġpeople Ġgather Ġat Ġmemorial s Ġin Ġboth Ġnations Ġ, Ġas Ġwell Ġas ĠTurkey Ġ, Ġto Ġhonour Ġthe Ġbravery Ġand Ġsacrifice Ġof Ġthe Ġoriginal ĠAn z acs Ġ, Ġand Ġof Ġall Ġthose Ġwho Ġhave Ġsubsequently Ġlost Ġtheir Ġlives Ġin Ġwar Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠEgypt Ġand ĠPalestine Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠAfter Ġthe Ġwithdrawal Ġfrom ĠGall ip oli Ġthe ĠAustralians Ġreturned Ġto ĠEgypt Ġand Ġthe ĠA IF Ġunderwent Ġa Ġmajor Ġexpansion Ġ. ĠIn Ġ1916 Ġthe Ġinfantry Ġbegan Ġto Ġmove Ġto ĠFrance Ġwhile Ġthe Ġcavalry Ġunits Ġremained Ġin Ġthe ĠMiddle ĠEast Ġto Ġfight Ġthe ĠTurks Ġ. ĠAustralian Ġtroops Ġof Ġthe ĠAn zac ĠMount ed ĠDivision Ġand Ġthe ĠAustralian ĠMount ed ĠDivision Ġsaw Ġaction Ġin Ġall Ġthe Ġmajor Ġbattles Ġof Ġthe ĠSinai Ġand ĠPalestine ĠCampaign Ġ, Ġplaying Ġa Ġpivotal Ġrole Ġin Ġfighting Ġthe ĠTurkish Ġtroops Ġthat Ġwere Ġthreatening ĠBritish Ġcontrol Ġof ĠEgypt Ġ. ĠThe ĠAustralian Ġ' s Ġfirst Ġsaw Ġcombat Ġduring Ġthe ĠSen uss i Ġuprising Ġin Ġthe ĠLibyan ĠDesert Ġand Ġthe ĠNile ĠValley Ġ, Ġduring Ġwhich Ġthe Ġcombined ĠBritish Ġforces Ġsuccessfully Ġput Ġdown Ġthe Ġprimitive Ġpro Ġ@ - @ ĠTurkish ĠIslamic Ġsect Ġwith Ġheavy Ġcasualties Ġ. ĠThe ĠAn zac ĠMount ed ĠDivision Ġsubsequently Ġsaw Ġconsiderable Ġaction Ġin Ġthe ĠBattle Ġof ĠRom ani Ġagainst Ġthe ĠTurkish Ġbetween Ġ3 ĠâĢĵ Ġ5 ĠAugust Ġ1916 Ġ, Ġwith Ġthe ĠTurks Ġeventually Ġpushed Ġback Ġ. ĠFollowing Ġthis Ġvictory Ġthe ĠBritish Ġforces Ġwent Ġon Ġthe Ġoffensive Ġin Ġthe ĠSinai Ġ, Ġalthough Ġthe Ġpace Ġof Ġthe Ġadvance Ġwas Ġgoverned Ġby Ġthe Ġspeed Ġby Ġwhich Ġthe Ġrailway Ġand Ġwater Ġpipeline Ġcould Ġbe Ġconstructed Ġfrom Ġthe ĠS uez ĠCanal Ġ. ĠRaf a Ġwas Ġcaptured Ġon Ġ9 ĠJanuary Ġ1917 Ġ, Ġwhile Ġthe Ġlast Ġof Ġthe Ġsmall ĠTurkish Ġgar ris ons Ġin Ġthe ĠSinai Ġwere Ġeliminated Ġin ĠFebruary Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġadvance Ġentered ĠPalestine Ġand Ġan Ġinitial Ġ, Ġunsuccessful Ġattempt Ġwas Ġmade Ġto Ġcapture ĠGaza Ġon Ġ26 ĠMarch Ġ1917 Ġ, Ġwhile Ġa Ġsecond Ġand Ġequally Ġunsuccessful Ġattempt Ġwas Ġlaunched Ġon Ġ19 ĠApril Ġ. ĠA Ġthird Ġassault Ġoccurred Ġbetween Ġ31 ĠOctober Ġand Ġ7 ĠNovember Ġand Ġthis Ġtime Ġboth Ġthe ĠAn zac ĠMount ed ĠDivision Ġand Ġthe ĠAustralian ĠMount ed ĠDivision Ġtook Ġpart Ġ. ĠThe Ġbattle Ġwas Ġa Ġcomplete Ġsuccess Ġfor Ġthe ĠBritish Ġ, Ġover Ġ@ - @ Ġrunning Ġthe ĠGaza Ġ@ - @ ĠBe ers he ba Ġline Ġand Ġcapturing Ġ12 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 ĠTurkish Ġsoldiers Ġ. ĠThe Ġcritical Ġmoment Ġwas Ġthe Ġcapture Ġof ĠBe ers he ba Ġon Ġthe Ġfirst Ġday Ġ, Ġafter Ġthe ĠAustralian Ġ4 th ĠLight ĠHorse ĠBrigade Ġcharged Ġmore Ġthan Ġ4 Ġmiles Ġ( Ġ6 Ġ@ . @ Ġ4 Ġkm Ġ) Ġ. ĠThe ĠTurkish Ġtrenches Ġwere Ġoverrun Ġ, Ġwith Ġthe ĠAustralians Ġcapturing Ġthe Ġwells Ġat ĠBe ers he eb a Ġand Ġsecuring Ġthe Ġvaluable Ġwater Ġthey Ġcontained Ġalong Ġwith Ġover Ġ700 Ġprisoners Ġfor Ġthe Ġloss Ġof Ġ31 Ġkilled Ġand Ġ36 Ġwounded Ġ. ĠLater Ġ, ĠAustralian Ġtroops Ġassisted Ġin Ġpushing Ġthe ĠTurkish Ġforces Ġout Ġof ĠPalestine Ġand Ġtook Ġpart Ġin Ġactions Ġat ĠM ugh ar ĠRidge Ġ, ĠJerusalem Ġand Ġthe ĠMeg idd o Ġ. ĠThe ĠTurkish Ġgovernment Ġsurrendered Ġon Ġ30 ĠOctober Ġ1918 Ġ. ĠUnits Ġof Ġthe ĠLight ĠHorse Ġwere Ġsubsequently Ġused Ġto Ġhelp Ġput Ġdown Ġa Ġnationalist Ġrevolt Ġin ĠEgypt Ġin Ġ1919 Ġand Ġdid Ġso Ġwith Ġefficiency Ġand Ġbrutality Ġ, Ġalthough Ġthey Ġsuffered Ġa Ġnumber Ġof Ġfatalities Ġin Ġthe Ġprocess Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠMeanwhile Ġ, Ġthe ĠAFC Ġhad Ġundergone Ġremarkable Ġdevelopment Ġ, Ġand Ġits Ġindependence Ġas Ġa Ġseparate Ġnational Ġforce Ġwas Ġunique Ġamong Ġthe ĠDomin ions Ġ. ĠDeploy ing Ġjust Ġa Ġsingle Ġaircraft Ġto ĠGerman ĠNew ĠGuinea Ġin Ġ1914 Ġ, Ġthe Ġfirst Ġoperational Ġflight Ġdid Ġnot Ġoccur Ġuntil Ġ27 ĠMay Ġ1915 Ġhowever Ġ, Ġwhen Ġthe ĠMes opot am ian ĠHalf ĠFlight Ġwas Ġcalled Ġupon Ġto Ġassist Ġin Ġprotecting ĠBritish Ġoil Ġinterests Ġin ĠIraq Ġ. ĠThe ĠAFC Ġwas Ġsoon Ġexpanded Ġand Ġfour Ġsquad rons Ġlater Ġsaw Ġaction Ġin ĠEgypt Ġ, ĠPalestine Ġand Ġon Ġthe ĠWestern ĠFront Ġ, Ġwhere Ġthey Ġperformed Ġwell Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠWestern ĠFront Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠFive Ġinfantry Ġdivisions Ġof Ġthe ĠA IF Ġsaw Ġaction Ġin ĠFrance Ġand ĠBelgium Ġ, Ġleaving ĠEgypt Ġin ĠMarch Ġ1916 Ġ. ĠI ĠAn zac ĠCorps Ġsubsequently Ġtook Ġup Ġpositions Ġin Ġa Ġquiet Ġsector Ġsouth Ġof ĠAr ment i Ã¨ res Ġon Ġ7 ĠApril Ġ1916 Ġand Ġfor Ġthe Ġnext Ġtwo Ġand Ġa Ġhalf Ġyears Ġthe ĠA IF Ġparticipated Ġin Ġmost Ġof Ġthe Ġmajor Ġbattles Ġon Ġthe ĠWestern ĠFront Ġ, Ġearning Ġa Ġformidable Ġreputation Ġ. ĠAlthough Ġspared Ġfrom Ġthe Ġdisastrous Ġfirst Ġday Ġof Ġthe ĠBattle Ġof Ġthe ĠSom me Ġ, Ġwithin Ġweeks Ġfour ĠAustralian Ġdivisions Ġhad Ġbeen Ġcommitted Ġ. ĠThe Ġ5 th ĠDivision Ġ, Ġpositioned Ġon Ġthe Ġleft Ġflank