Bruce Scates declaration that the Great War as nothing but a loss that tore Australia to pieces is, in part, a very truthful one. The glorified ANZAC Legend celebrated annually by this country overlooks the negative aspects and the damage that WWI inflicted on all concerned. The misdemeanors of war and its aftermath had devastating effects on those who supported the soldiers and the sliders themselves who often lost their support to the war and faith in their leaders. The ANZAC legend is one of great courage and unshakeable spirit, and it continues to help being a young nation together in celebration.
The glorified ANZAC Legend celebrated annually by this country overlooks the negative aspects and the damage that WWI inflicted on all concerned.
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As the men streamed out of the country, troop-by-troop, a nation was left without workers, diminishing supplies and strict restrictions. First World War saw more than 324,000 Australians leave for service overseas, 60,000 of who – one in five – did not return . Those who did return were quickly recognized to be suffering from what was then coined as ‘shell shock’ now known as PTSD. Wives described the men that returned as completely different people to the husbands that they’d waved off. For many the war had not ended when ceasefire was called, if anything it became worse . Australia’s response to the returned soldiers was neglectful, ignorant and highly ineffective. As described by author Christina Twomey, ‘Some of the files I’ve seen, where the man’s a patient at a repatriation hospital, he’s been admitted for having a nervous breakdown, unable to continue employment, problems with alcohol—the full picture—sometimes psychiatrists write on the report and say, “I suspect this man is angling for a full pension.”’ This is just one snapshot of the way in which we treated returned soldiers. This countries celebrations and commemorations towards the Gallipoli Campange gives no mention of the hardships of the returned service men and women and their families, it completely turns a blind eye to the trauma that these men suffered even once they’d returned. ANZAC was no victory but a colossally badly managed event that tore families apart and left wives alone with little to no source of