Diggers and Kiwis
Printed From: History Community ~ All Empires
Category: Regional History or Period History
Forum Name: History of Oceania, South-East Asia and Pacific
Forum Discription: Discuss the history of SE Asia: Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore etc.
URL: http://www.allempires.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=30484
Printed Date: 16-Apr-2024 at 07:59
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 9.56a - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Diggers and Kiwis
Posted By: Nick1986
Subject: Diggers and Kiwis
Date Posted: 24-Oct-2011 at 19:08
 Thousands of Australians were drafted during WW1 and fought both on the Western Front and at Gallipoli. These "Diggers" quickly earned a reputation for being tough fighters and expert sappers as many worked as miners before the war. Others joined the cavalry and were excellent horsemen, having worked on the ranches or "stations" in civilian life. Light horsemen were present during the Boer War and were part of a famous cavalry charge at Beersheba in 1917 ------------- Me Grimlock not nice Dino! Me bash brains! |
Replies:
Posted By: Nick1986
Date Posted: 25-Oct-2011 at 20:42
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The time spent in the trenches did much to create the modern Australian identity, especially the famous "Anzac spirit" comprising contempt for authority, fierce loyalty to their mates, a reckless disregard of danger, and the use of humor when things started to look bad ------------- Me Grimlock not nice Dino! Me bash brains! |
Posted By: Nick1986
Date Posted: 26-Oct-2011 at 19:30
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[TUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Pg3rmc243g[/TUBE] ------------- Me Grimlock not nice Dino! Me bash brains! |
Posted By: Nick1986
Date Posted: 11-Nov-2011 at 20:01
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And the band played Waltzing Matilda When the ship pulled away from the quay And amid all the tears, flag waving and cheers We sailed off for Gallipoli It well I remember that terrible day When our blood stained the sand and the water And how in that hell they call Suvla Bay We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter Johnny Turk, he was ready, he primed himself well He rained us with bullets, and he showered us with shell And in five minutes flat, we were all blown to hell He nearly blew us back home to Australia And the band played Waltzing Matilda When we stopped to bury our slain Well we buried ours and the Turks buried theirs Then it started all over again ------------- Me Grimlock not nice Dino! Me bash brains! |
Posted By: Nick1986
Date Posted: 12-Nov-2011 at 19:08
------------- Me Grimlock not nice Dino! Me bash brains! |
Posted By: Kevinmeath
Date Posted: 13-Nov-2011 at 14:09
One important point NO Australians were drafted in WWI they were all volunteers and very proud of that fact. ------------- cymru am byth |
Posted By: Nick1986
Date Posted: 13-Nov-2011 at 19:03
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My mistake.
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Posted By: Nick1986
Date Posted: 09-Mar-2012 at 19:34
 New Zealand soldiers are known as Kiwis. Were they named after the boot polish, or vice versa? ------------- Me Grimlock not nice Dino! Me bash brains! |
Posted By: Toltec
Date Posted: 10-Mar-2012 at 09:53
Yes they are an example of the military maxim, a volunteer army is superior to a conscripted one. This maxim has little to do with national characteristics just how much they actually want to be there. ------------- Stupidity got us into this mess, why can't it get us out? http://historyplanet.wordpress.com - History Planet Website <br / |
Posted By: Nick1986
Date Posted: 10-Mar-2012 at 20:14
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http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Z40eykeP_IMC&lpg=PP1&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false - The Digger and National Mythology
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Posted By: Nick1986
Date Posted: 25-Apr-2012 at 19:57
 The Eternal Flame at the Anzac Memorial ------------- Me Grimlock not nice Dino! Me bash brains! |
Posted By: Cryptic
Date Posted: 26-Apr-2012 at 17:38
As a side note, Australians were not drafted and were a 100% volunteer force. A force comprised willing volunteers and not "volunteers" or conscripts is usually very effective and the Australians were definetly effective in WWI.
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Posted By: Nick1986
Date Posted: 26-Apr-2012 at 20:34
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Like i said, i made a mistake. I should have said "joined up" but can't edit the original post ------------- Me Grimlock not nice Dino! Me bash brains! |
Posted By: Cryptic
Date Posted: 29-Apr-2012 at 08:33
Yikes, I should have read the other posts. Had I seen that the clarification been made, I would not have mentioned the issue a second time.
Speaking of conscription in WWI, Canada (also well known for fighting ability) initially had an all volunteer force as well. My general impression though is that while Australians remained 100% volunteer, Canadian recruitment policies changed in the face of mounting casualties. These changes led to pressured "volunteers" and eventualy to conscription. I dont believe, however, that Canadian full conscripts could be assigned combat duties.
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Posted By: Nick1986
Date Posted: 29-Apr-2012 at 20:28
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The Canadians were smart. National service would benefit all the unemployed young men currently struggling to survive on welfare, but only volunteers and professionals should be sent into combat
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Posted By: Cryptic
Date Posted: 30-Apr-2012 at 17:54
That is a goodf point. I dont know what the Canadian economy looked like in 1917-18, but I can see the benefits of implementing a "conscription, but not for combat positions" policy as a means of getting unemployed, bored and potentially angry young men off the street.
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Posted By: Nick1986
Date Posted: 11-Nov-2012 at 13:22
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Australian veterans database http://guides.slv.vic.gov.au/content.php?pid=41302&sid=303967 - http://guides.slv.vic.gov.au/content.php?pid=41302&sid=303967 ------------- Me Grimlock not nice Dino! Me bash brains! |
Posted By: toyomotor
Date Posted: 24-Jan-2014 at 03:54
The New Zealand National Symbol is the Kiwi, a flightless bird. This is why the NZ people are called Kiwis. The famous Kiwi brand boot polish is named for the same reason. ------------- |