The presentation will be live and online.
It will commence at 8.30am (that is not a typo) UK time.
The reason for the early start time is to enable this to be broadcast at a reasonable time in Australia and New Zealand.
In this talk, Professor Gary Sheffield explores the morale, discipline and combat motivation of British, Australian and New Zealand troops on Gallipoli in 1915-16.
Troops were severely tested throughout the Gallipoli campaign, as a rash of short-lived ‘panics’ demonstrated. There was a distinct downturn in August 1915, which was marked by an increase in rates of sickness and self-inflicted wounds, and a ‘strike’, when a sub-unit simply refused to carry out an attack. Despite this, there was no general and permanent breakdown of morale, in the sense of unwillingness to obey the orders of higher command.
Ultimately, British and Anzac troops were characterised by stoicism and resilience in the face of appalling conditions.
Above: 1st Battalion troops waiting near Jacob's trench for relief by 7th Battalion. Lone Pine, Gallipoli, 8 August 1915. (AWM)
Members wishing to participate will need to register: details of how to register will be circulated via the WFA's newsletter 'Trench Lines'. If you are not a subscriber to 'Trench Lines' please subscribe now.
To subscribe to Trench Lines, go to the home page of the WFA web site and complete your details in the 'Newsletter signup' box.
It is also possible to register by clicking this link: Morale and Discipline
The talk will be undertaken using the 'zoom' software which is freely available. It may not be necessary to load the software to your PC / iPad etc: but we would recommend doing so if you wish to participate in this event.