Gallipoli

For the first time showcasing a unique and extensive range of Australian War Memorial photographs, Gallipoli: a Ridge too far describes the pivotal events of that momentous year as they affected all the countries involved. The book combines fresh perspectives from the worlds leading authorities, including Turkish and German historians, together with soldiers letters and diary accounts. In early August 1915, after months of stalemate in the trenches on Gallipoli, British and Dominion troops launched a series of assaults in an all-out attempt to break the deadlock and achieve a decisive victory. The August offensive resulted in heartbreaking failure and costly losses on both sides. Many of the sites of the bloody struggle became famous names: Lone Pine, the Nek, Chunuk Bair, Hill 60, Suvla Bay. Debate has continued to the present day over the strategy and planning, the real or illusory opportunities for success, and the causes of failure in what became the last throw of the dice for the Allies. This new book about the Gallipoli battles arises out of a major international conference at the Australian War Memorial in 2010 to mark the 95th anniversary of the Gallipoli campaign. Keynote speaker Professor Robin Prior led a range of international authorities from Australia, New Zealand, Britain, France, Germany, India and Turkey to present their most recent research findings. The result was significant: never before had such a range of views been presented, with fresh German and Turkish perspectives offered alongside those of British and Australasian historians. For the resulting book, the papers have been edited and the text has been augmented with soldiers letters and diary accounts, as well as a large number of photographs and maps. Ashley Ekins is Head of the Military History Section at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. He specialises in the history of the First World War and the Vietnam War. He has published widely on the role of Australian soldiers in the First World War and contributed chapters to several books, including the volume he compiled and edited, 1918 Year of Victory: The end of the Great War and the shaping of history (Exisle 2010), and War Wounds: Medicine and the trauma of conflict (Exisle 2011), which he co-edited with Elizabeth Stewart. The following distinguished historians from around the world have contributed to this book: Robin Prior Australia, Stephen Bradley UK, Ashley Ekins Australia, Peter Burness Australia, Peter Pedersen Australia, John Tonkin-Covell New Zealand, Kenan Çelik Turkey, Holger Afflerbach UK, Harvey Broadbent Australia, Colonel Frédéric Guelton France, Elizabeth Greenhalgh Australia, Rana Chhina India, Rhys Crawley Australia, Janda Gooding Australia, Robert ONeill - UK