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Worzels World - Maybe We forgot

 

Every year we commemorate, on Anzac Day, the landing of our troops on Gallipoli. Lest we forget. Dedicated Re-turned Servicemen’s Association members sell paper poppies to raise funds to support soldiers who survived the carnage of the Great War. Lest we forget, the paper poppies are made in China.

Lest we forget there are no more returned servicemen left. A hun-dred years on, every adult alive then is now depart-ed and the war to end all wars ended nothing. War has persisted with only short periods of respite ever since.

The invasion of Anzac troops on this obscure Turkish peninsular still stands as one of the greatest military balls-ups ever. Great general Julius Caesar, who actu-ally led his men in the field and conquered the world without benefit of Tommy guns, would never have waged war in such a place. The ter-rain was impossible. The entrenched Turkish defence was impossible. The artillery impossible. The task – impossible.

This came about due to mismanagement by those who were, and re-mained, far from the blood and guts of battle. Not only did they fail to avoid being ambushed, but silly old men with book knowledge of wars they had never fought ef-fectively ambushed their own troops. Lest we for-get.

With the objective hindsight of history we now know that the pe-ninsular itself held little strategic value in the war against Germany.

If instead of sending troops we had sent a dance band and a few kegs the results could not have been worse and may well have been a lot better. This alterna-tive approach has yet to be tested. I offer it freely to any world leaders or military planners wish-ing to give it a go. I here-by waive all copyright on this new revolution-ary defense strategy, and would request that whoever it is in the SIS who reads this stuff could you please forward it on to Mr Key and associates.

So what can be re-membered a hundred years on? The cemeteries full of the cream of New Zealand’s young man-hood? That those who strived to kill and got killed were duped into believing that they were doing this for God, King, country, freedom? Many, I am told, joined up sim-ply for the adventure of it all, to see the world. The war would be over quick-ly and like Caesar they would return home in triumph and glory. But, lest we forget, it was not so.

Our most recent en-gagement of New Zealand troops has been in Afghanistan with only a small contingent sent. We were told our soldiers we were in non-combat roles, yet 10 fit young men returned home in bags.

There has been no re-cent talk of God, King, country or freedom. We are now combating terrorists. Yet the total deaths in New Zealand from terrorist attack are one. A Dutch-Portuguese national killed as col-lateral damage from a state-sponsored terrorist attack on Greenpeace by our allies the French. Is this a good deal?

We have now pledged soldiers to serve in Iraq, most of the details are secret. Neither have I much understanding of what our western forc-es are trying to achieve in this troubled middle-eastern country. Given the number of countries involved, could this con-flict be called the third world war?

The only certainties of war is death and de-struction. We are assured that our soldiers have le-gal protection. Whatever that may be? The details of this too are secret. Se-cret laws eh? That’s a good one. I expect if the law is an especially thick one it might absorb an AK47 round or two, but personally I wouldn‘t put much confidence in its protecting against rock-et propelled grenades or heavy artillery. Lest we forget, the dead are beyond the laws of men.

Kiwi singer-song-writer, Neil Finn, who has conquered many with music, sang ‘His-tory never repeats’. Yeah right Neil. Lest we forget, history is a broken record. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. His-tory shows when those who call the shots neither fire any nor are fired at, there is a recipe for disaster. It is all too easy to throw away the lives of others cossetted in the comfort of a warmed and carpeted room safe from the reality of mortal combat.

The loss of life a hundred years ago at Gallipo-li was a disaster militarily, morally, and socially, for all concerned. If their huge contribution of bravery and doggedness is not to be in vain we must remember some of which must not be for-gotten, lest we forget.

prof_worzel@hotmail.com
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