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History Teachers' Association of Australia Transformative Pedagogies with New Technologies Cooee: A call to war Australians in the First World War Year 10 Melissa Wagner Woodbridge School (Tas) Copyright notice You may download, copy and otherwise freely deal with this work for non-commercial educational purposes provided that you retain all copyright and creator acknowledgements, and attribute The Le@rning Federation as publisher. Permissions enquiries should be directed to [email protected]. Purpose This unit is designed to assist students: to understand the background to the outbreak of the First World War. to understand the positive and negative reactions to war of Australia's government and citizens. Students will also investigate the impact of war on our society and the legacy of war. to examine both primary and secondary sources in order to identify assertions, bias and assumptions and explain why people hold particular views. The unit is designed to meet the outcomes of the Tasmanian Society and History curriculum, which are identified at the end of the unit. Implementation The unit was implemented under 4 separate sub-headings: The build up to war: an investigation of the causes behind the outbreak of the First World War, namely Nationalism, Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism and the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Australia at War: an investigation of why Australia went to war, and how the Gallipoli campaign became part of our national conscience. Australia at home: an investigation of the reaction and attitude to war on the home front through different media, including propaganda. Topics included the conscription debates, white feathers, the loss of family and the impact on society. Legacy: The Anzac spirit and the founding of a nation. TLF Digital Content Digital Content TLF ID The Battleships, 2000: The First World War begins R7065 Alec Campbell recalls the 1915 Anzac landing R4387 Postcard sent from France by Duncan McCallum, 1917 R3694 Boats and Supplies at Anzac Cove, Gallipoli, 1915 R3004 'Charles Ulm with his mother and father', 1914 R3344 Morning at Passchendaele, 1917 R2924 Simpson with his donkey at Gallipoli, 1915 – asset 1 R2993 Referendum bullets R1960 to R1972 Peter Dalton: enlistment and the call to war L369 Australia's Peril R1327 'A hero of Dardanelles', 1915 – asset 2 R1570 And the band played 'Waltzing Matilda' R962 Anzac Day in Gundagai in 1920 – asset 1 R2422 Description The clip describes Germany's military build-up prior to the First World War. Gallipoli veteran Alec Campbell remembers the shock, as a 16-yearold, of first seeing a man killed. It is an example of a postcard from a soldier serving with the Australian Imperial Forces in France in the First World War to his family back home. This asset shows Anzac Cove during the Gallipoli campaign of the First World War. It conveys a sense of the unceasing activity at Anzac Cove during the Gallipoli campaign. This asset shows 16-year-old Charles Ulm dressed in his army uniform with his parents. This is a black-and-white composite photograph, taken by Frank Hurley on the morning after the first battle of Passchendaele. It depicts an iconic figure of the Anzac legend – perhaps the bestknown Anzac. Simpson embodied the Anzac spirit that a historian described as 'reckless heroism, enterprise, resourcefulness, fidelity and "mateship"'. A series of advertisements made for then Prime Minister, W M (Billy) Hughes in favour of conscription. Help a teenager to decide whether to enlist for Australian military service in the First World War. This is a promotional poster for the 1917 Australian silent movie 'Australia's peril'. This is a black-and-white negative of a newspaper advertisement for the film 'A hero of the Dardanelles' released in July 1915. This asset uses a symbol of Australian patriotism, the song 'Waltzing Matilda', as a counterpoint to lyrics about sailing to Gallipoli, burying the dead at Gallipoli, being wounded, landing back in Sydney and questioning the commemoration of war in Anzac Day marches. This asset shows a crowd of people gathered together on Anzac Day 1920, indicating the importance of this day even in the early years. Other Resources The Front Line Experience: Gallipoli, DVD, directed by Tolga Örnek. Teacher's guide for the documentary The Frontline Experience: Gallipoli, ATOM. http://www.lib.washington.edu/uwill/research101/Images/primary.swf The website features an interactive resource for identifying primary sources. Maps showing British and German empires prior to 1914. F. Fischer, War of Illusions. Harry Mills, Twentieth Century World History in Focus, Macmillan Education, London, 1984. Franz Ferdinand (music band), Take Me Out. Activity Structure Primary and secondary sources (See attached worksheet Appendix 2): Some students in this class had no prior knowledge of what this meant and some had heard of the concept before. Students were given a worksheet with activities to help them revise their understanding of what a primary and secondary source was. This was initially discussed as a class group, after which the activities were worked through individually. The result from their final task on the worksheet was shared with the class. The following activity was used as a 5-minute follow-up in the next lesson to reinforce what a primary source was. This was shown in the classroom using an interactive whiteboard. Students discussed which they thought was a primary source before we selected an answer: http://www.lib.washington.edu/uwill/research101/Images/primary.swf Prior Learning Students felt that they had 'done the First World War to death'. As a result they were required to brainstorm in small groups what they knew about the First World War. In summary, what they knew was: the Gallipoli landing happened in 1915 Simpson and his donkey the Peter Weir Movie 'Gallipoli' Anzac day and Anzac biscuits we fought against the Turks with the British and New Zealanders. I then asked the students, from this initial brainstorming, what important things they thought were missing from their lists? Between us we created a list of what the students wanted to find out and what they were not sure of. This led to the following list: When did the War start? Why did the War start? Who was involved? Why did Australia get involved? How did the War end? What were the consequences of the War? To check the extent of their prior knowledge, I asked them to work in the same small groups to see if they could confidently answer any of the above questions. The groups came up with varying answers. The only thing they were confident of was that Australia had ties with Britain that lead us into war. As a result, the students agreed that they did not really know as much about the war as they thought initially. Answering these questions became the core around which the unit was structured. The Build-Up To War The first part of the unit focused on the various causes of the war, including: Militarisation – the building up of the armed forces in various countries Imperialism - the founding and building of empires Alliances – who had formed agreements with whom? Nationalism – pride in your homeland Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand – the Spark in the Powder Keg of the Balkans I gave the students these headings and explained that there is usually more than one side to any story. This story does have many aspects that interlink and these created a domino effect in the lead-up to the War. The first of the long-term causes we discussed was Imperialism. It was the cause that the class knew something about – our ties with England pulled us into participating in the War. See separate activity sheet on Imperialism (Appendix 3).1 Activity One on that sheet can be shortened by giving the students the names of the places claimed by the respective countries. Some text books and internet sites also have maps of empires prior to the First World War. At the completion of activities on imperialism, we held a class discussion on the importance of the navy in the time leading up to the outbreak of the First World War. The main points of discussion were: What was their opinion of the importance of navies in terms of exploration? What was their opinion of the importance of navies in military terms? 1 Please note, all worksheets were available to students as hard copies and were also placed on the school's common drive where the students could access a digital copy from any computer in the school. Did they think navies were still important in terms of modern military warfare? In modern terms, where would they rank the navy compared with a land based army and an air force? Why? Would this be the same as the military before the First World War? Why or why not? Can they think of any other military forces that were important during the First World War? This discussion lead us into the second of the long-term causes for the outbreak of the First World War – Militarism Militarism: Students were given the word 'Dreadnought' and in pairs asked to guess what it meant and if they had heard it before. Their eventual answer was that it meant to 'fear nothing' and some students knew it was a battleship. The students were then asked, if their enemy had a weapon that stated they 'feared nothing', how would they react? Students were then directed to a PowerPoint saved onto the school's common drive to look at a comparison between two battleships, one made in 1905, and the other a Dreadnought made in 1906. See PowerPoint: Comparing Battleships.2 Screen one from 'Comparing Battleships' Using the classroom's interactive whiteboard we watched The Battleships, 2000: The First World War Begins TLF ID R7065 The TLF description of this is: The clip describes Germany's military build-up prior to the First World War, including the widening of the Kiel canal, commenced in 1907, to enable its new fleet of dreadnoughts to be able to enter the North Sea easily. The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand signalled the start of the war, the news ironically arriving as members of the British navy and the German navy were celebrating the opening of the canal. 2 Information taken from Harry Mills, Twentieth Century World History in Focus,Macmillan Education, London, 1984, p.13. Students were asked to address the following questions; What evidence in this clip suggests that the mobility of naval vessels was a priority for Germany? What was so important about access to the North Sea? What does the fact that the British and German navy were celebrating this opening tell you about the relationship between the two countries? The students were split into two teams to debate the following statement: 'A strong defence is a good way to keep peace'. Following this, we discussed the idea of 'keeping up with the Joneses'! Does this statement (about trying to outdo your neighbours) apply to both imperialism and militarism? Alliances: This issue was explored via a contact web. Six students got up in front of the class. They were each labelled with a large piece of paper with one of the following countries on it: Austria, France, Italy, Britain, Germany and Russia. Each country (student) had a ball of wool they then passed to other countries showing whom they had formed alliances with between 1882 and 1907. The ball of wool was thrown to the country where an alliance was made. The country with which the alliance was made held onto the length of wool and then threw the ball back to the country from which it came. This created a web – but with some very obvious patterns. From this activity, the students were able to draw conclusions about the make-up of the various alliances and their strengths. I gave the students a sheet summarising the different alliances among the major European Countries before the outbreak of war (Appendix 4). We investigated the importance of maintaining a Balance of Power and why the alliance system led to two distinct and separate camps. Nationalism and Franz Ferdinand: (See attached sheet Appendix 5) This information sheet was used as a discussion point to talk about what people are prepared to fight and die for. Students made their own personal lists of things they would die trying to protect. I used this as an opportunity to talk about emotive language – and how it influences people's judgement. As a point of interest I also played the students the song 'Take me out', by the band Franz Ferdinand. This is where most of the students had heard the name Franz Ferdinand before. Australia at War: In the first part of the unit students had come to an understanding of Australia's British Heritage as part of Nationalism. They recognised it was a very powerful force, especially in a society that still had many people who celebrated their 'Britishness'. Students were provided with some basic information about the declaration of war in 1914 and the automatic involvement of Britain's colonies. They were informed of Prime Minister Cook's statement, 'When the Empire is at War, so also is Australia' and later Labor Prime Minister, Andrew Fisher's statement 'Should the worst happen' Australia would 'rally to the Mother Country' to help and defend her 'to our last man and our last shilling'. Australian men flocked to recruiting posts and, by the end of 1914, Australia had 52,561 volunteers signed up to fight. On the interactive whiteboard the following photos were posted: 'Charles Ulm with his mother and father', 1914 TLF ID R3344 Acknowledgement – Reproduced courtesy of National Library of Australia Discussion questions: By looking at this image what (if anything) can you detect about the attitude of his parents to his signing up to go to war? Many young men signed up underage. (Ulm was only 16 and used an assumed name.) What does this tell you about Australian society during this time? Do you think this family looks wealthy, poor or otherwise? What makes you say this? Do you think this has any impact on Charles Ulm signing up? Charles Ulm went on to be a famous aviator and contemporary of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith. Do you think that the War attracted people in search of an adventure? Boats and Supplies at Anzac Cove, Gallipoli, 1915 Acknowledgement – Reproduced courtesy of National Library of Australia TLF ID R3004 Discussion questions Where was this photo taken? By their uniforms can you identify the countries of the people involved here? Why do you think this place is recognisable to most Australians? Simpson with his donkey at Gallipoli, 1915 – asset 1 TLF ID R2993 Acknowledgement – From the collection of the National Archives of Australia. Photograph by J A O'Brien. Discussion questions This is a picture of possibly our most well known Anzac. What do you know about him? Where do you think this photo was taken? What does this photo tell you about conditions the Anzacs were living and working in? What word might best describe the atmosphere created in this photo? Mateship is often talked about in regards to the 'Anzac spirit'. Do you think this would affect people's decisions to sign up to go to war? Gallipoli and Anzac Cove are recognisable to most Australians but Australians were not, however, the only people involved here. To investigate how different countries reacted to war we watched the documentary The Front Line Experience: Gallipoli, directed by Turkish director Tolga Örnek. This film simultaneously tells the story of the Gallipoli campaign from the perspective of all sides involved, and sets out to capture the human dimension within the general structure of the battle. The campaign is told through the diaries and letters of two British, three New Zealand, three Australian and two Turkish soldiers. The film portrays the historical importance of Gallipoli based on facts and from the perspectives of these soldiers who are representative of the thousands of soldiers from both sides. See attached question sheet The Front Line Experience (Appendix 6). These questions were adapted from the ATOM study guide for this film by Robert Lewis. The questions on the sheet for the students were deliberately targeted at the experiences of the soldiers rather than of more militaristic aspects of war. After watching the film as a class we discussed the various people's reasons for going to war. We also listened to Alec Campbell's recollection of the Anzac landing. Alec Campbell recalls the 1915 Anzac landing TLF ID R4387 The men of the First Australian Imperial Force were selected under some of the toughest criterion of any army in the First World War. Recruits were rejected unless they had a chest measurement of at least 87 centimetres and a minimum height of 168 centimetres. Recruits had to be aged between 19 and 38 years old, though men as old as 70 and many younger men managed to enlist. 3 Why do you think these measurements were used? How do you think these men would have looked as a unit? Morning at Passchendaele, 1917 TLF ID R2924 Acknowledgement – Reproduced courtesy of National Library of Australia This is a composite photo taken by the famous photographer Frank Hurley. Hurley has imposed the background onto the foreground to compose this picture (much like we use programs like Photoshop to create images). Discussion questions 3 Can you tell by the image which army these soldiers belong to? What feelings do you think the photographer was trying to convey by composing this picture? Do you know where this is? Do you know what the word propaganda means? See if you can find a definition of the word. Do you think this type of photo could have been used as propaganda in Australia? How could it have been used? If you could give this image a title, what would you call it? Macdougall, p.32. TLF description of the photo that was shared with the students after they had completed their questions: This is a black-and-white composite photograph, taken by Frank Hurley on the morning after the first battle of Passchendaele during the First World War, showing Australian infantry survivors laying out and placing blankets over dead soldiers around a blockhouse near the site of Zonnebeke Railway Station in Belgium on 12 October 1917. This asset is a scene taken after the Third Battle of Ypres on the Western Front following the Allies' attempt to take Passchendaele Ridge from the Germans – after heavy rains the ground was waterlogged, fighting took place in appalling mud, in which many men drowned or died when their internal organs were crushed as they were pulled out by rope; the name Passchendaele has become a synonym for mud and slaughter. Acknowledgement – © Curriculum Corporation and National Library of Australia I then discussed with the students why the Gallipoli Campaign was so well known, and other battles were not. I had students pick another battle that Australians were involved in and summarise the event into a paragraph that was then displayed around the room. The list of military events that Australia was involved in included: Capture of Bapuame, Capture of Beersheba, First Battle of Bullecourt, Second Battle of Bullecourt, Battle of Fromelles, First Battle of Gaza, Second Battle of Gaza, Battle of Jerusalem, Attack at Lagnicourt, Battle of Magdhaba, Battle of Megiddo, Attack of Moquet Farm, Battle of Mughar Ridge, Capture of Pozieres, Battle of Romani, and the Battle of the Somme. Extension: Students were shown: Postcard sent from France by Duncan McCallum, 1917 TLF ID R3694 This is an example of a postcard sent home from the front. Students were asked to imagine they were a soldier about to go to the front and send a postcard home to their families. Alternatively, they could imagine they were a family in Australia sending a message to a soldier fighting in the front line of battle. Australia at Home The reaction to war in Australia was instant and permanently changed the way Australia identified itself as a country. Of a population of 5 million more than 400 000 enlisted. At home, there were debates over conscription, pressure for young men to go to war and for their friends and families to support this move. Propaganda to sign up was wide spread. The following are a series of advertisements made for then Prime Minister W M (Billy) Hughes in favour of conscription. The students listened to these 'Referendum bullets' and discussed how they would affect the people listening to them at the time – especially coming from the then Prime Minister. Students had the concept of a referendum explained to them and were told how the idea of conscription split the nation. Referendum bullets TLF ID R1960 to R1972 The students were also shown the two posters listed below, both sources of propaganda aimed at men signing up to go to war. 'A hero of Dardanelles', 1915 – asset 2 TLF ID R1570 Australia's peril TLF ID R1327 Students were asked if in Australia there were any current events that also had people split into sides of an important issue. They were then asked to think about what type of advertising was used to talk about the issue. Has 'propaganda' changed in the last 90+ years? Opportunity for extension: Create your own propaganda piece to either attract men to sign up to war, or to encourage them not to go. You can use any media you choose. Peter Dalton: enlistment and the call to war TLF ID L369 Individually, students were asked to use the above TLF learning object and work through the program to decide if Peter Dalton, a teenager, should sign up for war. This is more of a secondary source and I discussed with the students whether they felt this was as relevant as some of the primary sources they had seen. The program looks at social pressure, family pressure and such things as white feathers that were given to men anonymously by someone who thought the individual should sign up for war but had not yet done so. After working through this exercise, the class was split on deciding whether to encourage Peter to go to war or not. They said it was difficult from their point of view to encourage someone to go to war, but could see that societal pressure would have been enormous. Legacy: The following song was played to the students in class. The students also had a copy of the lyrics. And the band played 'Waltzing Matilda' TLF ID R962 I then showed students the image: Anzac Day in Gundagai in 1920 – asset 1 TLF ID R2422 This image shows a crowd of people gathered together on Anzac Day 1920. The first Anzac Day was held in 1916, a year after the landing at Gallipoli. It took 7 years for it to become a national holiday. We discussed war as having both positive and negative impacts on all those involved. To finish our unit, students had a choice of the following two essay topics to write about. Students were asked to write a minimum of 300 words in reply. The First World War helped Australia to develop an identity as a nation. Do you agree with this statement? Is Anzac Day still relevant to people in our modern Australian life? Topics to follow up: The Treaty of Versailles. Was it too harsh? Reflection Teachers The unit worked quite well. The students enjoyed using different types of media to explore the Australian experience of the First World War. Things that went well: The use of the interactive smart board made viewing different content easy, as did having access to the school's computers. Things that didn't work well: The school's internet failed on one occasion, so that meant postponing looking at the Peter Dalton resource. Next time I would probably try to look at each section of my unit in a more balanced manner. The first section, the outbreak of war, is such a complicated issue it deserves to be a unit on its own. Another thing I would like to try would be a photo essay on propaganda used during the war. Students The students regularly use digital content in their classrooms, so the students are comfortable with the media. They enjoy using the resources, especially if it makes it easier to research a topic. They liked interactive resources rather than static ones. They said that some of the voices were hard to understand on some clips, but having a transcript available helped. Some of the students regularly participate in Anzac Day ceremonies as school representatives, cadets and with their families – they enjoyed the way that the digital resources helped to make the experiences of the soldiers more personal and real. Appendix 1 OUTCOMES - Society and History - The Tasmanian curriculum Strand 1: Identity relationships and culture Recognise that Australian identity evolves over time. Strand 2: Democratic values and processes. Recognise that some groups have shared values. Understand how democracy reflects personal beliefs and values Strand 6: Historical inquiry Identify assertions, bias and assumptions and explain why people hold particular views. Evaluate and use multiple sources of primary and secondary evidence to reach a considered view. Understand how historical perspective and context work together to influence evidence and viewpoints. Understand how tools such as propaganda can be used to portray individuals and events. Strand 8: Communication Understand how information is influenced by context, values and beliefs. Understand and synthesise information from varied sources. Understand how individuals and groups use tools such as propaganda to persuade. Appendix 2 Primary and secondary sources 1. What are primary and secondary sources? The people who lived before us left us clues about how their lives were lived. These clues include books, government documents, letters, oral accounts, diaries, maps, photographs, reports, written stories, artefacts, coins, stamps, and many other things. These things are sources of information. Historians, in their research, break these sources of information down into primary sources and secondary sources. Primary sources are actual records that have survived from the past. Examples of primary sources are letters, photographs, clothing, and diaries. Secondary sources are explanations of the past created by people writing about events sometime after they happened. An example of secondary sources would be text books: Someone wrote most of your textbook long after historical events took place, although in a textbook you might find some primary resources like photos and quotes. Another secondary source could be a film made after the event re-enacting what happened. 2. Limits of the historical record: holes in information A: To find out about the limitations of the historical record, do the following activity: Think about what you did in the last 24 hours. List as many activities you can remember. For each activity on your list, write down any evidence you could have left behind. For some activities you will have no evidence. Then answer these questions: 1. Which activities left behind the most evidence? 2. Which activities left behind the least evidence? 3. What could a historian extrapolate from the evidence you left behind? (What conclusions could be made from your evidence?) What does your evidence say about the society in which you live? B: Think about an event currently in the news (e.g. the proposed Gunns Pulp Mill) and answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. What kinds of evidence does this event create? Who creates and records this evidence? Who would keep this evidence and why? Would there be opposing views recorded as part of this evidence? 3. What are the best types of sources to use in research? The people who study historical sources analyse them in different ways. Primary and secondary resources both have value, depending on how you analyse them. These are some of the things that can help you analyse whether a source is useful to you or not: Prejudice and bias Every source has some type of prejudice or bias in it. Sources only tell us what their creator wants us to find out (a bit like reading a 99% fat free label on something without checking how much sugar was used to make the product). This is why good researchers will look at more than one piece of information and cross-check facts! When and where (time and place) The closer in time to an event a source is made, generally, the better (or more accurate) it is. An example of this is eyewitness accounts taken by the police after an accident. Other things to ask about sources: Who created it? Was it planned carefully and deliberately or quickly and without planning? Was the person actually there? Does the creator have some type of investment in the source (e.g. an advertisement)? Was it meant to persuade you in some way? Was the creator actually there or did they talk to people/hear information after the event? Did the creator talk to more than one person or many people? Was the source meant to be made public or intended only for private use? 4. Using your knowledge: Find an interesting newspaper article from The Mercury (or another newspaper) and complete the following activities: A. Summarise the article in your own words. B. Use the above questions to analyse your selected article. C. Be prepared to share your article and your analysis with the class next lesson. Extension: A. See if you can find the same story in another newspaper, TV report or in any other media. Compare it to your findings in your original article. B. Select 5 things from your bedroom at home – what could a historian infer about you based only on these pieces of evidence? Do you think this would be an accurate interpretation of who you are? Why/Why not? Appendix 3 Imperialism Imperialism is most commonly understood in relation to building an empire. It is the expansion of a nation's power by conquest of land and establishing economic and political powers in other territories or nations. Colonialism can also be included under this banner. The increasing global competition for markets and trade is an underlying part to this cause for war. Mapping: You have been given two blank maps of the world. Label one 'British Empire 1914' and the other 'German Empire 1914'. Using the internet, books from the library or any other resource you would like, find out what pieces of land England claimed as part of its empire in 1914. Colour them in on your world map. Then do the same for Germany. 1. In what part(s) of the world did you find that Germany had colonies? 2. From your prior knowledge, do these parts of the world have good natural resources? 3. Still using what you already know about the world, compare Germany's colonies to those of England in regard to the amount of land they controlled and the natural resources available to them as a result. 4. Economically and politically how important do you think it was for the countries of Europe to create empires? Working with quotes: Quote 1: In 1898 Germany added the tiny Caroline Islands in the Pacific to its empire. This is how the Kaiser (Emperor) William II was told about the new colony: 'This success will stimulate people and the navy… to follow your Majesty along the road which leads to world power, greatness and eternal glory.' 1. What does this statement suggest was behind Germany's drive for colonies? 2. Why do you think at this time naval power was so important? Quote 2: In 1897 Admiral Tirpitz, the German Secretary of State sent a secret note to the Kaiser: 'For Germany, the most dangerous enemy at the present time is England. It is the enemy against which we most urgently require a [navy].' 1. Why would this note have been kept secret? Quote 3: In 1900 the German Government publicly declared that: 'For the protection of sea trade there is only one means – a strong battle fleet.' 1. What reasons did the German Government give to the public for building and maintaining a strong navy? 2. Why is trade so important to any country and at anytime in history? (The above quotes are all from F. Fischer's War of Illusions) Appendix 4 Alliances Countries sought to increase their strength by gaining allies. Europe was criss-crossed by rival systems of military alliances. These alliances were dangerous because they increased suspicion and fear. There was also the worry that a war breaking out between two nations would result in many more countries becoming involved. The war was spread by two major alliances. The Entente Powers initially consisted of France, the United Kingdom, Russia, and their associated empires and dependencies. Numerous other states joined these allies, most notably Italy in April 1915, and the United States in April 1917. The Central Powers, so named because of their central location on the European continent, initially consisted of Germany and Austria-Hungary and their associated empires. The Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers in October 1914, followed a year later by Bulgaria. One of the goals of the foreign policies of the Great Powers in the pre-war years was to maintain the 'Balance of Power' in Europe. This evolved into an elaborate network of secret and public alliances and agreements. For example, after the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71), Britain seemed to favour a strong Germany, as it helped to balance its traditional enemy, France. After Germany began its naval construction plans to rival that of Britain, this stance shifted. France, looking for an ally to balance the threat created by Germany, found it in Russia. Austria-Hungary, facing a threat from Russia, sought support from Germany. When the First World War broke out, these treaties only partially determined who entered the war on which side. Britain had no treaties with France or Russia, but entered the war on their side. Italy had a treaty with both Austria-Hungary and Germany, yet did not enter the war with them; Italy later sided with the Allies. Perhaps the most significant treaty of all was the initially defensive pact between Germany and Austria-Hungary, which Germany in 1909 extended by declaring that Germany was bound to stand with Austria-Hungary even if it had started the war. Summarised from Wikipedia – World War I, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I) Appendix 5 Nationalism and Franz Ferdinand People are willing to do whatever it takes to protect what they believe in. What are you willing to fight for? Since the beginning of history people have been prepared to fight for their homes. They have also fought for the right to have a home and to call it theirs. In the 1860's the Germanic states went from being a 'loose little group' of states into forming the country of Germany. Prussia (the largest of these states) defeated Austria and took the states north of itself under its control. The Prussian Army then went on to defeat France in the Franco-Prussian war (1871) to take control of Alsace and Lorraine – both belonging to France and situated on the border between France and the newly formed Germany. Alsace and Lorraine had a mixture of German and French speaking people living there. The Prussians thought that the Germanic speaking people would prefer to belong to the new Germany. It's a powerful feeling wanting to belong to a group, especially wanting to belong to a group to whom your family has felt connections for many generations. The Prussians fought two wars to unite what they felt was their country. At the same time, on the Balkan Peninsula (south east Europe) three different empires were in conflict over who had a right to control it: Turkey, Austria-Hungary and Russia all had interests in the area. Austria-Hungary controlled the region at the time. The people of the Balkans (Bosnia and Serbia, also known as Slavic people) wanted to be free to create their own rule and preserve their traditions, language and religion. The immediate cause of the First World War was an assassination on the June 28, 1914. Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne was assassinated by Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serb citizen of Austria-Hungary and member of the Black Hand - a group whose aims included the unification of the South Slavs and independence from Austria-Hungary. The assassination in Sarajevo set in motion a series of fast-moving events that eventually escalated into full-scale war. Austria-Hungary demanded action by Serbia to punish those responsible and, when Austria-Hungary deemed Serbia had not complied (they did not meet one of the many conditions), it declared war. Major European powers were at war within weeks because of overlapping agreements for collective defence and the complex nature of international alliances. The majority of Australians at that time had strong ties to Europe – in particular with Britain. Although some families had been in Australia for many generations, they still felt that Britain was somehow home. Many Australians today still talk about where their families came from before they came to Australia. 'Mother England' was calling her children back to help and who could possibly ignore the call of their Mother if she was in pain? Appendix 6 The Front Line Experience: Gallipoli - Film Study Acknowledgement - The following questions (1–9) are reproduced with permission of ATOM, www.metromagazine.com.au. 1. We 'meet' several individuals – from England, Turkey, Australia and New Zealand – early in the film. Why does each enlist in the war? 2. One of the most interesting characters is Guy Nightingale. Look at the quotations from him during the course of the film. What are his initial attitudes and values towards war? …Do any of these surprise you – such as his attitude towards fighting? How do his attitudes and values change during the war? 3. There is a great amount of detail in the film on the Turkish soldiers. Why do you think the film would give them such emphasis? Do you think this is effective? 4. There is also great emphasis in the film on the families of soldiers. Why do you think there is this emphasis? Is it effective? 5. The film focuses several times on battles where men who are about to go into action know they will die – yet they still go. One example of this is at The Nek. Why do you think soldiers in that situation accept it and go to their death in this way? 6. The film also several times looks at leadership, and at the men who devise plans that they know will send many men to certain death. How do you think leaders can do this? Is the attitude of the filmmaker consistent in the way he shows this – for example, does his attitude towards Mustafa Kemal ordering men to die differ from that towards the British leaders? 7. A common image of war presented by films about the Australians is their bravery. Many films stress the bravery of the diggers at the landing, or feature the work of John Simpson in rescuing many wounded soldiers under fire, or stress the action at Lone Pine where the Australians won seven Victoria Crosses. Does this film stress such individual bravery? 8. The narrator says that while men saw terrible things and did terrible things, they never lost humanity. Does the film effectively portray this idea to you? 9. Gallipoli is a key element in Australia's image of itself – far more so than other countries, except perhaps Turkey and New Zealand. Why is this?