Gallipoli - Episode 1 (ATOM Study Guide)

Gallipoli (Glendyn Ivin, 2015) is a seven-part miniseries about the Australian and New Zealand experience of the Gallipoli campaign in 1915 – the campaign that contributed so strongly to the national identity of the two nations.

As dawn breaks on 25 April 1915, Anzac troops go into battle on the beaches of the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey. Although they fight heroically in a chaotic and confusing battle, the landing is ultimately a disaster. It will be the start of an eight-month stalemate where thousands will lose their lives.

Living in the trenches amongst the dysentery, flies and mud, Thomas 'Tolly' Johnson, seventeen, learns what it means to be a young man in war. Having lied about his age to enlist with his brother Bevan, Tolly's fears mount that he will be killed on the peninsula when he is thrust into the brutal battles at Gallipoli.

General Sir Ian Hamilton, commander of the Gallipoli campaign, optimistically clings to the belief that he can break the stalemate at Anzac and Helles and take the peninsula. When his battles at Lone Pine, Chunuk Bair, Suvla Bay and The Nek result in catastrophic losses and further stalemates along the coastline, Hamilton, refusing to acknowledge defeat, requests another 95,000 men.

The flamboyant and outspoken British journalist Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett becomes deeply concerned about Hamilton's campaign and the incompetence of the British command, and does his best to get the truth back to London.

When the military censor intercepts his letters and reports criticising the campaign, Ashmead-Bartlett becomes even more determined to alert the British Prime Minister to the catastrophe unfolding at Gallipoli. He finds an ally in Australian correspondent Keith Murdoch and together they carry out their plan to end the stalemate at Gallipoli.

Episode 1: First Day

As dawn breaks on 25 April 1915, seventeen-year-old Thomas 'Tolly' Johnson lands with the Anzac troops at Gallipoli and finds himself in a chaotic, brutal battle for the Turkish heights.

Curriculum Applicability

Gallipoli is suitable as a classroom resource for middle and upper secondary students, especially for Australian History, English and Media Arts.