A soldier’s war: Gallipoli

It’s late December 1915. Your production company (class) has been asked to produce a film on the recently-completed Gallipoli campaign. Gallipoli: the true story will include a number of sequences and examine various aspects and the key figures of the eight-month mission.

Divide your class into these groups. There should be two or three students in each group. Longer descriptions of what each group will do and what will go in each of the sequences will follow in the ‘Making the film’ section.

  • Group 1 — The plan: what could the Anzacs expect when they landed at Gallipoli

  • Group 3 — The landing: what happened on the first day of the campaign

  • Group 4 — The leadership: examine the command of Gallipoli operations

  • Group 5 — Albert Jacka: Australia’s first Victoria Cross winner at Gallipoli

  • Group 6 — Archie Barwick: a soldier who was there on the first day and there on the last describes the living conditions at Gallipoli

  • Group 7 — Treating the wounded: discuss the work of the nurses and the conditions they faced during the Gallipoli campaign

  • Group 8 — The August Offensive: the attacks at Lone Pine, Chunuk Bair and Suvla Bay

  • Group 9 — The enemy: consider the Gallipoli campaign from the Turkish perspective

  • Group 10 — The reporter: examine the role played by British journalist Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett during the campaign

  • Group 11 — Evacuation: how did the Anzacs leave Gallipoli

  • Group 12 — Evaluation: assess the campaign; success or failure? Why?

Note: You may substitute one of the soldiers or the nurse with a deceased relative or local person who served at Gallipoli. Make sure, however, that you have enough information to be able to produce a 1-2 minute sequence.