English Breaker Morant Essay topic:
Statement of Intention:
The most primary reason why I decided to express my views creatively upon this issue, of the film Breaker Morant by Bruce Beresford, is that the order made clear by the British High Command sent out to the Bushveldt Carbineers was bitter and simple. To fight the Boer on its terms, and to take no prisoners. Such an order could prove fatal, especially to Lieutenant Harry Breaker Morant, who was dishonorably used as a scapegoat for the British Empire to appease political conflict between Germany at the time. Throughout this writing piece, I hope to give insight to the audience in what thoughts feelings would have gone through the Australians minds, especially Lieutenant Harry Breaker Morant.
„h I lieutenant Harry Breaker Morant, state to you all today, as god as my witness, in the fight for justice, that my actions and behavior did not at any time breach those of orders given to me by the British High Command during periods of combat. However it was ironically clear that the corrupt jury did not listen, appreciate, or respect Handcock, Whitten or myself in the one eyed courtroom. It was as if we Australians where playing a tails, on a double headed penny, there was no possibility of victory.
„h My survival, honour and safe return home was all but a fading light at the end of the tunnel. It was clear that they wanted me to fight the Boer, but also to be used as a bloody scapegoat for the bloody empire, I lieutenant Morant, leader of the special group, the Bushveldt Carbineers. I guess that us Australians fighting for the Empire was not a privilege, but a bloody scam, a set up, we were fooled.
„h There they where watching us fighting such inhumanly, to take out as many of the enemy as possible, and to return none, that was the order and we did nothing but follow it. Something the British where to afraid to do, and we Australians where demanded to endeavor.
„h Well they tricked us all right, they tricked us good, of course this would never be the case if our superior Captain hunt was alive for t he court trail. He was given the order directly from the mouth of the bloody English. Without our skipper, we have no evidence to prove our innocence, they all been sent to bloody India.
We decided that the Mau Mau’s violence was justifiable in this case.The one fact that made us lean towards the decision was that there were among 30,000 Kenyans who lost their lives toward this uprising, and only 30 British died. As both the defendants and prosecutors did an excellent job, I believed that the Defense's case was more organized with facts, arguments and quotes that helped me
“On the other side of our barbed wire fence were twenty or thirty Aussie men – as skinny as us – and wearing slouch hats. Unlike the Japs, they had hairy legs. And they were standing in rows – serenading us.”
Stacey, C. P. Six Years of War: The Army in Canada, Britain and the Pacific.
To set the stage for this battle, we must first understand what the British were thinking at the time. The British had not ...
Hypothesis: The Australian public made a significant contribution to the war efforts from 1939 to 1945, through sacrifices on a personal and national level. The determination of the Australian people in bringing their loved ones home safely, created strong relationships between the community, which in many cases, are still prevalent in Australian society to this day.
Although these facts are all true one of the most important was that they would have the honour of representing their country with honour and pride which is the true Anzac Legend. This was how the Australian Imperial Force was formed. The Australians worked hard and were enthusiastic and had all their equipment ready for battle and the troops headed to Egypt for training.
Australia (as a counry) felt a loyalty towards the 'mother country', Britaain and that the war would be a good opportunity to improve Ausrtalia's international reputation. Many individual Australians also joined the war for a variety of reasons. Some felt a strong loyalty to Britain who had supported Australia, and now, they felt, was the time for them to 'do their bit'. Others enlsted simply to prove they were brave enough to fight, but some enlisted because their friends had. Some simply enlisted because they needed a job, pay, and regular meals, but many enlisted in the army for an adventure, not knowing the true horrors of war. Private A.J. McSparrow (former railway worker from Parramatta, NSW), was one of the many men whwo enlisted because he felt that it was his duty to support the 'mother country' ..."I have (enlisted) ... and I don't regret it in the very least. I believe that it is every young fellow's duty" and "... we are the sort of men who should go."Private Antill enlisted because he needed the money, clothes and food and also because it was easier work than cabinet making ..."I tell you what I have just joined the Australan army ... it's not bad money here 5/- a day and clothes and food that's nearly as good as cabinet making and not half as hard."Lieutenant D.G. Armstrong (former bank clerk from Kyneton, Victoria), thought that the war would be great opportunity to prove his strength and to show that he was not a coward..."I am going to have a try for the war ... I think I ought to go, they want all they can get and ... I think it's the greatest opportunity for a chap to make a man of himself, those that come back from this war will be men of the right sort that anybody would be proud of.
Thesis: During World War 1, the amount of Australians enlisting decreased due to the realisation that war was not as it was portrayed to the public
Although, most of it is accounted by the war itself, the suffering of many Australian veterans had much to do with...
When the Great War began, Australia went to war as a nation which not only held its own but was invaluable to many ...
...The fact that Australia publically sought America’s help angered Britain, but it was all that Australia could do seen as Britain let Singapore fall to the Japanese and did not given Australia suitable reinforcements to help with the growing pressure from the Japanese. It is shown throughout the war that the fall of Singapore damaged Australia’s relations with Britain, there are even cable grams of John Curtain telling Elsie Curtain how badly the relations with Britain and that he has a fight with Churchill almost every day (National Archives of Australia). Australia had always felt the threat of invasion in WWII but when Singapore fell it was almost certain. Australia moved further away from Britain when they publicly sought Americas help with the growing threat of a Japanese attack. None of this would have happened if Singapore had remained in British control.
The Vietnam War was one of the most controversial wars in history, perhaps because it was one of the first wars to be documented, filmed and shown on television for most of the public to see, judge, feel and eventually protest against. This essay will discuss the varying experiences of Australian veterans upon their return to Australia from Vietnam. In my opinion, I do believe that the Australian soldiers of the Vietnam War were treated horribly when they got back from Vietnam. Opposition Leader Arthur Calwell and many Australian families who had to fight in the Vietnam War believed that it was a bad idea to send troops. Families watched their men and boys leave for Vietnam as soldiers and came back as disrespected veterans.
Peter Weir’s 1981 film Gallipoli can in every sense of the phrase be called an ‘Australian classic’. The impact and effect this film has had upon the psyche and perspective of several generations of Australians has been significant. Whilst it can be argued that every Australian is aware of the ANZAC legend, and the events that occurred on the Turkish beaches in 1915, Weir’s film encapsulates and embodies a cultural myth which is now propagated as fact and embraced as part of the contemporary Australian identity. The film projects a sense of Australian nationalism that grew out of the 1970’s, and focuses on what it ‘means’ to be an Australian in a post-colonial country. In this way Gallipoli embodies a sense of ‘Australian-ness’ through the depiction of mateship and through the stark contrast of Australia to Britain. A sense of the mythic Australia is further projected through the cinematic portrayal of the outback, and the way in which Australia is presented in isolation from the rest of the world. These features combined create not only a sense of nationalism, but also a mythology stemming from the ANZAC legend as depicted within the film.
The Fall of Singapore was perhaps the biggest failure for the British army. Singapore was meant to be an impregnable naval base for the British army, it was also vital to Australia’s security because it acted as a first line of defense. On February 3rd the Japanese began attacking Singapore using air attacks. Britain responded to the attack by using the coastal guns on the island but were ineffective against the planes. On February 8, the first Japanese landings began on Singapore's northwest coast. The Japanese were met by the Australians but they were forced to retreat by midnight. On February 13 the coastal guns Singapore’s strongest defensive weapons were destroyed. Tactical miscalculations and poor communicati...
Parks, G. (2005). The Importance of the Battle of Long Tan. Retrieved May 28th, 2014, from City of Parramatta RSL Sub-branch: http://www.parramattarsl.com.au/rsl9/BLTI.htm