After Gallipoli - Christmas on Lemnos

      Soldiers after opening their billies
      with the lids on their heads.

This Christmas we remember the Gallipoli Evacuation from Anzac Cove; the ANZAC evacuation concluded just before Christmas on 20 December 1915.

The most successful operation of the Gallipoli Campaign was the staggered evacuation of Anzac troops between 18 and 20 December 1915 under cover of a vast deception operation. This final operation was achieved with very minimal casualties. The failed campaign cost more than 28,000 Australian casualties, of which 8,700 suffered fatal wounds.

Gallipoli was also an extremely costly failure for the allied forces more generally, with 115,000 total British Empire casualties. New Zealand alone suffered more than 8,000 casualties, including 2,779 dead. The Turks paid by far the heaviest price for their victory with an estimated 250,000 men killed or wounded defending the Dardanelles.

Following the evacuation most Australian troops rested on the nearby Greek island of Lemnos. The image at bottom shows Australian soldiers with their special Christmas Billies at their camp at Sarpi, Lemnos in December 1915. The feature image above shows the unlucky troops already in England at Ward 22, Harefield Hospital decorated for an Aussie Christmas.