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ANZAC Q&A - What was the

ANZAC Q&A - What was the "Naked Army"?

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Image: On June 11, 1915, British officer Aubrey Herbert noted: “The Australians and New Zealanders have given up wearing clothes."
 

Q.   What was the "Naked Army"?

A.   As the weather at Gallipoli turned warmer, then hotter, the Anzacs wore less and less clothes. Although men in the front line were required to wear a minimum of shirt, shorts, boots, puttees and web equipment, behind the lines many men wore the bare minimum of clothing, often no more than a pair of ragged shorts, a hat and a pair of boots without socks or puttees. The casual dress and ragged state of the clothes led to the Anzacs being nicknamed ‘the Naked Army’.

This and other trivia questions are included in our best selling Great War Educards

Help pass the Anzac legend to the next generation with our fun educards. These questions and answers were created with the help of noted Australian military historian Graham Wilson.

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