Defence chief stands by Gallipoli criticism

GALLIPOLI - The country's defence chief has defended his Anzac Day criticism of British army officers whose Gallipoli strategy caused the deaths of 44,000 Allied soldiers 90 years ago.

Chief of Defence Force Air Marshal Bruce Ferguson made the criticism at the dawn service at Anzac Cove on Turkey's Gallipoli Peninsula yesterday.

He said the mission was a combination of extreme tragedy, gallantry, occasional inspired leadership at lower levels, gross incompetence at higher levels, and of endurance, cruelty and compassion.

Air Marshal Ferguson said today he knew the speech was provocative for the 90th anniversary of the landings but he wanted people to understand his speech.

He said people may disagree with his speech but "at least they get to think about it".

"Terrible decisions were made based on poor premises and we lost thousands of people. We need to look at it from a historical perspective and decide let's not necessarily glorify the myth. Let's look at it and decide what did it actually do?

"What I was trying to do was, as my own personal views, was not say perhaps we have gone on too long immortalising about our men who died valiantly, and they did die valiantly. But did they need to die valiantly?"

The Gallipoli landings on April 25, 1915, were meant to capture the Dardanelles and open up new sea lanes through the Black Sea to southern Russia.

However, the campaign failed spectacularly and cost 44,000 Allied and 88,000 Turkish lives in eight months before the troops were withdrawn just before Christmas 1915.

Air Marshal Ferguson also told the dawn service there was no glory to Gallipoli 90 years ago. It was rather a folly of high command and joint warfare at its worst from the British side.

There was a lack of focus, blunders and the squandering of life, he said as the special guest of the dawn service, Prince Charles, listened.

Air Marshal Ferguson said Prince Charles had no trouble with the speech.

"We had a good chat, he was not concerned at all," said Air Marshal Ferguson.

He said the speech was aimed at young people in the hope the mistakes of the past would not be repeated.

Prime Minister Helen Clark said after the midday memorial service at Chunuk Bair today she was comfortable with the speech.

"I think 90 years on things can be said which might not have been said nearer to the time," she said.

- NZPA