This Christmas we remember the Gallipoli Evacuation from Anzac Cove; the ANZAC evacuation concluded just before Christmas on 20 December 1915.
A substantial amount of military ordnance had to be abandoned at Gallipoli. Needless to say, the Anzac commanders didn't want to leave helpful materiel for the Turks. Especially since they were still fighting the Ottoman Empire on a second front in the Sinai Desert.
The image above shows Anzac troops breaking up rum cases on North Beach on 17 December 1915 prior to the commencement of evacuations. The respected Padre, Chaplain Walter Dexter who watched this activity later wrote:
"All the rum has been spilt. That was the greatest blessing of all. The place stinks of rum, and when going along the beach the water close in had a red tinge. Men actually got down on their knees in some places and lapped up the rum. But altogether, there were not many drunks."
There were many Orthodox Christian troops amongst the multi-ethnic Ottoman forces, but it seems the Australians would rather do the back-breaking work of shattering rum cases on the beach than allow the enemy to potentially enjoy the festivities.
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