In article ,
(Eunometic) wrote:

nt (Krztalizer) wrote in message
...

"Digger" sounds like how someone
would say the original name if they
had a touch of the sniffles...

"Digger" was an uncomplementary name for either dark-skinned or mixed
race
folks in Australia, or at least it was in the past. Perhaps it was the
local
equiv of "Sambo", who, when I was a kid, was a savvy and rather brave
youg kid
that defeated a hungry pride of lions using only his wits. How that
ever got
turned into a racial slur, I will never know!

On the contrary. "Digger" in Australia is very complimentary and
affectionate term though it is somewhat an anachronism that is applied
to older war vetrans.

However the term is associated most strongly with the soldiers of the
ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Core) who in 1915 were landed
due to British aristocratic military incompetence at Galliolli into
whithering fire in a ferrociously defended turkish beach whose
defensive strategy was designed by the Germans for the Turks. The
ANZACS suffered heroic losses while displaying courage and
determination. "Digger" I believe refers to the act of digging a
trench.

From my non-ANZAC position, if anything, you understate their
accomplishments. Even in spite of being against some of the most
difficult opposition, their command and control was vastly superior to
that of the other landing forces. Battalion/brigade commanders appeared
to know what they were doing.

The day of the landings and the events sorounding it is solemly
celebrated every year in Australia as a national holiday as it marks a
turning point in History and perhaps a point at which many Australians
saw them self more Australian than British. The American equivalent
would be Iwo Jima or the Alamo.

I'd respectfully put it somewhere in between. The similarity to Iwo
Jima is that they made a relatively unopposed landing and ran into
vicious opposition as they tried to move inland--and did to some extent.
As opposed to Iwo and other WWII operations, the doctrine of amphibious
operations simply was too immature for there to have been real success.
With no disrespect, the ANZAC force managed a very tough withdrawal, as
opposed to the near-panic on other landing zones.

On the other hand, as opposed to the Alamo, there were survivors.