On 25 April 1915, with the landing of the Australian and New ZealandArmy Corps (ANZAC) below the slopes of Sari Bair on the Gallipolipeninsula, the ANZAC legend was born. Nine months later, havingsuffered thousands of casualties from disease, hand-to-hand fighting,bombing, sniping and forlorn charges across no man’s land, thepoliticians and senior military commanders in London called it quits.While the Turks also suffered terribly, they at least emerged victorious.The fighting at Anzac was not restricted to the ANZACs and Turksalone. British troops also fought at Anzac from the earliest days ofthe invasion and large numbers of British and Indian troops werecommitted to the Anzac sector during the failed August offensivedesigned to break the stalemate. The invasion was also supportedby large numbers of men — often non-combatants — who performedvital roles. Naval beach officers kept logistics operating in some formof ‘orderly’ fashion; Indian mule handlers moved supplies of food,water and ammunition to the front lines; and medical staff and armychaplains worked on the beach, caring for the wounded and the dead.All these men were frequently under fire from the Turkish batteryknown as ‘Beachy Bill’. Others surveyed the narrow beachhead andbored deep holes for drinking water; signallers tried desperately toestablish and maintain communications; and the gunners hunted thebattlefield for suitable places to site their guns. Off the peninsula, butjust as vital, were the nursing and medical staff on the hospital ships,at Lemnos, Alexandria, Cairo and Malta, and the airmen who flewabove the battlefield spotting for the navy and artillery.Shadows of Anzac: An intimate history of Gallipoli tells the story of the‘ordinary’ men and women who participated in the Gallipoli campaignfrom April to December 1915 and gave the Anzac legend meaning.Drawing on letters, diaries and other primary and secondary sources,David Cameron provides an intimate and personal perspective ofAnzac, a richly varied portrayal that describes the absurdity, monotonyand often humour that sat alongside the horrors of the bitter fight toclaim the peninsula.