Focus Question 2: Why Did New Zealand Become Involved in the Gallipoli Campaign?During this time in NZ History, New Zealanders still believed they were British. Due to this, New Zealand also relied very heavily on Britain for trade, the economy and even their culture. They believed that if Britain went to war and lost, it would have an everlasting and damaging effect on NZ as a nation, so they were prepared to make sure that didnt happen. Because leading up to World War I New Zealanders considered themselves British, when the call came through that Britain had gone to war, the NZ Prime Minister pledged support on behalf of New Zealand and began to put in place an Expeditionary Force to send overseas. This was not a difficult feat, as at the time the 1909 Defence Act made military training compulsory for men over the age of 12. As well as having able bodied soldiers being trained from a young age, New Zealanders were ready and willing to go to war as romanticism of war had been popular at this time. When the announcement of Britains war was made, people cheered and there were wide-spread celebrations. New Zealanders enthusiastically rushed to support their Mother without any second thought. People expected the war to be quick and victorious but this was not the case. Social pressure played a huge part as it was viewed as honourable to be helping your Mother. Refusing to serve in the war, although not illegal, was dishonourable and unmanly. People also viewed the war as a cheap way to travel overseas and see the world for free. New Zealand troops were sent off, with the Australian forces, (ANZAC), to Egypt to complete their training. In early April 1915 ANZAC troops were transported to Lemnos, a Greek island, in preparation for the invasion of the Gallipoli Peninsula. The reason this location was chosen for the attack was due to the fact that the Dardanelles Strait was a crucial sea route to the Russian Empire, who was on the side of Britain in the war. Securing this strait would mean more resources, more arms and a better chance of winning the war. The reason ANZAC soldiers were chosen for this task, was due to the fact that they happened to be in Egypt, so it was an easy and logical move to move them to the Gallipoli campaign as they were closer than most other forces around the world. Originally the plan was to force the strait with naval ships, but this was unsuccessful. They then sent in the ANZAC troops as part of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force (MEF) to storm the Gallipoli Peninsula and take it by force. The MEF had approx. 75,000 troops and ANZAC forces made up near half of that. This was an extremely important campaign to New Zealand as it was finally a chance to prove our skills and bravery to the rest of the world on a global scale.