<P> The 1st Division departed Australia from Albany, Western Australia on 1 November 1914 in convoy of 10 transports escorted by several British, Australian and Japanese warships . Initially bound for British - controlled Egypt, with a stopover in Ceylon, the convoy had been delayed several times due to fears of interception by German warships in the area . These fears later proved valid when the German cruiser Emden was sighted off Cocos Island . As the convoy steered to avoid the threat, the Australian cruiser HMAS Sydney, engaged the Emden with her heavier guns and after an engagement that lasted only twenty - five minutes, the Sydney emerged victorious . </P> <P> The threat of the German Squadron neutralised, the convoy was able to continue its voyage unmolested . Upon their arrival in Egypt in November, the 1st Division moved to Camp Mena, near Cairo, where they were used to defend the Suez Canal against Turkey who had declared war on 29 October . During this time, the Australians commenced a period of training to prepare them for combat on the Western Front as it was still expected that they would be sent to England for deployment in the European theatre . As they waited, however, the Australian and New Zealand forces in Egypt at the time were formed into the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) under the command of Lieutenant General William Birdwood, and consisting of the Australian 1st Division and the composite New Zealand and Australian Division (NZ&A). </P> <P> Overcrowding and shortages of equipment in England meant that it was decided to keep the Anzacs in Egypt during the European winter, during which time they would undertake further training in order to prepare them for their eventual use in the trenches in France . Despite this, however, the training that the Australians and New Zealanders received in this time could only be considered very rudimentary in nature, and despite popular opinion at the time, it did little to prepare them for what was to come . </P> <P> In the background, though, moves were being made to commit the Australians and New Zealanders elsewhere . Later in November, Winston Churchill, in his capacity as First Lord of the Admiralty, put forward his first plans for a naval attack on the Dardanelles . A plan for an attack and invasion of the Gallipoli peninsula was eventually approved by the British cabinet in January 1915 . It was decided that the Australian and New Zealand troops would take part in the operation, although they were outnumbered by the British, Indian and French contingents, a fact which is often overlooked today by many Australians and New Zealanders . The objective of the invasion was to open up another front against the Central Powers and to open the Black Sea's only entrance to the Mediterranean, via the Dardanelles and Bosphorus, to allow shipping to Russia all year round . </P>

Where were the anzac troops sent to train instead of england