WESTERN FRONT
CAMPAIGN
After Gallipoli, Australian troops regrouped in Egypt. Strengthened by fresh reinforcements from Australia they moved to the Western Front (France and Belgium) and were heavily involved by July 1916, with Douglas Diggers in the 9th, 15th, 19th, 25th, 26th and 47th Battalions taking part in the Somme offensive at Pozieres and shortly after at Mouquet Farm, where the 49th first fought.
In 1917, the Australians, including the Battalions with Douglas soldiers, were again heavily engaged: in March at Bapaume; in May and June at Bullecourt (where the 15th suffered major losses) and Messines; and from September to November, in the great battle of the Ypres offensive. Casualties were high.
In March and April 1918, Australian troops played a prominent part in the defence of Amiens, Hazebrouck and Villers-Bretonneux, during a massive German attack in France and Belgium (the Spring Offensive). The German attack was halted and the Allies mounted their own offensive from July. The Australians were engaged in a number of battles as the Allies drove the Germans back towards eventual defeat. The Armistice was signed on 11 November 1918.
Below / Unidentified men of the Australian 5th Division enjoying a cigarette and rest by the side of the Montauban road, near Mametz, France, while en-route to the trenches.
Image courtesy of the Australian War Memorial E00019. Colourised and researched by Benjamin Thomas, Australia. Via ANZAC100 Initiative at https://anzac100.initiatives.qld.gov.au/
