First World War The Western Front
Western Front – the beginning
Following the 1915 Gallipoli campaign, a large part of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) transferred from Egypt to the Western Front in early 1916, serving in France and Belgium.
The AIF suffered its greatest losses on the Western Front during 1916-1918. Of the more than 295,000 Australians who served in that theatre, some 46,000 were killed in action or died from other causes. More than 100,000 were wounded.
The first major battle involving Australians on the Western Front was at the northern French village of Fromelles on 19 July 1916. This attack was a feint in support of the main British offensive on the Somme which had commenced on 1 July. The attack by the 5th Australian Division proved to be a complete failure. In less than 24 hours, the Australians suffered over 5,500 casualties and 470 became prisoners of war.
On the Somme from late July into early September 1916, troops of the 1st, 2nd and 4th Australian Divisions attacked at Pozières and Mouquet Farm, and although they captured some ground, this came at the cost of severe casualties.
Western Front 1917–1918
The worst year for the AIF on the Western Front was 1917. A further 76,000 Australians became casualties in battles at Bullecourt, Messines, and during the four month campaign known as the 3rd battle of Ypres, commonly also referred to as the Battle of Passchendaele.
Bullecourt is the site of two of the bloodiest battles involving Australians on the Western Front. During April and May 1917 more than 10,000 Australians were killed or wounded at Bullecourt, along with a further 1,170 who were taken prisoner at the First Battle of Bullecourt – the largest number of Australians captured during a single engagement in the First World War.
At year’s end the five Australian divisions were organised into the Australian Corps and spent the winter of 1917–1918 in Belgium.
Villers-Bretonneux
The First Battle of Villers-Bretonneux took place over 4 – 5 April 1918. Elements of the Australian 9th Infantry Brigade led an Allied counter-attack which repelled a German advance on the town of Villers-Bretonneux.
Several weeks later on the morning of 24 April, the Germans captured Villers-Bretonneux in a surprise attack involving tanks and assault troops. Elements of the 4th and 5th Australian Divisions (the 13th and 15th Infantry Brigades) carried out a surprise counter attack that night and recaptured Villers-Bretonneux by the following morning – 25 April (Anzac Day) 1918. These two battles at Villers-Bretonneux were significant, but costly, achievements by the AIF. They marked the effective end of the German drive in the British sector towards the vital rail and communications centre of Amiens.
Lead up to Armistice
During July and August 1918, the Allied counter-offensive was unleashed on the Western Front, firstly by French and American forces in the Second Battle of the Marne (18 July – 6 August), quickly followed by British (including the Australian and Canadian Corps) and French forces in the Battle of Amiens (8–11 August). This marked the commencement of the ‘100 days’ of unrelenting Allied offensive operations that would lead to the Armistice on 11 November 1918.
The Australian Corps played a leading role in the offensive operations east of Amiens until it was withdrawn in early October 1918 for rest and refitting after the Hindenburg Line had been breached. By then, the Australian Corps had cemented its reputation as one of the foremost Allied fighting formations on the Western Front. Its feats, and those of the AIF as a whole, were characterised by Australia’s Official Historian of the First World War, Charles Bean, as ‘a possession forever’ for the Australian nation.
Facts and figures
Australians who served
- More than 295,000 Australians served on the Western Front
Casualties
- Some 46,000 Australians died on the Western Front
- Some 4,000 Australians were captured by the Germans on the Western Front
Major Australian Battles on the Western Front
- 19–20 July 1916 – Battle of Fromelles
- 23 July – 3 September 1916 – Battle of Pozieres, including Mouquet Farm
- 11 April & 3 – 17 May 1917 – First and Second Battles of Bullecourt
- 7-14 June 1917 – Battle of Messines
- 31 July – 10 November 1917 – Third Battle of Ypres
- 24–25 April 1918 – Recapture of Villers-Bretonneux
- 4 July 1918 – Battle of Hamel
- 8–11 August 1918 – Battle of Amiens
- 31 August – 3 September 1918 – Battle of Mont St. Quentin
Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery
- 2,146 Commonwealth servicemen from the First World War are buried or commemorated in this cemetery, including two New Zealand airmen casualties of the Second World War.
- Within the cemetery stands the Australian National Memorial, erected to commemorate all Australian soldiers who fought in France and Belgium during the First World War. Inscribed on the memorial’s walls are the names of more than 10,000 Australians who died on the Western Front, who have no known grave.