AIF's Experience on the Western Front
The AIF (Australian Imperial Force) was founded in 1914 as a separate army that was purely voluntary. It was originally formed in response to Britain's declaration of war on Germany. In total, 331,814 Australians were sent overseas to serve in the AIF. They were originally commanded by General William Bridges who assumed command of the infantry division of the AIF. However, after the death of Bridges at Gallipoli, command of the AIF passed to William Birdwood (. The Western Front was 700 kilometres long and was located from the Swiss border to the North Sea. It also consisted of a series of trenches. On March 1916, the AIF moved inbto France and by the months of June and July, were heavily involved on the Western Front. On the 19th of July, 1916, the 5th division encountered Germans in a small battle at Fromelles in Northern France. Shortly after this occurred, the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th divisions became entangled in Somme offensive at Poziers and Mouquet Farm (Burness, 2012). After six weeks of operation, the divisions suffered approximately 28,000 casualties. In November ,1916, the 3rd division was sent to the 'nursery' section around Armentieres after training in England for a period of time.
The final phase of the Somme campaign had been completed in November and the Winter had been spent integrating the forward positions in Bapaume. Again in 1917, the Australians were engaged in heavy combat. In March they were at Bapaume, in May and June they were in Bullecourt and Messines and from September to November they were involved in the battle of the Ypres offensive. In November 1917, the AFI divisions were formed into the Australian corps but this was not completed until May 1918. In March and April of 1918, the Australian Corps played a crucial role in the defence of Amiens, Hazebrouk and Villers-Bretonneux. This was during a huge German multi-pronged attack in France and Belgium. This is now known as Kaiserschacht or the Spring Offensive. The German attack was interrupted and the Allies launched their own from July. Soon after in August, the Australian and Canadian Corps had a successful attack to the east of Amiens. Following this, the Australians were engaged in many battles which was resulting in the Germans being driven to eventual defeat by the Allies. Throughout this duration of time, trench warfare was used constantly to wage war against the opposition. By the end of the war, the overall casualties for the AIF between 1916 and 1918 amounted to over 181,000 with more than 46,000 deaths. The death rate of the was the highest of all the British Commonwealth Armies.
The final phase of the Somme campaign had been completed in November and the Winter had been spent integrating the forward positions in Bapaume. Again in 1917, the Australians were engaged in heavy combat. In March they were at Bapaume, in May and June they were in Bullecourt and Messines and from September to November they were involved in the battle of the Ypres offensive. In November 1917, the AFI divisions were formed into the Australian corps but this was not completed until May 1918. In March and April of 1918, the Australian Corps played a crucial role in the defence of Amiens, Hazebrouk and Villers-Bretonneux. This was during a huge German multi-pronged attack in France and Belgium. This is now known as Kaiserschacht or the Spring Offensive. The German attack was interrupted and the Allies launched their own from July. Soon after in August, the Australian and Canadian Corps had a successful attack to the east of Amiens. Following this, the Australians were engaged in many battles which was resulting in the Germans being driven to eventual defeat by the Allies. Throughout this duration of time, trench warfare was used constantly to wage war against the opposition. By the end of the war, the overall casualties for the AIF between 1916 and 1918 amounted to over 181,000 with more than 46,000 deaths. The death rate of the was the highest of all the British Commonwealth Armies.