Australians on the front foot at Le Hamel

The Battle of Le Hamel on July 4, 1918, is famous for a series of firsts but it almost didn’t go ahead.

It was the first significant operation of the Australian Corps since Lieutenant-General Sir John Monash became commander in May 1918.

It was the first British offensive since the Battle of Cambrai in November 1917 and one that successfully integrated infantry, armoured tanks, aircraft and artillery in a limited-objective battle plan.

It was also the first time that Australians fought with inexperienced American troops recently arrived in France.

An unidentified sergeant of the 16th Battalion on a child’s bicycle and an American private sitting in a perambulator just prior to the Battle of Le Hamel (AWM A00815).

The plan nearly unravelled when Monash was informed on the eve of the battle that no Americans could participate.

Monash defiantly said the attack would proceed, with about 1000 Americans, unless he received contrary orders from British Field Marshal Douglas Haig. Approval came within minutes of Monash’s ultimatum deadline.

American troops, resting on the roadside, on their way to the Australian lines to participate in the battle of Le Hamel the following day (AWM E02694).

The battle to wrest the French village near the Somme River from German control began at 3.10am in smoke and fog with an attacking force of 7500 infantry, 60 tanks, 628 heavy and field guns and aircraft that photographed and bombed enemy positions and parachuted ammunition to Australian gunners.

Monash’s meticulous planning for the battle is legendary. His final pre-Le Hamel conference on June 30 was attended by 250 officers, had an agenda of 133 items and lasted 4.5 hours.

The objectives – to advance 2kms across a 6km front, take Le Hamel, nearby woods and high ground beyond the village – were achieved in 93 minutes and a German counterattack late that night crumbled.

Australian soldiers had been suspicious of tanks since their failure at Bullecourt in 1917 but this changed at Le Hamel where new Mark V tanks advanced inexorably, with infantry alongside and behind an artillery barrage, flattening German trenches, weapon pits and shelters.

One of the three tanks which were put out of action in the fight for Le Hamel in France, photographed on July 5th, 1918, the day after the operation. Note the French Tricolour on the roof of the house. It was put there by an officer of the 28th Battalion on the morning of the battle to mark the capture of the position (AWM E03843).

Monash’s integrated arms battle plan benefited from combining a number of tactics used in previous battles with co-ordination, secrecy and deception of the enemy.

Coming on the heels of Germany’s Spring Offensive, Le Hamel was not only an Allied attack but also a significant tactical and morale-boosting victory – and an “all arms” lesson shared with all British commanders.

Official records say the Australians suffered 1200 casualties and the Americans 176 while Monash wrote that German losses, including prisoners, exceeded 3000.

Monash said no battle in his experience had gone so smoothly and so exactly to timetable.

British historian John Terraine best described Le Hamel as “a little masterpiece casting a long shadow before it.”

This story was published as part of the Road to Remembrance series developed in partnership with the Department of Veterans’ Affairs and Fairfax Media.