When the 6th Australian Battalion sailed from Australia in October 1914,
little did it realise, that for the next four years it would travel on a
sacrificial journey t Turkey, France and Belgium. The Great War of 1914-1918,
was from an Australian point of view, a watershed in our national development.
The performance of our enthusiastic citizen soldiers at Gallipoli, mesmerised
by the British Empire. However by 1918, the AIF had become a professional battle
hardened army.
The 6th Battalion was typical of the Australian infantry battalions, and it
could be argued that it was one of the best. The 6th Battalion's maturity as a
fighting battalion, was sometimes described as being 'as rough as bags'.
The history of the 6th Battalion is vividly described as supplements by the
extensive use of diaries, letters, interviews with veterans, and photographs,
many of which have never been published before. The inclusion of many appendices
makes this history a notable addition to Australian military literature.
Contents:
Foreword
Author's Notes
List of Subscribers
1. The Call to Arms
2. Egypt to the Eve of Landing
3. The Landing at Anzac
4. The Krithia Charge
5. German Officers' Trench
6. Evacuation
7. Egypt to France
8. 'Into a Seething Hell' - Pozieres
9. To Belgium - 1916
10. Bullecourt
11. Flanders Fields
12. The German Offensive
13. Sanguinary August
14. The Heroes Return
Appendix 1. Battle Honours won by the 6th Battalion, 1st AIF
Appendix 2. Honour Roll 1914-1910
Appendix 3. Decorations and Awards
Appendix 4. Nominal Roll
Appendix 5. Officers of the 6th Battalion
Appendix 6. Brigade Orders for the German Officers' Trench attack
Appendix 7. Special Instruction No 1 for German Officers' Trench attack
Appendix 8. Report on D Company operations, 26 October 1917
Appendix 9. Training syllabus, November 1917
Appendix 10. Articles carried by NCOs and Privates
Appendix 11. Operation Order No 95 - Kemmel Huts
Appendix 12. Operation Order No 140 - Lihons
Appendix 13. Operation Order No 143 - Herleville
Appendix 14. Operation Order No 144 - Herleville
Appendix 15. Ludendorff's Order of 4 August 1918
Appendix 16. A Battalion Profile
Bibliography and Acknowledgements
