C E W Bean

The OFFICIAL HISTORY OF AUSTRALIA IN THE WAR OF 1914-1918 C E W Bean

After its evacuation from the Gallipoli Peninsula, the AIF was reorganised into two corps: I and II Anzac. By the middle of 1916 both corps had arrived on the Western Front, where operations on the Somme were about to begin. In this third volume of Bean's Official History he describes the Australian contribution to the Somme campaign. The Somme offensive was the worst ordeal of the Great War for the AIF, and the Battle of Fromelles and operations at Pozieres are both among the topics given good coverage.

Preparations in Egypt - The Desert Line. The Doubling of the AIF. The Arrival in France. The Move to the Front. Trench Warfare at Armentieres. The New Base. The First Fighting in France. The Planning of the Somme Offensive. The Raids at Armentieres. The Arrival of II Anzac. Opening of the Offensive and the Move to Messines. The Battle of Fromelles. The Battle of Fromelles (continued). Operations at Pozieres - July 14th to 22nd. The Taking of Pozieres. The Taking of Pozieres (II) - German Bombardment Begins. The Taking of Pozieres (III) - July 25th and 26th. First General Assault Upon Pozieres Heights. The Taking and Holding of Pozieres Heights. The Last Counter-Attack on Pozieres Heights. The Advance to Mouquet Farm. The Deadlock at Mouquet Farm. The Last Attacks on the Farm. The Effects of Pozieres. Rest at Ypres. Flers. The Somme Battle Ends. Winter.

The Official History of Australia in the War of 1914-1918 is a 12-volume series covering Australian involvement in the First World War. The series was edited by C. E. W. Bean, who also wrote six of the volumes, and was published between 1920 and 1942. The first seven volumes deal with the Australian Imperial Force while other volumes cover the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force at Rabaul, the Royal Australian Navy, the Australian Flying Corps and the home front; the final volume is a photographic record. Unlike other official histories that have been aimed at military staff, Bean intended the Australian history to be accessible to a non-military audience. The relatively small size of the Australian forces enabled the history to be presented in great detail, giving accounts of individual actions that would not have been possible when covering a larger force.