Capt Thomas A. White

The Fighting Thirteenth: the History of the Thirteenth Battalion A.i.f. Capt Thomas A. White

This Bn. was raised in September 1914 as part of Monash's 4th Brigade. It took part in the bloody fighting at Suvla Bay and then, after a brief spell back in in Egypt, moved to the Western Front. It served in the successful Australian actions at Pozieres and Bullecourt, and later Messines and Passchendaele. The black days of the 1918 German offensive are well described, as are the final attacks against Hamel and the Hindenburg Line. Two members of the Bn were awarded the VC, Capt. H. W. Murray and Sgt. M. V. Buckley. The horrors and monotony of life in the trenches are lightened by amusing dialogue and anecdotes, and lists of awards and casualties appear at frequent intervals throughout the narrative.