WITH THE AUSTRALIAN FORCES IN FRANCE [Main Title]

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  • Title: WITH THE AUSTRALIAN FORCES IN FRANCE [Main Title]
  • Film Number: IWM 138
  • Other titles:
  • Summary: I ANZAC Corps before and during the First Battle of the Somme, Western Front, May-October 1916.
  • Description: (Reel 1) Men of Australian 1st Division marching to Pozières, 16 July, followed by a cyclist patrol and a motorised machine gun battery. Men of the New Zealand Division resting briefly in a village square, with an impromptu triple-jump contest. 12-inch shells are assembled at a dump and 18-pounder shells loaded into limbers. Australian troops load and shovel roadfill from a barge onto wheelbarrows. A 12-inch Mk I railway howitzer fires in a gun pit. Men of Australian 1st Division arrive at their billet, a farm near Fleurbaix, May 1916, and settle in. The training trenches at Fleurbaix, where troops of the division practise the charge through a smokescreen. A tree-felling contest in the woods near Conty in August between Australians, Canadians, and the victorious New Zealanders. General William Birdwood, commanding I ANZAC Corps, is present. West Australians, probably of 3rd Brigade, Australian 1st Division, watch the Somme offensive from behind a parapet. Other members of the division rest on the way to Pozières. A chaplain conducts an open air service. An 18-pounder battery moves up at a canter. Men of 1st and 2nd Divisions (11th, 20th and 18th Battalions ?) resting. A 9.2-inch howitzer fires, followed by an 18-pounder marked "Wandering Willie". More troops of 1st Division (9th Battalion ?) resting. German prisoners, probably of XIX Saxon Corps, are helped into lorries by men of 2nd Division. (Reel 2) Shells bursting in front of Pozières. A New South Wales battalion (19th Battalion of 2nd Division?) in a wooded area. Wounded of both divisions are treated at Bécourt dressing station. An improvised burial service at the roadside, "all honour to the glorious dead". Two wrecked German 155mm howitzers. Australians inspecting German trenches after capture. Views of Pozières chalk pit and Mouquet farm. Men of 2nd Division pose for the camera wearing German helmets and other trophies. Men of 1st Division resting. The visit of the Australian Prime Minister, William Hughes, to Birdwood's headquarters at Fleurbaix in June. A panorama of the battlefield. Men of 1st Division resting.
  • Alternative Title:
  • Colour: B&W
  • Digitised: Yes
  • Object_Number: IWM 138
  • Sound: Silent
  • Access Conditions: IWM Attribution: © IWM (IWM 138)
  • Featured Period: 1914-1918
  • Production Date: 1918-01
  • Production Country: Australia
  • Production Details: Australian War Records Section (Production sponsor) Jury, William F (Production individual) Bean, C E W (Production individual)
  • Personalities, Units and Organisations: Birdwood, William Riddell (person) Hughes, William T (person) Australian Army, Australian Imperial Force, 1st Division (regiment/service) Australian Army, Australian Imperial Force, 3rd Australian Brigade (regiment/service) Australian Army, Australian Imperial Force, 9th Battalion (regiment/service) Australian Army, Australian Imperial Force, 2nd Division (regiment/service) Australian Army, Australian Imperial Force, 19th Battalion (regiment/service) Australian Army, 1 ANZAC corps, cyclists (regiment/service) Australian Army, Machine Gun Corps, Motorised (regiment/service) New Zealand Military Forces, New Zealand Div (regiment/service) Canadian Army, Canadian Expeditionary Force (regiment/service) British Army, Royal Artillery, Royal Garrison Artillery (regiment/service) German Army, Corps 19 Saxon (regiment/service)
  • Keywords: weapons, British - gun: 12-inch (railway mounted) (object name) weapons, British - gun: 9.2-inch howitzer & [Australian] (object name) weapons, British - gun: 18-pounder field gun & [Australian] (object name) weapons, British - smallarm (mounted): Vickers machine gun (motorised) & [New Zealand] (object name) transport, Australian military - 2/3 wheel: motorcycle combination (object name) combat, Australian - artillery bombardment (object name) buildings, Australian - military: training school (object name) recreation, New Zealand military - casual (object name) recreation, Australian military - sport (object name) recreation, Canadian military - sport (object name) recreation, New Zealand military - sport (object name) weapons, German - gun: 155mm howitzer & [captured] (object name) supplies, Australian, movement [FA] - munitions (object name) religion, Christianity - military, Australian (object name) prisoners of war, German - movement (object name) defences, German - emplacement: trenches & [captured] (object name) casualties, Australian graves - battlefield (object name) medical, Australian military - emergency (object name) training, Australian military - combat: [+] (object name) 01/3(4-15).57 (event) Pozières, Somme, France (geography) Fleurbaix, Pas-de-Calais, France (geography) Conty, Somme, France (geography) Becourt, Pas-de-Calais, France (geography) Mouquet Farm, Somme, France (geography)
  • Physical Characteristics: Colour format: B&W Sound format: Silent Soundtrack language: None Title language: English Subtitle language: English
  • Technical Details: Format: 35mm Number of items/reels/tapes: 2 Footage: 2373 ft; Running time: 40 mins
  • HD Media:Yes
  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    IWM 138

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