THE BATTLEFIELD REPORT

Mackenzie Plath

Name of Battle(s) / The Battle of Hamel
Location(s) / Le Hamel, Somme Valley
Date/s of Event(s) / 4 July 1918
Australian Units Involved / 3rd and 4th Divisions
The Battle of Hamel 4 July 1918
The Battle of Hamel was a highly successful Allied assault on the Western Front. An allied victory at Hamel would see the solidification of the frontline at the Western Front, and the reinforcement of the Villers-Bretonneux areas.
The battle also saw the first air drop to the Allied troops in action, supplying Australian machine gunners with over 100,000 rounds of ammunition.
On 4 July 1918, the Allied attack, lead by two Australian brigades, engaged the Germans with an excellent orchestration of infantry, artillery and armour that caught the poorly defended opposition off guard. General Monash, who was in charge of the attack, had planned it with the utmost care, resulting in his first battle as Australian Corps Commander being a grand success. The use of motorbikes as a form of fast battlefield communications and relaying information from reconnaissance planes was crucial to the battle’s success.
After a preliminary artillery bombardment of the German lines, a mass of machine guns and tanks were deployed. The AIF had access to Lewis guns, a type of light machine gun, and these proved to be beneficial in the Australian’s assault. Alongside the Australian infantry, some 60 Mark V tanks, along with four supply tanks, were deployed.
In the first instance where Allied forces had supplies air-dropped, an RFC plane dropped a supply crate containing over 100,000 rounds to Australian machine gunners part way through the battle. In only 93 minutes, the Allies had overrun the Germans. One thousand five hundred German soldiers were captured, however the feat did not come without Allied sacrifice, with Australian casualties above a thousand.

The Battle of Hamel Map. Australian War Memorial, Accessed 17/3/14

SOURCES:

Australian Memorial of Le Hamel ANZAC France (2013)
Accessed 20/3/14

Battle of Hamel, Australian War Memorial (2014)
Accessed 21/3/14

Hamel- The Textbook Victory. Australian War Memorial (2014) Accessed 17/3/14

The Battle of Le Hamel, 1918. First World War.com (2012) Accessed 20/3/14