Member for Wannon Dan Tehan has marked 100 years since the World War One Battle of Pozières in Northern France.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Australian Imperial Force, led by the 1st Division, spent two weeks capturing the village of Pozières in the Somme Valley from German forces in July 1916.
German forces launched constant artillery barrages and counterattacks to recapture the village.
Australia suffered 5285 casualties in their operation to capture and hold Pozières.
Mr Tehan said in a speech at Pozières on late Monday night, Australian time, that the diggers had volunteered to walk into a hell created by the fiercest artillery shelling of the war,
“Unlike other forces, our soldiers were not forced to march but chose to walk - an army of volunteers,” he said.
“Pozieres was a bloody and brutal battle.
“A military success - our soldiers captured the village and held it but success came at a terrible cost.”
Mr Tehan noted that more Australians were lost in eight weeks of fighting in France than during eight months on Gallipoli.
“They stepped forward to serve, to volunteer,” he said.
“It is a legacy today that we still treasure – the willingness to put oneself forward at a time of need, a resolve to offer oneself freely no matter what the cost, to do the job required.”