An Anzac on the Western Front: The Personal Recollections of an Australian Infantryman from 1916 to 1918

This is a graphic account of one soldiers service in the First World War an account that is based on a diary he maintained whilst on active service. It has been described by one senior officer as the best soldiers story I have yet read in Australia. H.R. Williams enlisted in 1915, joining A Company, 56th Battalion AIF. With this unit he would see service in Egypt and then the Western Front participating in some of the biggest battles of the First World War.
Arriving in France on 30 June 1916, the battalion entered the front line trenches for the first time on 12 July and fought its first major battle at Fromelles a week later. The battle was a disaster, resulting in heavy casualties across the division. Despite these losses the 5th Division continued to man the front in the Fromelles sector for a further two months.