Australian Army Museum of Western Australia > Records

World War One, Western Australia, North Perth, 4497 DRABBLE, 11 Battalion AIF

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Overview

Photograph of 4497 Private Ross Drabble from North Perth 14th Reinforcements, 11 Battalion, Killed in Action 28 May 1916

Historical information

Units of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) began arriving at the great southern port of Marseille at the end of March 1916. From there, they were transported north and, having spent a brief period in the region of Hazebrouck, were posted to the front-line trenches south of Armentières at the beginning of April. Many of these Australian soldiers had survived tough conditions and fierce fighting during the ill-fated Gallipoli campaign of 1915, but none of them had experienced combat on the Western Front.

One of their first encounters with the German forces occurred on the evening of 5 May 1916, when units of the 6th Bavarian reserve regiment raided the Australian trenches south west of Fleurbaix around Le Bridoux. After a withering artillery and mortar bombardment that caused dozens of casualties, German soldiers entered the Australian positions and captured a small number of prisoners before retiring to their own lines. For the next number of weeks, activity along this sector of the front increased as German and Australian artillery units regularly exchanged fire and German snipers claimed a steady toll of casualties.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-32-AMWA29464

Item type

Photographs

Themes

War and Conflict

Width

87 mm

Height or length

138 mm

Contextual Information