American and Australian dead on the battlefield at Hamel, in front of Vaire and Hamel Wood. In ...

Accession Number E02620
Collection type Photograph
Object type Black & white - Glass original half plate negative
Maker Unknown Australian Official Photographer
Unknown Australian Official Photographer
Place made France: Picardie, Somme, Amiens Harbonnieres Area, Hamel Area, Hamel
Date made 4 July 1918
Conflict First World War, 1914-1918
Copyright

Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain

Public Domain Mark This item is in the Public Domain

Description

American and Australian dead on the battlefield at Hamel, in front of Vaire and Hamel Wood. In this encounter a battalion of Americans was distributed among the attacking Australian units and fought with great gallantry. At the point seen in the photograph the Americans, together with a company of the 13th Battalion, met fierce opposition from a trench known by its shape as Pear Trench, running down from the German lines on the hill seen in the background. This portion of the trench had mostly escaped the artillery barrage, and was thus crammed with Germans and several machine guns. Tanks assisted in overcoming the obstacles.