En route, picks and shovels had been collected by the fatigue parties and on arrival at the position, each company of men proceeded to dig, under the supervision of Officers and N.C.O’s, its required portion of trench. The final result of three nights work was a continuous line of cable buried in a trench to the depth of five feet, extending right across the Brigade front. Whilst this position of reserve behind Villers Bretoneaux, the battalion was joined by its quota of fresh inexperienced American Infantry at the rate of one platoon of fifty odd men and N.C.O.’s per company. For the sake of experience and instruction under veteran officers, the authorities had commenced a system of Brigading raw American troops with the British line regiments including the Australians. Our particular batch proved to be big, keen spirited chaps, eager for fight but wholly inexperienced and only too proud to gain their experience beside the Australians for whom: they evinced a great respect and admiration.

Accordingly, a section to the number of two N.C.O.’s and ten men were attached to No. 8 platoon of which I was platoon commander. They gained certain experience under this arrangement during the succeeding days of fatigues and shellfire, living with and comparing notes with our men from whom they picked up a great deal of practical information. Their uniform and equipment was a good deal different to ours in many respects, being designed more after the pattern of the clothing as issued to the New Zealanders. They were issued with a close fitting, light coloured khaki tunic with two breast pockets and two side pockets, shoulder straps and straight collars on which were attached regimental badges and ornaments, etc. Their breeches were made of cloth, after the style of the usual army cut, whilst their legs were protected, not with puttees, but by canvas leggings which fitted the shape of the calf and carried a strap to go under the instep of the heavy military boot. In the line and forward areas, they wore steel helmets similar to those used by the British Army but on furlough they wore a felt hat, dinted in at the sides like a Baden Powell hat, only with a brim not so wide. On other undress occasions, they wore an ordinary army forage cap, which seemed to be very popular with all ranks.

They were not issued with army braces to support their breeches, that work being done by a belt. A Khaki collared shirt and underwear as issued to most other troops completed their clothing and uniform, plus great coat. For equipment, the infantry were supplied with haversack, pouches and belt round waist made of similar material to the British web equipment. They were armed when not serving with other armies, with “The Ross” pattern rifle for which they claimed superiority over the “Lee Enfield”. Machine Gunners were also armed with automatic pistols and trench stabbing knives in addition to their machine gun. However, to put it briefly, the troops of the American division, attached to the 20th Battalion were a remarkably fine upstanding lot, straight as an arrow, quick of movement, full of a desire to get busy with the fighting. They were, in general physical appearance, similar to the Australians and New Zealanders except that they were taller than the average New Zealander and did not possess the heavy, rugged, determined hatchet faces of the Australians. Whilst with us they were kept as much together as possible under their own N.C.O.’s who received their instructions from the same sources as our own N.C.O.’s. They took part in performing guards and sentry work, working parties, etc. and generally speaking, were extra hands to share the duties of the rest of the Battalion of which they were part and parcel for the time being.

Whilst in this reserve position, awaiting our time to take over the front line positions, we had ample opportunity to study our surroundings. We had built our “Dugouts” mostly into the side of the railway embankment which gave us protection from the enemy artillery fire and which was sufficiently high to afford us security from enemy observation from the front line. As our position was on the slope of a hillside also, our vision extended Northward and Westward for quite a considerable distance. In the foreground were the old trench systems known as the Sydney System and the Aubigny System of which we were part. For many miles a continuous network of white chalk lines had been thrown up, which contrasted with the deep green of the grass and what remained of self sown crops and in these trench systems were sheltered thousands of troops, also in reserve like ourselves to other front line battalions. The monotony of the view was occasionally relieved by a group of trees or a road planted on either side with tall trees which had of course been sadly battered about by the constant deluge of shells which the enemy kept continuously pouring into the areas immediately behind our front lines.

Now and again could be descried a limber dashing up to the guns and batteries with its load of shells which were unloaded in haste, whereupon the limber made its way to the rear as fast as it could do so. The litter of the battlefield was much in evidence as the gaze turned in the direction of the firing line, for it was in this neighbourhood that the 13th and 15th Australian Brigades had only a few weeks before made their famous and almost superhumanly brilliant counter attack which had saved Villers Bretoneaux and incidentally, Amiens, when things looked at their worst during the Great German advance.

For the rest there was little or no movement to be seen and except for the lazy droning of the engines of the aircraft, the popping of “Archie” shells as they burst high up in the air and an occasional salvo of shell fire, fired at nothing in particular, there was nothing really startling occurring anywhere in the neighbourhood. Up to date and during the past four months, as related the Australians had been holding the area or sector between the Somme and the Ancre as far north as Albert and as far south as Hangard Wood. The troops of the corps had constantly harassed, attacked, nibbled and peacefully penetrated the German defence, causing numerous casualties and advancing the line quite a considerable distance. Moreover our troops were at the time, the only “ATTACKING” troops of the entire British Front and it has been said that the example set by the Australian Corps under General Monash did a very great deal towards raising the morale of the British which was undoubtedly at a rather low ebb at the period.