Fought and won in a staggering ninety-three minutes, the Battle of Hamel changed the course of World War One, and with it the course of modern warfare. It was remarkable for its speed, the tactics employed, numerous acts of extreme bravery, and the fact that for the first time in history American troops fought under Australian command.
In Heroes of Hamel, Stephen Dando-Collins tells the gripping story of how the landmark battle was conceived and fought, and how, in a military first, infantry, artillery, tanks and aircraft were used in carefully orchestrated unison, to devastating effect.
Australian General John Monash had put his career on the line by conceiving and commanding the Hamel assault. He implemented it despite the reservations of his British superior, the objections of American commander General Pershing, and the last-minute arrival at the battlefront of Australia’s Prime Minister Billy Hughes.
As told with fourish here, the bold and heroic feats of Monash and his Australian and American troops made the Battle of Hamel the beginning of the end of the First World War.