Letters from France by C. E. W. (Charles Edwin Woodrow) Bean
page 159 of 163 (97%)
page 159 of 163 (97%)
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history as household names.
And if there are not battalions, amongst the newest troops, which will go down to history with some of the very best Australia possesses--then I am a German. They have had a wonderful training of late--a training which can only be compared in thoroughness with that of Mena Camp in Egypt where our first troops trained, and with the full experience of this war to back it. The British authorities are equipping the new Australian drafts generously. The discipline of Australians, once they come to understand their work, has never given the slightest real anxiety to those responsible for them. The newest men have exactly the same straight frank look and speech as has every other batch that I have seen. If there is any difference between them first and last I will be bound that it is beyond the keenest eye to detect it. Indeed, if there is a difference between one Australian infantry battalion and another, it is, and has always been, a matter of officers. A commander who can make all his subordinates feel that they are pulling in the same boat's crew--that they are all swinging together, not only with their own but with every other battalion and brigade; who can make them look upon themselves as all helping in the one big cause; who can make them regard the difficulty of another battalion merely as a chance for freely and fully assisting it--a commander who can do these things with his officers can make a wonderful force of his Australians. This may sound abstract and vague, but it is real to such an extent that it is the main reason of all differences that exist between Australian units. Australian units have, like the Scots, a wonderful confidence in each other. They have been proud to fight by the side of grand regiments and |
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