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Why 1917 Was The Worst Year Of Ww1

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World War 1 was a devastating period for Australia and Australian’s alike. It was the costliest conflict that Australia has participated in throughout its history, with casualties, both fatal and non-fatal, one of the largest on a per capita basis of the allied nations. 1917 was an arduous year and has been described as “the worst year of the Great War”. There are many reasons why 1917 was a difficult year for all Australians but also why it was not “the worst year of the Great War”.

Australian troops, all volunteers, were tough, brave and highly valued in the war. This led to high demand for the Australian troops. During 1917, Australians could be found almost anywhere on the Western Front. There were many successful battles during 1917 including …show more content…

However attritional and small the advances were in 1917, the Allies rejoiced that the Germans had been moved back through constant pressure. This would have restored some faith in the war effort and unlike the French troops, there was no outbreak of mutiny in Australian ranks. With the United States of America declaring war on Germany on the 6th of April 1917, the promise of reinforcements raised hopes and morale boosted.
Away from the Western Front, The Australian Light Horse Brigades had led numerous successful charges and advances in the Sinai and Palestine campaigns (Australian War Memorial, n.d.). The most famous successful charge was during the Battle of Beersheba. Many artworks depict the victory and struggle that the brave men endured. The Battle of Beersheba was believed to be one of the last major cavalry charges in history (Australian War Memorial, Beersheba n.d.). These battles were low in casualties in comparison to the campaign on the Western Front (World War 1, …show more content…

As soldiers returned home missing limbs, many searched for a way to regain mobility that had been sacrificed to the war. It was organised that wooden limbs be manufactured and fitted in Australia for the limbless (A.G Butler, 1943). By exploring prosthetics during this period, it created founding designs and ideas for future exploration into prosthetic limbs. Moreover, the mental damage sustained from battles equipped psychologists with the tools to explore Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or ‘shell-shock’ as it was called (A.G Butler, 1943). The Australian Army Medical Services in the War of 1914 - 1918 describes the symptoms of men with ‘shell-chock’ in an

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Intro: Between 1914 and 1918, Australia’s involvement in the war changed many lives of people from all different ranks, on the battle grounds and the family’s back home in Australia. It had a great impact on Australia as a country, soldiers, family’s, nurses or other personnel’s, however when the guns fell silent in 1918 it did not end there, instead it continued on for years. When soldiers returned to their homes they suffered from their mental or physical problems as a result of the war. For example, soldiers affected with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD often deal with trauma as a result of the combat, they often suffer with nightmares, flashbacks, difficulty with sleeping which can impact their daily life. The war also had a great

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The Experience of WW1 on Australia’s home front led to all Australian men to enlist for war in support of Great Britain ‘the mother country’ meant Australia was at war. The Australian home front was affect due to many effects of WW1 such as, conscription, government power, Gallipoli .Conscription was called on in 1916 by prime minster Hughes, when the Australian army needs troops to fight in war, but there aren’t enough volunteers, he began conscription which is a law that says if you are able to fight, you have to fight. In 1916 prime minster Hughes suggested raising the numbers of Australian troops to maintain the full strength at the front line, by conscripting those who are unwilling or opposed to enlist in war. Conscription affected those

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The Gallipoli campaign serves great importance in Australia’s history. The campaign lasted 9 months, from April 1915 – January 1916 resulting in 8159 deaths of Australian men (AWM, 2016). The landing at Gallipoli receives global recognition annually, celebrating and mourning the 25th of April as it was the introduction of the Great War to many Australian soldiers, who all suffered mental or physical wounds. The Landing will naturally receive the most recognition, as the ANZAC troops came immensely close to infiltrating the enemy line. They would have succeeded had not a small group of Turkish soldiers defended the Peninsula single handily while waiting for reinforcements to arrive.

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For Australia World War One was their very first encounter with war as Australia was one of the newly discovered countries and only federated 13 years ago. Many Australians didn’t really know what to expect in

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