This tour covers the Australian 1916 battlefields of the Somme, Villers-Bretonneux and the Sir John Monash Centre.

The Australians were involved in the two battles of the Somme: over 42 days the Australians made many attacks at Pozieres in July 1916 suffering very heavy casualties. 23.000 of them were killed, wounded, missing or taken prisoners, one of the highest rate of loss for Australia in any war. Two years later, Australians troops were rushed into the battle to try to stop the German offensive towards Amiens at Villers-Bretonneux. A counter-attack by two Australian brigades during the night of 24 April partly surrounded the town and on 25 April Villers-Bretonneux was liberated. By an incredible coincidence it occurred exactly on the day three years after the landings at Gallipoli. The Australian memorial at Villers-Bretonneux stands on the exact location of that counter-attack. To this day, the people of the town annually commemorate Anzac Day, and the school in the village bears the simple message on the playground wall “Never forget Australia”.