Pozières Echoes of a Distant Battle Australian Army History Series

From July to September 1916, some 23,000 Australians were killed or wounded in the Battle of Pozières. It was the first strategically important engagement by Australian soldiers on the Western Front and its casualties exceeded those of any other battle of the First World War, including Gallipoli. In this important book, Christopher Wray explores the influence of Pozières on Australian society and history, and how it is remembered today. In the opening chapters he revisits the battle and considers its aftermath, including shell shock and the psychological effects experienced by surviving soldiers. The concluding chapters examine the way in which the battle has been commemorated in literature and art, and the extent to which it has been overlooked in contemporary remembrance of the war. Generously illustrated with photographs, maps and paintings, Pozières: Echoes of a Distant Battle is essential reading for anyone interested in the First World War and Australia's post-war society.

1. Prelude to Pozières; 2. Pozières a place of sinister name and tragic happenings; 3. A huge and horrible slaughter house; 4. Mouquet Farm; 5. The dead; 6. The maimed, the halt, the lame; 7. Those made mad by war; 8. 'We must not abandon them' - the conscription campaign of 1916; 9. Creating memory - writing about Pozières; 10. Creating memory - painting and Pozières; 11. Remembering Pozières.

Christopher Wray is a lawyer and author who has published works of biography and military history. His interests in military history, art and literature combine in this book, which was written with the assistance of an Australian Army research grant.