2018 Hamel Oration - LTGEN Angus Campbell

To mark the occasion of the centenary of the Battle of Hamel, Lieutenant General Angus Campbell, AO, DSC, incoming Chief of Defence Force delivered the inaugural Hamel Oration at the Australian War Memorial.

Lieutenant General Campbell offers his reflections on the significance of the attack and its Commander, Lieutenant General John Monash.

Perhaps the perfect compilation of infantry, armour, air and artillery, the Battle of Hamel is considered a textbook victory.

Strategically positioned to offer a launching point to the surrounding Somme area and vital to the defence of nearby Amiens, Hamel was taken by the Allies in just over an hour and a half on 4 July 1918. Under the leadership of Lt. Gen John Monash, the predominantly Australian force supported by American infantry and British Mark V tanks inflicted some 2,000 German casualties and captured masses of weapons and supplies. During the battle, the Allies suffered 1,400 killed or wounded with 1,062 of them being Australian.

Hamel was to be a turning point in the war with the tactics employed by Lt. Gen Monash later used in the August and September offensives which overwhelmed German forces and resulted in their surrender on 11 November 1918, ending World War I.