Abroad WWI
Australians earned a ferocious reputation as troops in the First World War.
They also earned a reputation as larrikins that paid little attention to military traditions like the observation of rank.
![](https://ergo.slv.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/imagecache/overview_thumb/erw1_08_h.jpg)
After a disastrous landing at Anzac Cove, a legacy was salvaged by a successful retreat and evacuation.
![](https://ergo.slv.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/imagecache/overview_thumb/erw1_07_h.jpg)
The Australian’s first action in France at Fromelles would also be among their most costly with more than 5000 casualties.
![](https://ergo.slv.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/imagecache/overview_thumb/erw1_09_h.jpg)
The Western Front settled into a line 20km wide and 800km long, running from the English Channel to the Swiss Alps.
![](https://ergo.slv.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/imagecache/overview_thumb/erw1_10_h.jpg)
Away from the front, soldiers were keen to live for the moment and indulge in the freedoms of a 10-day leave pass.
![](https://ergo.slv.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/imagecache/overview_thumb/erw1_11_h.jpg)
The correspondence of Anzac troops hints at tragedies kept to themselves; later revealed in diaries and memoirs.