Item 01: Frank Hurley war diary, 21 August-28 October 1917 - Page 108
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[Page 108]
announce that we have arrived. The Australians are superb. They take everything cheerfully & collectedly & altogether are a magnificent set of troops. Nothing can or will stand up to them. They are a little too eager perhaps, as they are inclined to go beyond objectives & so sustain unnecessary casualties. I had a rare tour in our advanced positions, especially as the enemy sent down a heavy barrage. I had all the excitement I wanted snapping shellbursts from a shell crater. Walking through a barrage makes one feel their very enormously great insignificance; for the impression is that the entire cannonade of the Boche is being turned especially in ones direction. His artillery is so organised, however, that it is possible to circumvent his aims by skirting the fringe of the barrage. I went into several of the captured pill boxes & was surprised at their solidity. These are really nothing more than fortifications in commanding