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[Page 13]
Corps with retention of command by Birdwood. Although this re-organisation was announced on or about 15 November 1917 the Australian Corps did not come into existence officially until 1 January 1918 .
When the year 1918 opened the belligerent powers could not foresee that at the close of that year hostilities in the War of 1914-18 would have ceased. But in the meantime there was to be much more death and destruction.
On 16 January 1918 Lieutenant-Colonel Walter Churchus, D.S.O. (1880-1918) succeeded Lieutenant-Colonel H.D.K. Macartney in the post of Commanding Officer of 7th Brigade, A.F.A.
Germany´s final great offensive began two months later. It was conducted in three successive phases and each in a diffierent geographical area. The conception of the plan for this offensive is attirbuted to General Ludendorff.
The first phase began on about a 50-mile front between Crotsillis and the river Oise on Thursday morning 21 March 1918. That morning, at about 0200 hrs, the British front was warned to expect an assault. Later, at 0430 hrs, British G.H.Q. issued an order to man the battle zone in strength. Then at 0445 that morning the German artillery opened fire on the British front on a scale hitherto unknown for concentration and intensity of fire. This German artillery plan had been devised by Colonel G.H. Bruchmuller (1863-1948), a retired Prussian artillery officer, who became the German Army´s greatest artillery tactician in the War of 1914-18. In the British counter offensive to this German offensive Major T.B.W. James and his 7th Brigade A.F.A. played a humble part with General Monash´s 3rd Australian Division.
Then, on 1 April 1918, Tristram James was appointed to command the 7th Brigade, A.F.A. with the rank of lieutenant-colonel vice Lieutenant-Colonel Walter Churchus, D.S.O. killed in action. He was the fifth commanding officer of the Brigade. So despite his late start in the A.I.F., his service in it had hitherto been good and to have been given command of an artillery brigade at this stage of the war must have given him much personal satisfaction, apart form enhancing his professional reputation as a field artillery officer. Then his