. Men who were through the first fortnight at
Pozieres need never be ashamed to compare their experiences with those
of any soldiers in the world, for it is the literal truth that there has
never in history been a harder battle fought. The "Chocolate Soldiers"
became veterans in one terrible struggle. The "War Babies" were old
soldiers almost before they had cut their teeth. It is one of the pities
of the censorship, but a necessary one, that the Australian public
cannot know, until the story of this war is fully told at the end of it,
the famous Australian battalions which will most assuredly go down to
history as household names.

And if there are not battalions, amongst the newest troops, which will
go down to history with some of the very best Australia possesses--then
I am a German. They have had a wonderful training of late--a training
which can only be compared in thoroughness with that of Mena Camp in
Egypt where our first troops trained, and with the full experience of
this war to back it. The British authorities are equipping the new
Australian drafts generously. The discipline of Australians, once they
come to understand their work, has never given the slightest real
anxiety to those responsible for them. The newest men have exactly the
same straight frank look and speech as has every other batch that I have
seen. If there is any difference between them first and last I will be
bound that it is beyond the keenest eye to detect it.

Indeed, if there is a difference between one Australian infantry
battalion and another, it is, and has always been, a matter of officers.
A commander who can make all his subordinates feel that they are pulling
in the same boat's crew--that they are all swinging together, not only
with their own but with every other battalion and brigade; who can make
them look upon themselves as all helping in the one big cause; who can
make them regard the difficulty of another battalion merely as a chance
for freely and fully assisting it--a commander who can do these things
with his officers can make a wonderful force of his Australians. This
may sound abstract and vague, but it is real to such an extent that it
is the main reason of all differences that exist between Australian
units.

Australian units have, like the Scots, a wonderful confidence in each
other. They have been proud to fight by the side of grand regiments and
divisions; but I fancy they would rather fight beside other Austral