Ballarat celebrates the end of the war

Ballarat like the rest of the country held  joyous celebrations on the news that the war was over. The news of the armistice reached here at 8.15 pm on the 11th November when it was posted on the bulletin boards outside the newspaper offices.  There were many people occupying the streets at that time but the news quickly spread emptying people in pubs and other establishments into the streets.  Cheers erupted around Ballarat.  Fire bells at the two fire stations rang and whistles on trains in the railway station blew bringing many more people into the streets.  Crowds rushed to City Hall where it was expected an official announcement would be made.  See below for a couple of newspaper reports about the celebrations.

The following day, the 12th November, was declared a public holiday and was a more solemn day when church services were held and an official service was conducted in front of the Town Hall, when the Mayor read out messages he had sent to the King, General Foch and General Monash.  Following this "Peace Perfect Peace" was sung.  The afternoon saw many more joyous celebrations down Sturt St at the Titanic Bandstand.  The processions  from the previous night were re-activated  as soldiers, bands, cars and motor bikes,  the Lucas team, school children, nurses all arrived at the bandstand for another service. It was the largest gathering ever held in Ballarat to that time.  The two Mayors of Ballarat presided. Prayers were said, "Australia Will Be There" was sung, as well as "Keep the Home Fires Burning" and "Nearer My God to Thee".

After the Last Post and the singing of The National Anthem the purging of pent-up emotions was over.

Ballarat Star 12 November 1918

Ballarat Star 12 November 1918

Crowd in front of Ballarat Town Hall, 12 November 1918.   Courtesy Melbourne Museum

The end of the great war: Armistice

The 11th of November will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of the Great War. The Armistice of Compiègne between the Allies and Germany came into effect at 11am on the 11th November 1918. The guns fell silent on the Western Front and after more than four years of unimaginable bloodshed and destruction, the war was finally over. 

The Armistice paved the way for the signing of a formal peace treaty, the Treaty of Versailles, and the end of the war six months later. On 28 June 1919, the treaty was signed in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles, with Australian Prime Minister William Morris (Billy) Hughes and Deputy Prime Minister Joseph Cook adding their signatures on Australia’s behalf.

At home in Australia, large crowds gathered in capital cities and towns to celebrate the end of conflict.  Jubilant scenes of thousands rejoicing was played out across the world as peace was announced at 11 am.

On the day the hostilities ended on the Western Front, the AIF in France comprised almost 100,000 men.  Monash stood at the head of an army considerably larger than the original British Expeditionary Force (BEF) of 1914, but more important than numbers was its capability.  Each of those five battered and bloodied divisions was infinitely more capable and deadly than the original Australian forces raised back in 1914.  In four and a half years Australia’s deployed forces grew seven times in size and were transformed from rank amateurs into seasoned soldiers. Almost 62,000 Australians died fighting for our freedom and in service of our nation. Thousands more died of their wounds or from the mental anguish they had experinced.

 

(Ballarat Star, 12 November, 1918 )

When the war ended there were 167,000 Australian servicemen overseas - spread throughout Europe, the United Kingdom (many in hospitals and convalescent homes), and the Middle East. The logistics of transporting these men home were formidable.  Railway systems throughout Europe and the UK were choked with traffic and the demand for shipping was greater than ever, with Allied countries competing for troop ships.  All the troops could think about was "getting home", and movement of the AIF proceeded fairly smoothly and by the end of 1919 almost all Australian troops had been transported home.  

 

The family of soldier Fred Tippett welcome him home.  Lewisham, NSW, 1919. (photo courtesy State Library of NSW)

Battle of Montbrehain

The 5th October will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Montbrehain. The significance of this battle is that it was the final battle the Australians fought on the Western Front.  After this operation they were withdrawn from the front line and  rested as they had been fighting continuously since late March 1918 and the war ended a few weeks later. It is doubtful if the Armistice had not intervened whether the Australians would have seen any further action in 1918.

Following the breaking of the Hindenburg line General Monash decided to keep pressing the 6th Brigade forward to the village of Montbrehain.  While it was not an essential operation the idea behind the attack was to breach the final elaborate system of German defences based on the Beaurevoir trench line. The Australians advanced in the early morning of the 5th October. While the Germans were expecting the attack the AIF successfully occupied the village and in the process captured 400 German prisoners.  The Australians suffered 430 casualties in the attack.

The Australians who died in this action have the sad distinction of being the last Australians killed in action on the Western Front.

Ballarat Courier 8 October 1918, p.3

Village of Montbrehain 5th October 1918. Courtesy Australian War Memorial