A shell screamed overhead and impacted somewhere behind the ruined section of the trench Sergeant Hank Ash and the rest of his squad were pinned down in. All sported the cloth patch of the 1st Australian division—a white square surrounded by a blue square. The unit had been gathering a fierce reputation since entering the war. Most of the soldiers also wore two chevrons on the lower sleeves of their jackets, each recording a year served since boot camp. The stripes heralded these were Gallipoli veterans—an accomplishment that had begun taking on hallowed status amongst arriving new recruits.
Across the battlefield, artillery shells tore at the ruined countryside, along with the vulnerable flesh of anyone exposed to this manmade maelstrom. Any organised structure to the Australian attack h
