ANZAC Battlefields (ATOM Study Guide)

ANZAC Battlefields is a six-part series that explores in a new and powerfully dynamic way what happened on the battlefields that have taken the heaviest toll on Australian and New Zealand life – the World War One battlefields of the Western Front.

The places have changed very little – the grass has grown back, trees have been planted, perhaps a road lies where before there was none – but no cities have been built on these landscapes. It is still possible to stand and imagine what the Diggers went through. The tactics, the deployment, the plans of battle but also what actually happened, moment by moment, as the battle unfolded, to individuals we can name and get to know.

The combination of computer-generated effects, and explanation and illustration at the actual locations creates a compelling program.

The six episodes in the series are:

1. 'Baptism' – exploring Australia's Western Front battles of 1916, especially the first major battle at Fromelles;
2. 'Sacrifice' – including the murderous battles as Pozieres where the Ausrtralians lost 12,000 men, and at Flers, where the New Zealanders experienced great success, advancing 2.5 kilometres, but for the high price of 2000 casualties;
3. 'Resolve' – the battles of 1917, including Bullecourt, Ypres, Messines and Menin Road;
4. 'Cataclysm' – the killing fields of Passchendaele;
5. 'Spirit' – the great final German offensive of 1918, leading to the defining moment in Australia's war: Villers-Bretonneux'
6. 'Victory' – the great Allied offensive of 1918 that broke the Hindenburg Line and led to the German surrender.

Each episode can help teachers explore the nature of the Australian experience of the Western Front with students.

ANZAC Battlefields is suitable as a classroom resource for middle and upper secondary students, especially for:

• Australian History (Year 9)
• English (Years 9–10)
• Media Arts (Years 9–10)
• Twentieth-Century History (Year 11)