Old Flers Road

Australians fought at Flers and Gueudecourt in the final days of the Battle of the Somme during November 1916. Their objective was to capture militarily advantageous positions prior to the onset of the European winter. The journey to the front went along the Old Flers Road which joined the villages of Flers and Gueudecourt to the Australian base camp near Longueval, 38 km northwest of Amiens. Marching along a war-damaged road in increasingly inhospitable conditions, the eight kilometre journey to the front could reportedly take up to 12 hours leaving the soldiers who were arriving at the front already worn out.