# The Australians — Now It Can Be Told character guide > The Australians in Now It Can Be Told by Philip Gibbs. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** VI, VI Australians, the Australians, Australians, The Australians **First appearance:** 0003-i ## Snapshot The men from the far side of the world who come ashore at Boulogne packed like herrings, march into the Somme, and prove that citizen-soldiers can out-general the professionals. ## Who they are They arrive in the same endless stream as the English, Scots, and Canadians, but the narrator singles them out for the quality of their commanders—Monash, Hobbs, men who were civilians before the war and whose business minds cut through the rigid traditions of the Regular Army. Their presence is a quiet rebuke to the Staff College and the closed corporation of Sandhurst men. In the book's argument about how the war should be fought, the Australians are the evidence that the old school was not merely inefficient but replaceable. ## Relationships ### [Unknown Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/characters/unknown_narrator) _friendship_ The Australians are allied troops fighting alongside the Narrator, with a camaraderie born of shared combat. ### [The Officer](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/characters/the_officer) _friendship_ The Australians and the Officer share an allied bond, fighting together against a common enemy. ### [The Germans](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/characters/the_germans) _rivalry_ The Australians and Germans are direct combatants on opposing sides of the war. ### [Unknown Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/characters/unknown_narrator) _friendship_ The Australians are allied troops fighting alongside the Narrator, with a camaraderie born of shared combat. ### [The Officer](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/characters/the_officer) _friendship_ The Australians and the Officer share an allied bond, fighting together against a common enemy. ### [The Officer](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/characters/the_officer) _friendship_ The Australians and the Officer share an allied bond, fighting together against a common enemy. ### [The Germans](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/characters/the_germans) _rivalry_ The Australians and Germans are direct combatants on opposing sides of the war. ### [The Germans](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/characters/the_germans) _rivalry_ The Australians and Germans are direct combatants on opposing sides of the war. ### [Unknown Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/characters/unknown_narrator) _friendship_ The Australians are allied troops fighting alongside the Narrator, with a camaraderie born of shared combat. ## In the story ### [Part I: Observers and Commanders](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/part-i-observers-and-commanders) Mentioned as troops whose fighting merit was not accounted for by smartness in saluting, contrasting with the generals' criteria. ### [XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xv) Cited as an example of troops whose fighting merit was not measured by smartness in saluting or parade. ### [XX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xx) Cited for able generalship under civilian commanders like Hobbs and Monash. ### [XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xv) An Australian gives an imitation of a laughing-jackass and recites 'Gunga Din'. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/iii) Australian fighting-men among the crowds in the rue des Trois Cailloux. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/vi) Described as grim, lawless, primitive, and fierce fighters; they behave as equals to all, with a humorous contempt for death and authority. ### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xii) Australian soldiers wander the cathedral with wonder and scorn, their appearance reminiscent of Norman-English knights. ### [XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xvi) Mentioned as being summoned from Flanders to help relieve the line near Amiens. ### [XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xvii) Australian headquarters are near Villers-Bretonneux; Australian troops help hold the lines outside Amiens. ### [XVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xviii) Observe the return of the girls to their destroyed home, offering sardonic commentary. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/iii) Described as hatchet-faced, hard, merry-eyed, and reckless; they are fresh from the Dardanelles and Egypt, eager to fight, and enjoy the French countryside and sweets. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/iv) Noted for their refusal to salute officers other than their own, showing a casual defiance of military protocol. ### [The Butcher's Shop of Corbie](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/ix) Mentioned as garrisoning Corbie in 1918, sniping pigeons off the church towers and taking little notice of shelling. ### [X](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/x) The Australians are not directly mentioned in this excerpt, but the Indian cavalry and Dragoons are noted as part of the cavalry masses. ### [XVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xviii) Suffered 20,000 casualties in six weeks at Pozières; fought stubbornly despite shattered nerves. ### [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xix) The Australians are described swarming into Bapaume with trophies and setting up the 'Coo-ee Theater' amid the ruins. ### [The Breaking Point on the Somme](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xxii) Not directly mentioned in the excerpts, but included as a placeholder for potential future check-ins. ### [Part VII: The Fields of Armageddon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/part-vii-the-fields-of-armageddon) The Australians are noted as part of the Allied forces, though not elaborated upon in this chapter. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/iv) Australian tunnelers contributed to the mining operations that beat the enemy. ### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/ix) Broke the enemy's line beyond Amiens on August 8th and supported the Hindenburg line assault. ### [What of England?](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/iv) Noted for their British quality of courage and harder physique from outdoor life; fierce in battle but humane to prisoners. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/characters/the_australians - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/characters