Harold Bridgwood Walker
Encyclopedia
Lieutenant General
Sir Harold Bridgwood Walker KCB
, KCMG
, DSO
(26 April 1862 – 5 November 1934) was an English
general who led Australia
n and New Zealand
forces during the First World War. He was highly regarded by the men he commanded and was only replaced in 1918 when politics
dictated that all Australian Imperial Force division
s should be commanded by Australians.
, North Staffordshire
, England
in 1862, a descendant of George Walker, and was educated at Shrewsbury
and Jesus College, Cambridge
. He was commissioned into the British Army
in the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry in May 1884 and served in the Sudan
until 1886. Before the outbreak of the First World War he was serving as a staff officer with the British Indian Army
. When the headquarters of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) began forming under Indian Army general William Birdwood, Walker was appointed as corps
chief of staff with the rank of brigadier general
.
peninsula, it was Walker's role to formulate the landing plans for ANZAC but he deferred management of the planning to his subordinate, Lieutenant-Colonel Andrew Skeen
, who was an excellent staff officer. Walker was keen to hold a fighting command and his opportunity arose during the landing at Anzac Cove
, 25 April 1915, when the commander of the New Zealand Infantry Brigade, Colonel
Francis Johnston
, became ill. Walker had landed as Birdwood's representative on the beach and was instructed to assume command of the brigade which held the left flank of the Anzac perimeter, occupying a ridge that was given the name "Walker's Ridge". Walker relinquished command of the brigade
when Johnston returned to duty but was soon after, on 30 April, given permanent command of the Australian 1st Infantry Brigade whose commander, Colonel H. N. MacLaurin, had been killed during the Turkish
counter-attack of 27 April.
When on 15 May the senior Australian general, and commander of the Australian 1st Division, Major General
W.T. Bridges
was killed by a sniper
in Monash Valley, command of the 1st Division temporarily passed to Walker. According to the Australian official historian, Charles Bean
, Walker was "an officer who, by his directness, his fighting qualities, and his consideration for his men, had in a few weeks much endeared himself to his troops."
It was while Walker was in temporary command of the 1st Division that the Turks delivered a massive counter-attack on 19 May which failed to breach the Anzac line and resulted in over 10,000 casualties. The following day he oversaw an informal truce on MacLaurin's Hill during which time Turkish wounded were retrieved. Standing in no man's land
, Walker conversed in French
with some Turkish officers. When he saw the Turks start to collect rifle
s he called off the truce, stating that if an official armistice was desired a formal request should be made. (An armistice was eventually arranged for 24 May.)
The Australian government desired an Australian to command the division and so dispatched from Australia the then current Chief of the General Staff, Colonel J.G. Legge
, to take over command. Walker remained in the post until Legge arrived on 24 June 1915. When Legge was given command of the newly-forming Australian 2nd Division on 26 July, Walker was restored to permanent command of the 1st Division, a post he would hold through the remainder of the Battle of Gallipoli
and much of the AIF's campaigning on the Western Front.
in which the division would play a supporting role to the main attack by the New Zealand and Australian Division
and the British IX Corps landing at Suvla
. The 1st Division's main task was a diversionary attack at Lone Pine
. A secondary action was an attack on German Officers' Trench from which Turkish machine gun
s enfiladed neighbouring positions, notably Quinn's Post and the Nek
. Lone Pine became the only time during the campaign in which Anzac forces captured and held a Turkish trench system.
The attack on German Officers' Trench was to be made at midnight, 7 August, by the Australian 6th Battalion (2nd Brigade
), commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel H.G. Bennett. When the first attempt failed, Walker assumed that the attack had been mishandled and so ordered another attempt to be made. When this second attempt also failed, Walker, aware that failure here would jeopardise later attacks at other points, ordered a third attempt but upon receiving further negative reports, he approached Birdwood and got approval to call off the assault. It is from this episode that Walker learnt never to repeat an attack without modifying the plan to address the causes of its failure.
On 29 September Walker was buried when a shell exploded in his dugout and two weeks later, on 13 October, he was severely wounded by a machine gun while visiting the front-line. He was initially replaced by Brigadier-General Talbot Hobbs
until he too fell sick, and then by Br.-Gen. H.G. Chauvel
.
in April, initially on a quiet sector near Armentières
. With the Battle of the Somme
going badly for the British
, Birdwood's I Anzac Corps
was called upon in mid-July, joining Lt.-Gen. Hubert Gough
's British Reserve Army
. Gough tried to pressure Walker into making a hasty assault on Pozières
but Walker refused, insisting on adequate preparation and delivering a successful attack on 23 July. Walker led the division during its two tours on the Pozières ridge and then later holding the line near Flers
during the Somme winter.
In April 1917 Walker and his chief of staff, Colonel
T.A. Blamey
, planned the capture of the fortified villages of Boursies
, Hermies
and Demicourt during the German
retreat to the Hindenburg Line
which preceded the Battle of Arras
. Walker also led the 1st Division through numerous phases of the Third Battle of Ypres. When the Germans launched their final offensives in 1918, Walker's 1st Division was attached as a reserve to Lt.-Gen. Herbert Plumer's Second Army
, and was instructed to build defences in front of Hazebrouck
in Artois
, where the division helped in halting the German Operation Georgette offensive.
It had long been a policy of the Australian government to have command positions in the Australian Imperial Force held by Australians or at least members of the AIF — Walker was neither. On 5 March 1918, General Birdwood informed the headquarters of the British Expeditionary Force (of which the Australian Corps
was part) that all non-AIF commanders could be replaced by AIF officers once suitable positions in British Army
units could be found. However, Birdwood insisted that Walker be the last officer to be replaced and so Walker was still in command of the 1st Division during the fighting at Hazebrouck.
When Birdwood was promoted to command of the reformed British Fifth Army
, Walker was next in line for the command of the Australian Corps but, believing an Australian should hold the post, he made no claim on the position which was eventually taken by General John Monash
. Finally, at the beginning of July 1918, Walker was given command of the 48th (South Midland) Infantry Division which at the time was stationed in Italy
. Walker's 1st Division had fought close beside the 48th Division at Pozières.
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
Sir Harold Bridgwood Walker KCB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, KCMG
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
, DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
(26 April 1862 – 5 November 1934) was an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
general who led Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
forces during the First World War. He was highly regarded by the men he commanded and was only replaced in 1918 when politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
dictated that all Australian Imperial Force division
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
s should be commanded by Australians.
Early life
Walker was born in DilhorneDilhorne
Dilhorne is an ancient parish and village in Staffordshire, three miles from Cheadle and six miles from Stoke-on-Trent.The village is within the Staffordshire Moorlands area....
, North Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1862, a descendant of George Walker, and was educated at Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury School
Shrewsbury School is a co-educational independent school for pupils aged 13 to 18, founded by Royal Charter in 1552. The present campus to which the school moved in 1882 is located on the banks of the River Severn in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England...
and Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The College was founded in 1496 on the site of a Benedictine nunnery by John Alcock, then Bishop of Ely...
. He was commissioned into the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
in the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry in May 1884 and served in the Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
until 1886. Before the outbreak of the First World War he was serving as a staff officer with the British Indian Army
British Indian Army
The British Indian Army, officially simply the Indian Army, was the principal army of the British Raj in India before the partition of India in 1947...
. When the headquarters of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) began forming under Indian Army general William Birdwood, Walker was appointed as corps
Corps
A corps is either a large formation, or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service...
chief of staff with the rank of brigadier general
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
.
Landing at Anzac
For the invasion of the GallipoliGallipoli
The Gallipoli peninsula is located in Turkish Thrace , the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles straits to the east. Gallipoli derives its name from the Greek "Καλλίπολις" , meaning "Beautiful City"...
peninsula, it was Walker's role to formulate the landing plans for ANZAC but he deferred management of the planning to his subordinate, Lieutenant-Colonel Andrew Skeen
Andrew Skeen
General Sir Andrew Skeen, KCB, KCIE, CMG served in the British Indian Army, rising to the position of Chief of the General Staff...
, who was an excellent staff officer. Walker was keen to hold a fighting command and his opportunity arose during the landing at Anzac Cove
Landing at Anzac Cove
The landing at Anzac Cove was part of the amphibious invasion of the Gallipoli Peninsula by Australian and New Zealand forces on 25 April 1915. The landing, north of Gaba Tepe on the Aegean coast of the Peninsula, was made by soldiers of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps and was the first...
, 25 April 1915, when the commander of the New Zealand Infantry Brigade, Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Francis Johnston
Francis Johnston
Francis Johnston was an Irish priest and writer who left several works; among them Alexandrina, the Agony and the Glory, about the Portuguese Blessed Alexandrina Maria da Costa, and The Wonder of Guadalupe.-References:...
, became ill. Walker had landed as Birdwood's representative on the beach and was instructed to assume command of the brigade which held the left flank of the Anzac perimeter, occupying a ridge that was given the name "Walker's Ridge". Walker relinquished command of the brigade
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
when Johnston returned to duty but was soon after, on 30 April, given permanent command of the Australian 1st Infantry Brigade whose commander, Colonel H. N. MacLaurin, had been killed during the Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
counter-attack of 27 April.
When on 15 May the senior Australian general, and commander of the Australian 1st Division, Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
W.T. Bridges
William Throsby Bridges
Major General Sir William Throsby Bridges KCB, CMG served with Australian forces during World War I, and was the first Australian to reach general officer rank...
was killed by a sniper
Sniper
A sniper is a marksman who shoots targets from concealed positions or distances exceeding the capabilities of regular personnel. Snipers typically have specialized training and distinct high-precision rifles....
in Monash Valley, command of the 1st Division temporarily passed to Walker. According to the Australian official historian, Charles Bean
Charles Bean
Charles Edwin Woodrow Bean , usually identified as C.E.W. Bean, was an Australian schoolmaster, judge's associate, barrister journalist, war correspondent and historian....
, Walker was "an officer who, by his directness, his fighting qualities, and his consideration for his men, had in a few weeks much endeared himself to his troops."
It was while Walker was in temporary command of the 1st Division that the Turks delivered a massive counter-attack on 19 May which failed to breach the Anzac line and resulted in over 10,000 casualties. The following day he oversaw an informal truce on MacLaurin's Hill during which time Turkish wounded were retrieved. Standing in no man's land
No man's land
No man's land is a term for land that is unoccupied or is under dispute between parties that leave it unoccupied due to fear or uncertainty. The term was originally used to define a contested territory or a dumping ground for refuse between fiefdoms...
, Walker conversed in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
with some Turkish officers. When he saw the Turks start to collect rifle
Rifle
A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
s he called off the truce, stating that if an official armistice was desired a formal request should be made. (An armistice was eventually arranged for 24 May.)
The Australian government desired an Australian to command the division and so dispatched from Australia the then current Chief of the General Staff, Colonel J.G. Legge
James Gordon Legge
Lieutenant General James Gordon Legge CB, CMG was an Australian Army Lieutenant General who served in World War I. His son Stanley Ferguson Legge reached the rank of Major General.-Early life and career:...
, to take over command. Walker remained in the post until Legge arrived on 24 June 1915. When Legge was given command of the newly-forming Australian 2nd Division on 26 July, Walker was restored to permanent command of the 1st Division, a post he would hold through the remainder of the Battle of Gallipoli
Battle of Gallipoli
The Gallipoli Campaign, also known as the Dardanelles Campaign or the Battle of Gallipoli, took place at the peninsula of Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire between 25 April 1915 and 9 January 1916, during the First World War...
and much of the AIF's campaigning on the Western Front.
Lone Pine
Walker now oversaw the 1st Division's preparations for the August OffensiveBattle of Sari Bair
The Battle of Sari Bair , also known as the August Offensive, was the final attempt made by the British in August 1915 to seize control of the Gallipoli peninsula from the Ottoman Empire during First World War.The Battle of Gallipoli had raged on two fronts, Anzac and Helles, for three months since...
in which the division would play a supporting role to the main attack by the New Zealand and Australian Division
New Zealand and Australian Division
The New Zealand and Australian Division was formed at the start of the Battle of Gallipoli as a composite division under the command of New Zealand general Alexander Godley. At the start of World War I New Zealand had mustered insufficient infantry battalions to form their own division while...
and the British IX Corps landing at Suvla
Suvla
Suvla is a bay on the Aegean coast of the Gallipoli peninsula in European Turkey, south of the Gulf of Saros.On 6 August 1915 it was the site for the Landing at Suvla Bay by the British IX Corps as part of the August Offensive during the Battle of Gallipoli...
. The 1st Division's main task was a diversionary attack at Lone Pine
Battle of Lone Pine
The Battle of Lone Pine was a battle between Australian and Turkish forces that took place during the Gallipoli campaign from 6–10 August 1915. It was part of a diversion to draw attention from the main assaults of 6 August against the Sari Bair peaks of Chunuk Bair and Hill 971, which became...
. A secondary action was an attack on German Officers' Trench from which Turkish machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
s enfiladed neighbouring positions, notably Quinn's Post and the Nek
Battle of the Nek
The Battle of the Nek was a small World War I battle fought as part of the Gallipoli campaign. "The Nek" was a narrow stretch of ridge in the Anzac battlefield on the Gallipoli peninsula. The name derives from the Afrikaans word for a "mountain pass" but the terrain itself was a perfect bottleneck...
. Lone Pine became the only time during the campaign in which Anzac forces captured and held a Turkish trench system.
The attack on German Officers' Trench was to be made at midnight, 7 August, by the Australian 6th Battalion (2nd Brigade
2nd Brigade (Australia)
The 2nd Brigade was a brigade-sized infantry unit of the Australian Army.Formed in 1903 as militia formation based in Victoria, the brigade later served during the First World War as part of the Australian Imperial Force, allocated to the 1st Division...
), commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel H.G. Bennett. When the first attempt failed, Walker assumed that the attack had been mishandled and so ordered another attempt to be made. When this second attempt also failed, Walker, aware that failure here would jeopardise later attacks at other points, ordered a third attempt but upon receiving further negative reports, he approached Birdwood and got approval to call off the assault. It is from this episode that Walker learnt never to repeat an attack without modifying the plan to address the causes of its failure.
On 29 September Walker was buried when a shell exploded in his dugout and two weeks later, on 13 October, he was severely wounded by a machine gun while visiting the front-line. He was initially replaced by Brigadier-General Talbot Hobbs
Talbot Hobbs
Lieutenant General Sir Joseph John Talbot Hobbs KCB, KCMG, VD was an Australian architect and First World War general.-Early life:...
until he too fell sick, and then by Br.-Gen. H.G. Chauvel
Henry George Chauvel
General Sir Harry Chauvel GCMG, KCB was a senior officer of the Australian Imperial Force who fought at Gallipoli and in the Middle Eastern theatre during the First World War. He was the first Australian to attain the rank of lieutenant general and later general, and the first to lead a corps...
.
Western Front
In March 1916, following the evacuation of the Gallipoli peninsula, Walker resumed command of the 1st Division and moved to FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in April, initially on a quiet sector near Armentières
Armentières
Armentières is a commune in the Nord department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region in northern France. It is part of the Urban Community of Lille Métropole, and lies on the Belgian border, northwest of the city of Lille, on the right bank of the river Lys....
. With the Battle of the Somme
Battle of the Somme (1916)
The Battle of the Somme , also known as the Somme Offensive, took place during the First World War between 1 July and 14 November 1916 in the Somme department of France, on both banks of the river of the same name...
going badly for the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Birdwood's I Anzac Corps
I Anzac Corps
The I ANZAC Corps was a combined Australian and New Zealand army corps that served during World War I.It was formed in Egypt in February 1916 as part of the reorganisation and expansion of the Australian Imperial Force and the New Zealand Expeditionary Force following the evacuation of Gallipoli...
was called upon in mid-July, joining Lt.-Gen. Hubert Gough
Hubert Gough
General Sir Hubert de la Poer Gough GCB, GCMG, KCVO was a senior officer in the British Army, who commanded the British Fifth Army from 1916 to 1918 during the First World War.-Family background:...
's British Reserve Army
British Reserve Army
The Reserve Army was a field army of the British Army during World War I and part of the British Expeditionary Force during the First World War...
. Gough tried to pressure Walker into making a hasty assault on Pozières
Battle of Pozières
The Battle of Pozières was a two week struggle for the French village of Pozières and the ridge on which it stands, during the middle stages of the 1916 Battle of the Somme. Though British divisions were involved in most phases of the fighting, Pozières is primarily remembered as an Australian battle...
but Walker refused, insisting on adequate preparation and delivering a successful attack on 23 July. Walker led the division during its two tours on the Pozières ridge and then later holding the line near Flers
Flers, Somme
Flers is a commune near the northern edge of the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.It lies to the south of the D929 road, between Albert and Bapaume.-History:...
during the Somme winter.
In April 1917 Walker and his chief of staff, Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
T.A. Blamey
Thomas Blamey
Field Marshal Sir Thomas Albert Blamey GBE, KCB, CMG, DSO, ED was an Australian general of the First and Second World Wars, and the only Australian to date to attain the rank of field marshal....
, planned the capture of the fortified villages of Boursies
Boursies
Boursies is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.-Heraldry:-References:*...
, Hermies
Hermies
Hermies is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:Hermies is a farming village situated southeast of Arras, at the junction of the D5 and the D19 roads.-Population:-References:*...
and Demicourt during the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
retreat to the Hindenburg Line
Hindenburg Line
The Hindenburg Line was a vast system of defences in northeastern France during World War I. It was constructed by the Germans during the winter of 1916–17. The line stretched from Lens to beyond Verdun...
which preceded the Battle of Arras
Battle of Arras (1917)
The Battle of Arras was a British offensive during the First World War. From 9 April to 16 May 1917, British, Canadian, New Zealand, Newfoundland, and Australian troops attacked German trenches near the French city of Arras on the Western Front....
. Walker also led the 1st Division through numerous phases of the Third Battle of Ypres. When the Germans launched their final offensives in 1918, Walker's 1st Division was attached as a reserve to Lt.-Gen. Herbert Plumer's Second Army
British Second Army
The British Second Army was active during both the First and Second World Wars. During the First World War the army was active on the Western Front and in Italy...
, and was instructed to build defences in front of Hazebrouck
Hazebrouck
-Communications:The town enjoys excellent rail connections, with frequent daily services to Lille and Paris, some by High Speed Line. There is a small international airport, concentrating on business flights, at Merville-Calonne just 12 kilometre / 8 miles away...
in Artois
Artois
Artois is a former province of northern France. Its territory has an area of around 4000 km² and a population of about one million. Its principal cities are Arras , Saint-Omer, Lens and Béthune.-Location:...
, where the division helped in halting the German Operation Georgette offensive.
It had long been a policy of the Australian government to have command positions in the Australian Imperial Force held by Australians or at least members of the AIF — Walker was neither. On 5 March 1918, General Birdwood informed the headquarters of the British Expeditionary Force (of which the Australian Corps
Australian Corps
The Australian Corps was a World War I army corps that contained all five Australian infantry divisions serving on the Western Front. It was the largest corps fielded by the British Empire army in France...
was part) that all non-AIF commanders could be replaced by AIF officers once suitable positions in British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
units could be found. However, Birdwood insisted that Walker be the last officer to be replaced and so Walker was still in command of the 1st Division during the fighting at Hazebrouck.
When Birdwood was promoted to command of the reformed British Fifth Army
British Fifth Army
The Fifth Army was a field army of the British Army during World War I and part of the British Expeditionary Force during the First World War.-History:...
, Walker was next in line for the command of the Australian Corps but, believing an Australian should hold the post, he made no claim on the position which was eventually taken by General John Monash
John Monash
General Sir John Monash GCMG, KCB, VD was a civil engineer who became the Australian military commander in the First World War. He commanded the 13th Infantry Brigade before the War and then became commander of the 4th Brigade in Egypt shortly after the outbreak of the War with whom he took part...
. Finally, at the beginning of July 1918, Walker was given command of the 48th (South Midland) Infantry Division which at the time was stationed in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Walker's 1st Division had fought close beside the 48th Division at Pozières.