The line of the Somme had been reached and all three divisions south of the Somme stood upon the high ground sloping down to the river looking past Peronne and as far south as St. Christ (map courtesy of Australians on the Western Front). To the north of the river the 3rd Division kept in step reaching Suzanne, Vaux, Curlu, Hem and Clery. The last two days of the advance led the Australian Corps across the maze of trenches and debris of the 1916 campaign. The weather was unfavourable, there was little shelter plus the Germans fought a determined withdrawal all leading to the line brigades reaching the Somme in a very tired condition. Later that day Lieut.-Gen. Monash called a conference with his Divisional commanders at Proyart to discuss the next phase, the crossing of the Somme and the taking of Mont St. Quentin.
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Following the Twenty-Second 