HE the Hon Dr Kevin Rudd AC
Australian Ambassador to the United States
Remarks at the Bells of Peace Ceremony, World War 1 Memorial
Veterans Day, 11 November 2025
Washington, District of Columbia
Friends, one and all, there is something profoundly moving still, 100 years later, about the 11th month, about the 11th day, and about the 11th hour. It doesn’t matter where we come from across this world of ours. I think that is because, when we reflect on the First World War, we are still numbed by the sheer magnitude of the carnage of that war. Britain: 8.9 million men served, nearly 900,000 killed. France: 8.4 million men served, 1.4 million dead. The United States: 4.7 million served, 116,000 killed. Canada: 620,000 served, 61,000 dead. Australia: 417,000 served, 60,000 dead. And New Zealand: 128,000 served, 18,000 dead. And when we take into account the ranks of those who fell for Imperial Germany and those who fell for Imperial Russia, these numbers become much larger, much, much larger.
Again today, 100 years later, these numbers still are numbing in terms of the scale of the carnage. And through what was a profound failure of diplomacy, this war was, in fact, an entirely avoidable war. And once we had fought this war, which we then called the war to end all wars, it did not turn out that way at all; it simply became the precursor for the next. And that is why, on this Armistice Day, the 11th of November, this day remains a stern and silent sentinel to the sheer horror of war, and how, therefore, we must strain every sinew to sustain the peace, a peace sustained through strength, beyond the national families from which we all come.
At a more personal level, these were men’s lives, men’s families, and men’s communities that lay physically shattered as a result of these mind-numbing losses. We only need stand quietly before the thousands of memorials that dot the countryside of France, of Britain, of Australia, of New Zealand, of the United States, and see each of the names, each a precious soul in God’s sight. In the town that I grew up in, in rural Australia, we boasted a population of 220. Local boys died from that town, on the other side of the world, a tiny community which was pulled apart as a result of the carnage of the war, like so many other communities around the world.
Yet amid this great tragedy, there were also stories which cause us enormous pride, of individual courage, of endurance, and of comradeship, and they inspire us still. As Australians, we remember in particular the fourth of July 1918. That was the day of the Battle of Hamel, when Australian diggers, some 5000 or so, teamed up with 2000 Brits, and for the first time in our history, 1000 Doughboys, and they went into battle under an Australian general, a Jewish general, Sir John Monash. And between them, with a combined feat of infantry, of artillery, of tanks, and air attack, they broke the line. They did so on the fourth of July 1918, against General Pershing’s orders. That’s often how some battles are won, when you deny the Commander in Chief. This resulted, in turn, in the supreme German commander, General Ludendorff, describing the attack as a striking success by the enemy, a complete tactical surprise. Its rapidity made it impossible to reinforce the position, before complaining himself to the German newspapers at the time that with the arrival of the Doughboys and the Australians, the Allies now possessed an advantage in terms of sheer manpower.
That engagement, the Battle of Hamel, also provided the proof of concept of combined arms that the Allies would use less than three weeks later in the 100 Days offensive, launched again against the German line, which General Ludendorff described as the black day of the German army. For Australians, for Americans, for the Brits, not a bad day’s work, all in 93 minutes. The first time ever that Australians and Americans had fought together, the first time ever that Australian diggers and Doughboys embarked upon this common feat of arms, and that day leaving behind them 1000 casualties. As I said before, General Pershing was not all that happy at the time, but as he would reflect back 100 years later, I think he’d be proud of what our two great armies continue to achieve together: Australia, the United States, our allies elsewhere in the world as well.
For Australia and America, the spirit of Hamel lives on 100 years later, just as for Australia and New Zealand the spirit of Gallipoli and Anzac lives on after 100 years as well.
Lest we forget.