Peaceful Penetration

Peaceful Penetration was a strategy developed by John Monash and the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) on the Western Front. Tried out in a series of successful raids across No Man's Land during the summer of 1918 and on a larger scale at the Battle of Le Hamel in July.

The strategy was based on the idea that heavy artillery, tanks, machine-guns and aircraft should be used to devastate a limited area of enemy territory. The infantry would then be brought up to occupy and secure the area. The success of peaceful penetration depended on carefully planned co-operation between the various units involved.

After John Monash successfully used peaceful penetration at the Battle of Hamel the strategy was adopted by other Allied commanders during the autumn of 1918.