The division was sent to France, and the Western Front, in June 1916, where Jacka and his unit were assigned to the Allied trenches near Armentières, participating in several raids against the German trenches.Lawriwsky. Hard Jacka, p. 108 Following the heavy casualties on the Somme, the 14th Battalion was transferred to the Pozières sector of the Somme offensive. Jacka's division, on 23 July 1916, was involved in the attack of Pozières planned by Major General Harold Bridgwood Walker. The Australian division suffered 5,285 casualties after three days of fighting. The Australian force captured Pozières, but the fight was so bloody that the Australians could only identify their trenches by the bodies of their comrades showing their red-and-white shoulder patches.
