2016 £2 The Great War Arrival On The Western Front PNCWith Gallipoli behind them, Australian troops began arriving in France in early 1916, by which time the Western Front stretching 750 kilometres from the Belgian coast to the Swiss border had been long established. While much of the front was quiet, British and French forces had engaged with the enemy at locations along the front since late 1914, and by the end of 1915, France alone had suffered more the 1. 5 million casualties.