[5] With an authorised strength of 1,023 men,[1] and under the command of Lieutenant Colonel James Stewart, together with the 58th, 59th and 60th Battalions, the 57th formed part of the 15th Brigade, which was assigned to the 5th Australian Division.

Initially, it was sent to a "nursery sector" in northern France to gain experience, but in July the 57th experienced its taste of the fighting when the 5th Division was committed to the Battle of Fromelles,[3] which was the AIF's debut on the Western Front.

[7] The 57th, having been held back in reserve, suffered less than the rest of the 15th Brigade and, as a result, remained in the line for several days after the battle after the other units had been withdrawn.

[3] After Fromelles, the 57th spent the next two-and-a-half years in the trenches in France and Belgium, seeing action in many of the major battles fought by the Australians during this time.

It then undertook a defensive role during the Second Battle of Bullecourt, before mounting a major attack at Polygon Wood in September after the 5th Division was transferred to the Ypres sector in Belgium.

[14] Initially, the battalion's strength was maintained through a mixture of voluntary and compulsory service; however, in 1930, the Universal Training Scheme was abolished by the Scullin Labor government.

[15] The amalgamated battalion remained linked for the next sixteen years, undertaking weekly parades, training weekends and annual camps when funding allowed.

[9] In the early years of World War II, the 57th/60th undertook training camps in Seymour, Victoria, as part of the 15th Brigade, assigned to the 3rd Division.