Fromelles

The Battle at Fromelles, part of the British attack on The Somme, was an unmitigated disaster for Australia.

On this section of the Front the British were trying to push back a German thrust into the Allied lines. The Australians were thrown into the fray here in July 1916, as the British attempted to recover from terrible losses.

It descended into disaster also for the then inexperienced AIF which became caught in a disorganised mess, at one point left exposed and without artillery support. Members of the Australian 5th Division and the British 61st went over the top at 6pm on July 19, 1916 and attacked on a 4000 metre front. At this point the Australians, with only five days to prepare for the attack were inexperienced in frontline warfare. Even before they moved out of their trenches their numbers were depleted by German artillery and shells from their own guns which fell short.The Australian 8th Brigade took the left, the 14th was in the centre and the 15th on the right. As the Allied artillery barrage eased the Germans emerged from their trenches and pinned down the Australians in a huge No Man's Land between the opposing lines. The three brigades were ordered to capture and secure themselves in a line of German trenches which, as it turned out didn't exist.They were left exposed and unable to call on artillery support because they were unsure of their own positions. The disarray was exacerbated by the loss of a high proportion of Australian officers, some of whom had exposed themselves recklessly in an attempt to inspire their men.By dawn on the 20th they had no choice but to withdraw, leaving many wounded behind. By the evening the casualties clogging the Allied trenches were the fortunate ones. Out in No Man's Land, as CEW Bean reported, "the wounded could be seen everywhere, raising their limbs in pain or turning helplessly hour after hour from one side to another."."The scene in the Australian trenches, packed with wounded and dying was unexampled in the history of the AIF," Bean wrote.

Ignoring British standing orders, Major AV Murdoch of Victoria's 29th Battalion, produced a makeshift Red Cross flag and walked toward the German lines, handing water bottles to the stranded casualties.

He made it all the way to the German front line where he arranged with a Bavarian Lieutenant for a brief truce to allow the wounded to be collected, offering himself as a hostage in the interim.

The deal went ahead and about 300 wounded were brought back until the truce was called off by Major General McCay. But the toll appalled the Australians. Some of those who could not be rescued were witnessed moving for days.

Fromelles Website - Click on British Flag to read in English

http://www.asbf14-18.org

POZIERES

July & August 1916

"(They) looked like men who had been to hell - drawn, haggard and so dazed they appeared to be walking in a dream and their eyes looked glassy and starey," Victorian Sgt E. Rule said

At Pozieres the Australians had a bitter taste of the brutal campaigns which were to come. For six weeks they pushed forward but suffered awful casualties as the British had before them. Among the losses was an entire company of 80 to 100 men from Victoria's 24th battalion. Albert Jacka, a Victorian Cross winner at Gallipoli and later mayor of St Kilda, distinguished himself again here with a typically audacious one- man defence during which he was wounded seven times.

The Australian casualty toll at Pozieres, heightened by incessant German machine-gun fire from the flanks, reached close to 24,000. While the 5th Division was enduring the horror at Fromelles the 1st, 2nd and 4th were heading to The Somme, again as part of General Haigs great offensive

The Australians arrived upon the desolate scene after the British had fought in the same area for about three weeks, suffering 12,000 casualties.

It was said that the fighting had been so hellish that the life expectancy of a young officer at the front was no more than 24hours. Brigades of the 1st Divisions went over the top at 12.30am on July 23 but the Germans had Pozieres heavily fortified. Initially the Australians were the only ones who succeeded in most of their aims, but enemy machine guns took a great toll. The 2nd Division struggled forward to relieve the 1st - which had lost 5285 officers and men - but was hampered by inexperience under fire. In early August the 2nd Division advanced again after days in which their positions were bombarded burying men alive

Then the Australian 4th Division relieved the 2nd and Pozieres was taken, but the toll among the 2nd had reached 6848.

Victorian journalist Lt JA Raws, who was later killed three weeks later, wrote of desperately digging in before the sun rose.

"The wounded and killed had to be thrown to one side," he said

Norman Mills of Gippsland said the mud slipped back as fast as you could dig.

Stretcher bearer Vic Graham described the scene as an inferno.

"Pozieres, the town, has disappeared," he said.

"Rubble desolates its site. Trenches and the remainders of their defenders and attackers are littered as far as the eye can see."

Click below link to read more about Pozieres http://users.netconnect.com.au/~ianmac/pozieres.html

MOUQUET ~ "MOOCOW" FARM

After the relative success at Pozieres the British Commander in chief, General Haig wanted to keep the pressure on the Germans with an attack on Mouquet Farm, a battlefield referred to by most of the Australians as

"moo-cow" farm. The first assault, by the 4th division's 4th brigade, began on the night of August 8th and was renewed the following night.

The Australians faced two major problems. A long march forward allowed the Germans to bombard the advancing Allies. And the narrowness of the front, left the enemy with a small target. Despite this Haig wanted the Australians to keep pushing forward under heavy shelling and in face of two counter attacks

The 4th Divisions was relieved by the 1st and 2nd which twice entered the obscure farm only to be driven back at great cost. It wasn't discovered until later that the Germans had built a number of huge dugouts at the farm in which up to 200men could seek refuge before manning the trenches.The Australians were relieved in late September but only after Allied casualties reached 23,000. The Canadians took the farm on September 26th

MESSINES

The battle of Messines was a prelude to the 3rd battle of Ypres, a bid to capture higher ground before the main offensive.It involved the new Australian 3rd Division, under the meticulous General Monash, as well as the 4th.

It was launched in extraordinary circumstances in the early hours of June 7th, 1917. Australian tunnelers had burrowed their way under the German lines and laid 19 mines. These were set off simultaneously, leaving the Germans shocked.

The New Zealanders captured the town of Messines and the Australians took positions on the right.The German trenches were stormed but it was no cakewalk for the Australians. They encountered almost impregnable concrete blockhouses and pillboxes built by the Germans which housed machine-guns.

A company of the Victorian 37th Battalion was virtually wiped out from one blockhouse. Within days the Australian objectives had been achieved but at the cost of 7000 casualties, including the 4th Division's commander, Major General Holmes

read more about Messines click link below

http://www.chavasse.u-net.com/messines.html

BULLECOURT

Bullecourt was the scene of two immense battles following the German tactical retreat back to their heavily-fortified Hindenburg Line. In the first, which has since become a study in military incompetence, the Australian 4th Division attacked on April 11, 1917. The Australians were supposed to be supported by a dozen new tanks which would run through the German barbed wire, clearing a path for the AIF. But the tanks were too slow and the foot soldiers arrived first and faced a wall of wire. Some became hopelessly entangled, others rushed into narrow breaches and were cut down by German machine-guns.

Only four of the tanks reached the wire and none of them ahead of the Australians as planned. Vicious hand-to-hand combat ensued and the infantry took two trench lines. But the British attack on the village itself failed and the Australians were isolated. Because the British were confused about the Australians' location, they would not provide artillery support and a German counter attack drove them out of their newly gained positions Half of the original attacking force was lost and 1100 were taken prisoner. An unofficial two-hour truce with the Germans allowed the Australians to retrieve their dead and wounded - some of whom were still staggering back days later. The second battle of Bullecourt, which involved the Australian 2nd Division, was far better planned

It began on May 3rd and was fought over almost the same ground.

Now skeptical about tank support, the Australians relied on 96 Vickers guns. Nevertheless, it was again a vicious encounter marked by protracted fights with hand-held bombs Over the next two weeks the Australians consolidated and extended their gains until a major blow was struck by the British 7th Division which took the fortress of Bullecourt.

By this time Australian casualties had reached 10,000

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YPRES ~ WIPERS

1st Battle - Oct-Nov 1914

2nd Battle - Apr-May 1915

3rd Battle -July - Oct 1917 - (Also Known as Passchendaele)

4th Battle - April 1918 (Spring Offensive)

The Final Breakout - 1918

The 3rd Battle

This battle, often referred to as Passchendaele, pitted immense British and Empire firepower against a heavily-fortified German positions in a series of advances in September and October 1917. This offensive,which began at 3:50am on July 31, 1917, involved the Australians in three phases Menin Road, Polygon Wood and Broodseinde about 38,000 Australians were killed or wounded.It was the scene of the most ferocious firepower of the war. The British had a gun every few metres. The Germans had perfected their network of blockhouses and pillboxes. General Haig's objective was the ridge at Passchendaele, but 12 hours after the Allied push began, heavy rain set and did not abate for two weeks.The Australian 3rd Division found itself in an instant swamp as water filled the pock-marked landscape. The 1st, 2nd and 5th Divisions moved up behind them

C.E.W. Bean described the battlefield as resembling "the bottom of an upheaved ocean". By September 20th the area had dried out and an enormous attack was mounted by 11 Allied divisions - including the AIF 1st and 2nd - on a 13km front.

The Australians were at the centre of a force facing Glencourse Wood, the first time two Australian divisions had fought side-by-side.

Overcoming enemy infantry, the AIF made it to their sunken road on the edge of Glencourse Wood. In some of these encounters, the Australians lost a great deal of respect for the Germans after having been given signs of surrender only to find themselves fired on as they dropped their guard. By noon on the 20th the Australians and British had won Menin Road and were at the edge of Polygon Wood. The British casualty toll was between 20,000 and 25,000, including 5000 Australians. The next battle was to capture all of Polygon Wood. On the nights of September 22nd and 23rd the Australian 1st and 2nd Divisions were relieved by the 4th and 5th The artillery barrage that preceded the September 26th attack was described by Bean as rolling ahead "like a Gippsland bushfire."

The Australians advanced along 2500m of a 10km front. The 4th division captured all of its positions but lost 1717 lives. The 5th had 5471 wounded and injured. Victoria's 15th Brigade was the worst affected with almost 2000 casualties.

On October 4th, a few kilometres south of Passchendaele, the battle began for Broodseinde Ridge, a position the British had abandoned in 1915.

The Australians 1st and 2nd divisions were thrown into battle again, despite their commanders' belief that they were worn out. Little did the High Command realise that at the moment of their attack the Germans also planned an advance. Both sides pummeled each other with artillery and then the infantry of each met, staring at each other from only 30metres apart.

The Australian gunners fired first and the infantry attacked the Germans in a bayonet onslaught. Broodseinde was a great victory for the Allies and the German leadership officially recorded October 4th as "a black day". The three Australian divisions lost 6500 men.

The 3rd division, with the 4th in support, then fronted up for an assault on Passchendaele in miserable weather on October 12th. Another 4000 Australians were killed or wounded. In the period since July 31st, the British and Empire forces had accumulated casualties of 448,614 compared with 217,700 for the Germans.Australian nurse May Tilton was working at a hospital in Belgium as the wounded poured in from Passchendaele. They were admitted in batches of 200 and there was time only to attend to urgent dressing.

"For several hours a day, I assisted in the acute gas wards," she wrote. "Most of the poor boys died, but those who still lived - to die later - suffered intensely

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Click below to find out more about Ypres at Simon Farr's comprehensive site

http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~dccfarr/

VILLERS

At dawn on March 21st, 1918, the Germans launched Operation Michael, a massive offensive which shook the Allies. Within four days all Allied advances of the past year were yielded, including Pozieres and Mouquet Farm.

Troops of the British 6th Army and civilians fled the German surge towards Amiens, a crucial French city and rail junction. The key to a successful attack on Amiens was the hillside town of Villers-Bretonneux and, by March 25th, no British Division stood between this town and its would-be conquerers. On March 28th the Germans were stalled in front of Villers-Bretonneux and Hamal by the British 1st cavalry but the enemy attack was renewed on April 4th. After a bludgeoning bombardment the Germans struck with 15 Divisions. The northern thrust was stopped by the British and Australians but, further south, the Germans were on the outskirts of Villers-Bretonneux. The Australian 36th battalion launched a desperate counter-attack with fixed bayonets and, with the aid of two Queen's Regiment companies, drove the Germans back. Meanwhile the Australian 9th Brigade and the British 3rd cavalry protected the Australian flanks.

On April 24th the Germans attacked again after softening the Allies with heavy shelling and Mustard Gas. They broke through the British lines - heavily reinforced with inexperienced young conscripts - and Villers-Bretonneux was lost temporarily. Australian Brigadier Generals, Pompey Elliot and TW Glasgow argued strongly with Major General Heneker of the Britsh 8th Division about the tactics for retaking Villers-Bretonneux and got their way. Glasgow's 51st and 52nd Battalions and Elliot's 15 Brigade were told to let nothing stop them as they took off with bayonets leveled. The Germans were unnerved in the face of what CEW Bean described as the wildest charge in the history of the AIF.

The next day - the third ANZAC Day - the Australians retook the town in a series of house-to-house fights and the French have never forgotten their valor.

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HAMEL

Like Villers-Bretonneux Hamel was a key to defence of Amiens.

After holding up Germany's Operation Michael the Australians launched a series of sharp-but-limited counter attacks aimed at preventing the enemy from regrouping. Hamel was the most remarkable of these, a superbly-planned thrust plotted by General Monash. It involved only four Australian brigades in league with a new, faster generation of tanks as well as artillery, aircraft and some American troops. The fortified town was taken in only 93minutes and, after the disaster at Bullecourt, it restored the Australian faith in tanks.

Read More about Hamel at this Brilliant website -

The Battle of Hamel - Between History and Memory

http://www.chez.com/hamel1418/start.html

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QUENTIN

If any feat on the Western Front can be described as Australia's most glorious moment it is seizing of Mont St Quentin. After four years of almost unremitting trench warfare the Allies had the Germans on the run in August, 1918. The 2nd and 3rd Divisions broke through the German lines and, as they dug in, were quickly leapfrogged by the 4th and 5th. The overwhelming Allied momentum saw the Germans pull back close to the strategically vital Mont St Quentin.

The Germans regarded Mont St Quentin as impregnable but, Monash could smell blood and ordered that each attacking Brigade be "kept in line until it has reached the limit of its endurance." He told the 5th Division to take the briges at Peronne then a wooded spur to the east. The 2nd was to aim for the bridgehead at Halle and attack Mont St Quentin. The 3rd was ordered towards high ground north east of Clery. Monash's British superior, General Rawlinson, said taking Mont St Quentin with only three battalions was "presumption".

But the German defenders were demoralised by the rapid attack and convinced that the Australians were ruthless with bayonets.

It took only 550 Australians with four companies in support to conquer the supposedly unconquerable

Read About Battle of Peronne

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HINDENBURG

On September 26th, 1918, the Australians - now teamed with two American Divisions - prepared to take on the Germans at the Hindenburg line.

Monash ordered a 60 hour bombardment be let loose on the enemy occupied villages of Bellicourt and Bony, including the firing of gas shells against the German living quarters. The subsequent assault against the best constructed sections of the Hindenburg Line proved tougher than expected, partly because much of the barbed wire was hidden in depressions or moats. On October 5th the 2nd Division took Montbrehain in what became the last Australian battle of the war. By this time the Australians were depleted and exhausted. They withdrew for rest and by the time they were ready to return to the lines the November 11th Armistice was signed

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What these men did nothing can alter now. The good and the bad, the greatness and the smallness of their story will stand. Whatever of glory it contains nothing can now lessen. It rises, as it will always rise, above the mists of ages, a monument to great-hearted men; and for their nation, a possesion forever

.Charles Bean.

Fromelles	Pozieres	Mouquet	Messines	Bullecourt
Ypres	Villers	Hamel	Quentin	Hindenburg