Battle of Polygon Wood
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Polygon Wood took place during the second phase of the Battle of Passchendaele in World War I
. The battle was fought near Ypres
, Belgium
, in an area named the Polygon Wood after the layout of the area. However, much of the woodland had been under intense shelling during the Battle of Passchendaele, and the area changed hands several times beforethis battle.
British General Herbert Plumer replaced the ambitious general assaults that had previously been employed with a series of small attacks with limited objectives, which he named his "Bite and hold" plan. These attacks involved a preemptive artillery bombardment followed by a frontal attack near the Polygon Wood. The attacks were led by lines of skirmishers, followed by small infantry groups. Plumer's plan was to outflank the German divisions rather than execute a main frontal assault. Each advance would stop after it had moved forward 1000–1500 yards. Preparations were then made to fending off any German counterattack. The Allied forces succeeded in securing the wooded area after heavy fighting.
Australian medical details established Regimental Aid Posts close to the line to which the badly wounded could be brought quickly from the battlefield for attention before being carried back by field ambulance stretcher–bearers to horse–drawn and motor ambulance collecting points along the Menin Road. The artillery
pieces consisted of the following: 205 pieces of heavy artillery, one gun for every nine meters of front. In addition, there would be an array of lighter 18–pound guns of the field artillery brigades. Assembled forward of the artillery were the heavy Vickers machine guns of the machine gun
companies. A number of these would provide emergency barrages if the attacking infantry needed defense against a sudden German counter–attack. Planes of the Australian Royal Flying Corps would fly over the infantry as a ‘contact patrol’. These planes were distinguished by black streamers on the rear edge of their left wings and were to call for signals from the ground by sounding a klaxon horn or dropping lights. The infantry would respond with red flares
and, the position being noted, the pilot would report back to the Australian Division Headquarters.
emplacements and barbed wire
structures. Polygon Wood formed part of the German "Wilhelm Line" defense system. Dugouts and foxholes were constructed within it. The attack was scheduled to begin on September 26, but the plan was almost derailed by a German attack on the British X Corps to the south of I Anzac Corps
. A day earlier, Australian troops of the 15th Brigade
, preparing for their attack, took part in fending off the Germans; however, their advance the next day began with uncertainty as to the security of their flank.
towards Zonnebeke and Hill 40. The intention was to build on the gains made during the Battle of Menin Road. The infantry attacked at 5:50 a.m. on a nearly five mile front under a large protective artillery bombardment. Smoke and dust mixed with heavy ground mist made visibility poor, but the leading contingents quickly overran dazed defenders in the forward zones.
The infantry’s main obstacles on the battlefield were the dozens of German concrete pill–boxes which protected the enemy machine gunners. They had to arrive at the pill–boxes just as the barrage lifted from them and the occupants were still dazed by explosions. At some pill–boxes there was resistance but many German soldiers surrendered when they found themselves so rapidly surrounded. The Butte itself was soon rushed and was found to be full of German dugouts. To the south of the Australian divisions, the 15th British Brigade, which after its efforts the previous day had been reinforced by two battalions from the 8th, secured not only its own objectives but those allocated to the neighboring 98th British Brigade.
The Germans launched several counter-attacks but these were thwarted by the heavy defensive artillery barrages used to protect the infantry consolidating on their objectives; this was a feature of the Plumer battles. Despite difficulties at the southern and northern extremities of the wider fighting line, by mid-morning most objectives had been gained. Clear weather after midday assisted observation of the expected German counter-attacks which were repulsed by precise British barrages and concentrated rifle and machine-gun fire, causing heavy German casualties.
The Butte is still prominent and mounted on top of it is the AIF 5th Division memorial, the usual obelisk. It faces the Butte's military cemetery at the other end of which is a New Zealand memorial to the missing of the sector, the Buttes New British Cemetery (New Zealand) Memorial
.
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. The battle was fought near Ypres
Ypres
Ypres is a Belgian municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres and the villages of Boezinge, Brielen, Dikkebus, Elverdinge, Hollebeke, Sint-Jan, Vlamertinge, Voormezele, Zillebeke, and Zuidschote...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, in an area named the Polygon Wood after the layout of the area. However, much of the woodland had been under intense shelling during the Battle of Passchendaele, and the area changed hands several times beforethis battle.
British General Herbert Plumer replaced the ambitious general assaults that had previously been employed with a series of small attacks with limited objectives, which he named his "Bite and hold" plan. These attacks involved a preemptive artillery bombardment followed by a frontal attack near the Polygon Wood. The attacks were led by lines of skirmishers, followed by small infantry groups. Plumer's plan was to outflank the German divisions rather than execute a main frontal assault. Each advance would stop after it had moved forward 1000–1500 yards. Preparations were then made to fending off any German counterattack. The Allied forces succeeded in securing the wooded area after heavy fighting.
Background
The name Polygon Wood (German-Polygonwald, or French-Bois de Polygone) was derived from the shape of a plantation forest that lay along the axis of the Australian advance on 26 September 1917. Shelling had reduced the wood to little more than stumps and broken timber. The wood was sometimes known as Racecourse Wood, as there was a track within it. Before the Great War, Polygon Wood was used by the Belgian Army and within it stands a large mound, known as the Butte, which was used as a rifle range before the war. There was also a small airfield near the area.Australian
The area where the Battle of Passchendaele had taken place was shelled by both sides, therefore, roads had to be built for mass artillery transport. Building supply routes for Plumer's 'bite and hold' tactics was a necessity, because the heavier equipment tended to become bogged down in the churned up mud from the intense shelling. All war material had to be brought forward by wagons along roads and tracks dangerously exposed to heavy shelling from both sides. Allied involvement in the Polygon Wood battle were the Fourth and Fifth Australian divisions, which as well as the infantry included artillery, engineers, medical personnel and those involved in supply and transport. Along with the two Australian divisions there were five British divisions.Australian medical details established Regimental Aid Posts close to the line to which the badly wounded could be brought quickly from the battlefield for attention before being carried back by field ambulance stretcher–bearers to horse–drawn and motor ambulance collecting points along the Menin Road. The artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
pieces consisted of the following: 205 pieces of heavy artillery, one gun for every nine meters of front. In addition, there would be an array of lighter 18–pound guns of the field artillery brigades. Assembled forward of the artillery were the heavy Vickers machine guns of the machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
companies. A number of these would provide emergency barrages if the attacking infantry needed defense against a sudden German counter–attack. Planes of the Australian Royal Flying Corps would fly over the infantry as a ‘contact patrol’. These planes were distinguished by black streamers on the rear edge of their left wings and were to call for signals from the ground by sounding a klaxon horn or dropping lights. The infantry would respond with red flares
Flare (pyrotechnic)
A flare, also sometimes called a fusee, is a type of pyrotechnic that produces a brilliant light or intense heat without an explosion. Flares are used for signalling, illumination, or defensive countermeasures in civilian and military applications...
and, the position being noted, the pilot would report back to the Australian Division Headquarters.
German
The German forces covered a large earthen mound known as the "Butte". The German defenders had commanding views over the surrounding countryside and they fortified the mound with machine gunMachine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
emplacements and barbed wire
Barbed wire
Barbed wire, also known as barb wire , is a type of fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strand. It is used to construct inexpensive fences and is used atop walls surrounding secured property...
structures. Polygon Wood formed part of the German "Wilhelm Line" defense system. Dugouts and foxholes were constructed within it. The attack was scheduled to begin on September 26, but the plan was almost derailed by a German attack on the British X Corps to the south of I Anzac Corps
I Anzac Corps
The I ANZAC Corps was a combined Australian and New Zealand army corps that served during World War I.It was formed in Egypt in February 1916 as part of the reorganisation and expansion of the Australian Imperial Force and the New Zealand Expeditionary Force following the evacuation of Gallipoli...
. A day earlier, Australian troops of the 15th Brigade
15th Brigade (Australia)
The 15th Brigade was an infantry brigade of the Australian Army. Originally raised in 1916 for service during World War I, the brigade took part in the fighting on the Western Front in France and Belgium before being disbanded in 1919. After this it was re-raised as a part-time unit of the Citizens...
, preparing for their attack, took part in fending off the Germans; however, their advance the next day began with uncertainty as to the security of their flank.
Battle
The main assault would be supported (on the right) by 33rd Division (British) and (on the left) with simultaneous attacks by Australian Fifth Division's 3rd and 59th Battalions59th Battalion (Australia)
The 59th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Initially raised for service during World War I, the battalion fought on the Western Front in France and Belgium between 1916 and 1918, before being disbanded in 1919. In 1921 it was re-raised as a part-time unit of the Militia in...
towards Zonnebeke and Hill 40. The intention was to build on the gains made during the Battle of Menin Road. The infantry attacked at 5:50 a.m. on a nearly five mile front under a large protective artillery bombardment. Smoke and dust mixed with heavy ground mist made visibility poor, but the leading contingents quickly overran dazed defenders in the forward zones.
The infantry’s main obstacles on the battlefield were the dozens of German concrete pill–boxes which protected the enemy machine gunners. They had to arrive at the pill–boxes just as the barrage lifted from them and the occupants were still dazed by explosions. At some pill–boxes there was resistance but many German soldiers surrendered when they found themselves so rapidly surrounded. The Butte itself was soon rushed and was found to be full of German dugouts. To the south of the Australian divisions, the 15th British Brigade, which after its efforts the previous day had been reinforced by two battalions from the 8th, secured not only its own objectives but those allocated to the neighboring 98th British Brigade.
The Germans launched several counter-attacks but these were thwarted by the heavy defensive artillery barrages used to protect the infantry consolidating on their objectives; this was a feature of the Plumer battles. Despite difficulties at the southern and northern extremities of the wider fighting line, by mid-morning most objectives had been gained. Clear weather after midday assisted observation of the expected German counter-attacks which were repulsed by precise British barrages and concentrated rifle and machine-gun fire, causing heavy German casualties.
Aftermath
The 4th Division's battalions captured all their objectives – woods, blockhouses and trenches – and suffered 1,717 casualties. The even more heavily engaged 5th Division suffered 5,471 dead and wounded in the period 26–28 September. Polygon Wood today, though smaller than in 1917, is still large. The remains of three German pillboxes captured by the Australians lie deep among the trees but few trench lines remain.The Butte is still prominent and mounted on top of it is the AIF 5th Division memorial, the usual obelisk. It faces the Butte's military cemetery at the other end of which is a New Zealand memorial to the missing of the sector, the Buttes New British Cemetery (New Zealand) Memorial
Buttes New British Cemetery (New Zealand) Memorial
The Buttes New British Cemetery Memorial is a World War I memorial, located in Buttes New British Cemetery, near the town of Zonnebeke, Belgium...
.