Battle of Pozières
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Pozières was a two week struggle for the French
village of Pozières
and the ridge on which it stands, during the middle stages of the 1916 Battle of the Somme
. Though British
division
s were involved in most phases of the fighting, Pozières is primarily remembered as an Australian
battle. The fighting ended with the Allied forces in possession of the plateau north and east of the village, and in a position to menace the German
bastion
of Thiepval
from the rear. However, the cost had been enormous, and in the words of Australian official historian Charles Bean
, the Pozières ridge "is more densely sown with Australian sacrifice than any other place on earth."
road, lies atop a ridge approximately in the centre of what was the British sector of the Somme battlefield. Close by the village is the highest point on the battlefieldThis high point was known to the australians as "Hill 160" or "The Windmill." The Germans, recognising the tactical importance of the point, had recoded it as Die Windmühle after a seventeenth century windmill that existed on the site before the commencement of the battle. Ref: Middlebrook (1972) Pg. 351 and Bean (1929) Pg. 455 and, while the Somme
terrain is only gently undulating, any slight elevation aided observation for artillery
.
Pozières was critical to the German defences; the fortified village formed an outpost to the second defensive trench system which became known to the British as the "Old German Lines" or "O.G. Lines". This German second line extended from beyond Mouquet Farm in the north, ran behind Pozières to the east, then south towards the Bazentin ridge and the villages of Bazentin le Petit and Longueval
.
On 14 July, during the Battle of Bazentin Ridge
, this southern section of the German second line was captured by the British Fourth Army
of Lieutenant General
Sir Henry Rawlinson. The tantalising prospect of "rolling up" the German second line by turning north now presented itself. However, Pozières stood in the way.
The British Commander-in-Chief, General
Sir Douglas Haig
, lacked the ammunition
to immediately execute another broad-front attack after 14 July. Believing that Pozières and Thiepval would become untenable for the Germans as the British continued their eastward momentum, Haig ordered Rawlinson to concentrate on the centre between High Wood
and Delville Wood
as well as the villages of Guillemont
and Ginchy
.
Meanwhile the plan was to maintain the pressure and take Pozières
by a "steady, methodical, step-by-step advance". Between 13 and 17 July, the Fourth Army made four, small-scale attacks against Pozières with no success and high casualties. In this period the village was subjected to a heavy bombardment and reduced to rubble. On two occasions the attacking infantry got into the trench that looped around the south and western edge of the village, known as "Pozières trench", but both times were driven out. Attempts to get east of the village by advancing up the O.G. Lines likewise failed.
in the south. Haig decided to transfer responsibility for Pozières to the Reserve Army
of Lieutenant General Hubert Gough
which had been holding the line north of the road since shortly after the opening of the offensive on 1 July. The attack was postponed until the night of 22–23 July.
To Gough's army were attached the three Australian divisions of I Anzac Corps
, which had begun moving from the Armentières
sector. The Australian 1st Division reached Albert on 18 July, and despite the postponement of the offensive, Gough, who had a reputation as a "thruster", told the division's commander, Major General
Harold Walker
, "I want you to go in and attack Pozières tomorrow night". Walker, an experienced English officer who had led the division since Gallipoli
, would have none of it and insisted he would attack only after adequate preparation. Consequently the attack on Pozières once more fell in line with the Fourth Army's attack on the night of 22–23 July.
The plan called for the Australian 1st Division to attack Pozières from the south, advancing in three stages half an hour apart, while north of the Albert-Bapaume road, the British 48th (South Midland) Division
(British X Corps
) would attack the German trenches west of the village. The village and surrounding area was defended by elements of the German 117th Division
. Early on 22 July the Australian 9th Battalion attempted to improve its position by advancing up the O.G. Lines towards the road but was repulsed.
The preparation for the attack involved a thorough bombardment of the village and the O.G. Lines lasting several days. The bombardment included phosgene
and tear gas. The infantry were scheduled to go in at 12.30 am on 23 July, the attack being made by the Australian 1st
and 3rd Brigades
. The infantry had crept into no man's land
, close behind the bombardment and when it lifted the German trenches were rushed. The first stage took the Pozières trench that ringed the village to the south. The second stage saw the Australians advance to the edge of the village, amongst what remained of the back gardens of the houses lining the Albert-Bapaume road. The third stage brought the line to the Albert-Bapaume road. The few survivors from the German garrison retreated to the northern edge of the village or into the O.G. Lines to the east.
It was also intended that the O.G. Lines would be captured as far as the road, but here the Australians failed, partly due to strong resistance from the German defenders occupying deep dugouts and machine gun
nests, and partly due to the confusion of a night attack on featureless terrain — the weeks of bombardment had reduced the ridge to a field of craters and it was virtually impossible to distinguish where a trench line had run. Two Australians won the Victoria Cross
during the fighting in the O.G. Lines on 23 July; Private
John Leak
(9th Battalion) and Lieutenant
Arthur Blackburn
(10th Battalion
).)
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The failure to take the O.G. Lines made the eastern end of Pozières vulnerable and so the Australians formed a flank short of their objectives. On the western edge of the village, the Australians captured a German bunker
known as "Gibraltar
",The "Gibralter Bunker" was known as "Das Blockhaus" by the German forces. Ref Hirschfeld (2009) Pg 214 which was the only structure in the area to endure the bombardment. During 23 July, some Australians went prospecting across the road. They captured a number of Germans and with minimal effort occupied more of the village. That night the 8th Battalion
of the Australian 2nd Brigade
, which had been in reserve, moved up and secured the rest of the village.
The attack of the 48th Division on the German trenches west of Pozières achieved some success. However, the main attack by the Fourth Army between Pozières and Guillemont was a complete and costly failure.
Three attempts were made on 23 July but each was broken up by the British artillery or swept away by machine gun fire. Communication was as difficult for the Germans as it was for the British, and it was not until 7 am on 24 July that they received their confirmation that Pozières had been lost. With British activity now declining elsewhere on its front, the German IV Corps
, on whose sector Pozières lay, was able to concentrate most of its artillery against the village and its approaches.
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Initially the bombardment was methodical and relentless without being intense. Known trenches and strongpoints, such as the "Gibraltar" bunker, received shell after shell. The western approach to the village, which led from Casualty Corner near the head of Sausage Valley
, received such a concentration of shellfire that it was thereafter known as "Dead Man's Road".
The German bombardment intensified on 25 July in preparation for their next counter-attack to retake the village. By this stage artillery from all around was able to join in. The German IX Corps had now taken over this sector and the commander cancelled the planned counter-attack, choosing to concentrate on the defence of the O.G. Lines which were the next objective of the British.
The bombardment reached a crescendo on 26 July. By 5 pm, the Australians, believing an attack was imminent, appealed for a counter-barrage. In addition to the batteries
of I Anzac
and British II Corps, the guns of the two neighbouring British corps
also joined in. This in turn led the Germans to believe the Australians were preparing to attack and so they increased their fire yet again. It was not until midnight that the shelling subsided.
At its peak, the German bombardment of Pozières was the equal of anything yet experienced on the Western Front and far surpassed the worst shelling previously endured by an Australian division. The Australian 1st Division suffered 5,285 casualties on its first tour of Pozières. When the survivors were relieved on 27 July, one observer, Sergeant
E.J. Rule said:
. Simultaneously on the Australian's right, the British 1st Division made an attempt to capture Munster Alley, the section of the Switch Line where it intersected the O.G. Lines. A tumultuous bombfight developed, but only a small section of trench was held.
Before it was withdrawn, the Australian 1st Division had attempted to prepare a jumping-off line for the assault on the O.G. Lines. The Australian 2nd Division took over the sector on 27 July and General Gough, eager for progress, pressed for an immediate attack. The division's commander, General Gordon Legge
, lacked the experience and confidence of General Walker and succumbed to pressure from Gough. On the night of 28–29 July, in conditions far less favourable than those experienced by the 1st Division on the night of 22–23 July, the 2nd Division was expected to attack.
The remorseless German bombardment made effective preparations virtually impossible. The dust raised by the shelling prevented the Australian artillery observers from directing their field gun
s which were tasked with cutting the barbed wire
entanglements. An attack by the British 23rd Division
on Munster Alley dragged in the Australian 5th Brigade — the ensuing bombfight saw the British and Australian infantry expend over 73,000 grenade
s (AWM4-23-5-13.pdf (pages 5-6)).
The main attack went ahead, scheduled to start at 12.15 am on 29 July, but the Australian 7th Brigade
was late in reaching its start line and its movement was detected by the German defenders — when the attack commenced, the Australians were met by a hail of machine gun
fire. South of the road the 5th Brigade remained pinned down, unable to even get started. On their left, north of the road, the 7th Brigade encountered uncut wire. On the northern flank some minor progress was made by the 6th Brigade but everywhere else the attack was a failure. Including the attack and the preceding day of preparation the 2nd Division lost over 3,500 men; the 7th Brigade had to be withdrawn to reserve, so great were its losses.
General Haig was disparaging of the division's failure, telling Lieutenant General
William Birdwood, the I Anzac Corps
commander, "You're not fighting Bashi-Bazouks now." General Legge and the I Anzac staff resolved to do the job properly. To avoid the confusion of a night advance, the plan was to attack at 9.15 pm, just before dark at which time the crest of the ridge and the mound of the Pozières windmill
would still be discernible. However, to attack at dusk meant assembling by day which was only possible to do in the protection of trenches. Therefore a system of approach and assembly trenches had to be dug at night. Whenever the Germans detected digging parties, they mistook them for troops assembling to attack and called down a barrage.
Originally the attack was to be made at dusk on 2 August but the trenches were as yet incomplete, the digging either being disrupted or the completed trenches demolished by shellfire. The attack was first postponed to 3 August and then to 4 August when the trenches were finally deemed ready. This careful planning and preparation delivered success and when the 2nd Division went in, both O.G. Lines were captured. South of and astride the Albert-Bapaume Road the O.G. Lines had been so thoroughly obliterated by prolonged shelling that the Australians ended up advancing beyond their objectives.
From their vantage in the O.G. Lines on the eastern edge of the Pozières ridge, the Australians now looked over green countryside, the village of Courcelette
close by and the woods around Bapaume
five miles (8 km) away. The German commander ordered "At any price Hill 160 Pozières ridge must be recovered."
s of the Australian 2nd Division were exhausted and were to be relieved by the Australian 4th Division
. While the relief was underway on the night of 5–6 August the Australians were subjected to yet another extreme bombardment — the ground they now occupied could be shelled by the Germans from all directions, including from Thiepval
which lay to the rear.
On the morning of 6 August a German counter-attack tried to approach the O.G. Lines but was met by machine gun fire and forced to dig in. The bombardment continued through the day, by the end of which most of the 2nd Division had been relieved. From its twelve days in the line, the division had suffered 6,848 casualties.
At 4 am on 7 August, shortly before dawn, the Germans launched their final counter-attack. On a front of 400 yards (365.8 m) they overran the thinly occupied O.G. Lines — most of the Australians were sheltering in the old German dugouts — and advanced towards Pozières.
For the Australians, the crisis had arrived. At this moment, Lieutenant
Albert Jacka
, who had won the Victoria Cross
at Gallipoli
, emerged from a dugout where he and seven men of his platoon
had been isolated, and charged the German line from the rear. His example inspired other Australians scattered across the plateau to join the action and a fierce, hand-to-hand fight developed. Jacka was badly wounded but as support arrived from the flanks, the Australians gained the advantage and most of the surviving Germans were captured. No more attempts to retake Pozières were made.
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Since taking over the Pozières sector, General Gough's plan had been to drive a wedge behind (east of) the German fortress of Thiepval
. Having secured Pozières and the neighbouring section of the O.G. Lines, the attack now moved to the next phase; a drive north along the ridge towards the German strongpoint of Mouquet Farm which protected the rear of Thiepval. I Anzac Corps would carry the advance along the ridge while, on their left, British II Corps would keep in line, systematically reducing the Thiepval salient
.
Initially the task fell to the Australian 4th Division, which had already suffered 1,000 casualties resisting the final German counter-attack, but both the Australian 1st and 2nd Divisions would be called on again, followed once more by the 4th Division.
When the Australians' ordeal on Pozières ridge was over in September, they were replaced by the Canadian Corps
who would hold this sector for the remainder of the Somme fighting. The O.G. Lines east of the village became the Canadians
start line for the Battle of Flers-Courcelette
.
After the battle it became apparent that General Birdwood had lost much of his Gallipoli popularity through his failure to oppose Gough's impetuous desire for "quick results" and his "lack of thought" at Pozières. Soon after, Australian troops rejected his personal appeal for the introduction of conscription, voting against this recommendation largely because of their reluctance to see additional men subjected to the horrors of piecemeal attacks.
The Australians had suffered heavy losses; they had lost as many men in the Battle for Pozières in six weeks as they had in the whole Gallipoli Campaign. One of the Official British Historians strongly praised the independent initiative shown by small sub-units of men in clearing the enemy from positions in the village, but at the same time attributed much of the severity of losses to Australian inexperience and their "reckless daring."
One of those killed, on 5 August, was the English composer George Butterworth
, and in 2008 the road between the town and Martinpuich
was renamed (George Butterworth Lane; 50.041172°N 2.733112°W).
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
village of Pozières
Pozières
Pozières is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:The commune is situated on the D929 road, some northeast of Amiens between Albert and Bapaume, on the Pozières ridge.-Population:-History:...
and the ridge on which it stands, during the middle stages of the 1916 Battle of the Somme
Battle of the Somme (1916)
The Battle of the Somme , also known as the Somme Offensive, took place during the First World War between 1 July and 14 November 1916 in the Somme department of France, on both banks of the river of the same name...
. Though British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
division
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
s were involved in most phases of the fighting, Pozières is primarily remembered as an Australian
First Australian Imperial Force
The First Australian Imperial Force was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during World War I. It was formed from 15 August 1914, following Britain's declaration of war on Germany. Generally known at the time as the AIF, it is today referred to as the 1st AIF to distinguish from...
battle. The fighting ended with the Allied forces in possession of the plateau north and east of the village, and in a position to menace the German
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
bastion
Bastion
A bastion, or a bulwark, is a structure projecting outward from the main enclosure of a fortification, situated in both corners of a straight wall , facilitating active defence against assaulting troops...
of Thiepval
Thiepval
The Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme is a major war memorial to 72,191 missing British and South African men who died in the Battles of the Somme of the First World War between 1915 and 1918 who have no known grave...
from the rear. However, the cost had been enormous, and in the words of Australian official historian Charles Bean
Charles Bean
Charles Edwin Woodrow Bean , usually identified as C.E.W. Bean, was an Australian schoolmaster, judge's associate, barrister journalist, war correspondent and historian....
, the Pozières ridge "is more densely sown with Australian sacrifice than any other place on earth."
Prelude
The village of Pozières, on the Albert-BapaumeBapaume
Bapaume is a commune and the seat of a canton in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:A farming and light industrial town located 10 miles south of Arras at the junction of the A1 autoroute and the N17 and N30 national roads its location is...
road, lies atop a ridge approximately in the centre of what was the British sector of the Somme battlefield. Close by the village is the highest point on the battlefieldThis high point was known to the australians as "Hill 160" or "The Windmill." The Germans, recognising the tactical importance of the point, had recoded it as Die Windmühle after a seventeenth century windmill that existed on the site before the commencement of the battle. Ref: Middlebrook (1972) Pg. 351 and Bean (1929) Pg. 455 and, while the Somme
Somme
Somme is a department of France, located in the north of the country and named after the Somme river. It is part of the Picardy region of France....
terrain is only gently undulating, any slight elevation aided observation for 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...
.
Pozières was critical to the German defences; the fortified village formed an outpost to the second defensive trench system which became known to the British as the "Old German Lines" or "O.G. Lines". This German second line extended from beyond Mouquet Farm in the north, ran behind Pozières to the east, then south towards the Bazentin ridge and the villages of Bazentin le Petit and Longueval
Longueval
Longueval is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Longueval is located 24 miles northwest of Amiens on the D919 road, at the junction with the D8....
.
On 14 July, during the Battle of Bazentin Ridge
Battle of Bazentin Ridge
The Battle of Bazentin Ridge, launched by the British Fourth Army at dawn on 14 July 1916, marked the start of the second phase of the Battle of the Somme. Dismissed beforehand by one French commander as "an attack organized for amateurs by amateurs", it turned out to be "hugely successful" for...
, this southern section of the German second line was captured by the British Fourth Army
British Fourth Army
The Fourth Army was a field army that formed part of the British Expeditionary Force during the First World War. The Fourth Army was formed on 5 February 1916 under the command of General Sir Henry Rawlinson to carry out the main British contribution to the Battle of the Somme.-History:The Fourth...
of Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
Sir Henry Rawlinson. The tantalising prospect of "rolling up" the German second line by turning north now presented itself. However, Pozières stood in the way.
The British Commander-in-Chief, General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Sir Douglas Haig
Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig
Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, KT, GCB, OM, GCVO, KCIE, ADC, was a British senior officer during World War I. He commanded the British Expeditionary Force from 1915 to the end of the War...
, lacked the ammunition
Ammunition
Ammunition is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which embraced all material used for war , but which in time came to refer specifically to gunpowder and artillery. The collective term for all types of ammunition is munitions...
to immediately execute another broad-front attack after 14 July. Believing that Pozières and Thiepval would become untenable for the Germans as the British continued their eastward momentum, Haig ordered Rawlinson to concentrate on the centre between High Wood
High Wood
High Wood is a small forest near Bazentin le Petit in the Somme département of northern France which was the scene of intense fighting for two months from 14 July to 15 September 1916 during the Battle of the Somme.-Background:...
and Delville Wood
Delville Wood
The Battle of Delville Wood was one of the early engagements in the 1916 Battle of the Somme in the First World War. It took place between 14 July and 3 September, between the armies of the German Empire and allied British and South African forces...
as well as the villages of Guillemont
Guillemont
Guillemont is a commune roughly 8 miles east of Albert in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.It, like much of the surrounding area, is primarily an agricultural community, but is known for its large cemetery, which has become a tourist attraction...
and Ginchy
Ginchy
Ginchy is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Ginchy is situated on the D20 road, some northeast of Amiens.-Population:-External links:*...
.
Meanwhile the plan was to maintain the pressure and take Pozières
Pozières
Pozières is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:The commune is situated on the D929 road, some northeast of Amiens between Albert and Bapaume, on the Pozières ridge.-Population:-History:...
by a "steady, methodical, step-by-step advance". Between 13 and 17 July, the Fourth Army made four, small-scale attacks against Pozières with no success and high casualties. In this period the village was subjected to a heavy bombardment and reduced to rubble. On two occasions the attacking infantry got into the trench that looped around the south and western edge of the village, known as "Pozières trench", but both times were driven out. Attempts to get east of the village by advancing up the O.G. Lines likewise failed.
Taking Pozières
Rawlinson planned to deliver another attack on a broad front on 18 July involving six divisions between the Albert-Bapaume road in the north and GuillemontGuillemont
Guillemont is a commune roughly 8 miles east of Albert in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.It, like much of the surrounding area, is primarily an agricultural community, but is known for its large cemetery, which has become a tourist attraction...
in the south. Haig decided to transfer responsibility for Pozières to the Reserve Army
British Reserve Army
The Reserve Army was a field army of the British Army during World War I and part of the British Expeditionary Force during the First World War...
of Lieutenant General Hubert Gough
Hubert Gough
General Sir Hubert de la Poer Gough GCB, GCMG, KCVO was a senior officer in the British Army, who commanded the British Fifth Army from 1916 to 1918 during the First World War.-Family background:...
which had been holding the line north of the road since shortly after the opening of the offensive on 1 July. The attack was postponed until the night of 22–23 July.
To Gough's army were attached the three Australian divisions 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...
, which had begun moving from the Armentières
Armentières
Armentières is a commune in the Nord department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region in northern France. It is part of the Urban Community of Lille Métropole, and lies on the Belgian border, northwest of the city of Lille, on the right bank of the river Lys....
sector. The Australian 1st Division reached Albert on 18 July, and despite the postponement of the offensive, Gough, who had a reputation as a "thruster", told the division's commander, Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
Harold Walker
Harold Bridgwood Walker
Lieutenant General Sir Harold Bridgwood Walker KCB, KCMG, DSO was an English general who led Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War...
, "I want you to go in and attack Pozières tomorrow night". Walker, an experienced English officer who had led the division since Gallipoli
Battle of Gallipoli
The Gallipoli Campaign, also known as the Dardanelles Campaign or the Battle of Gallipoli, took place at the peninsula of Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire between 25 April 1915 and 9 January 1916, during the First World War...
, would have none of it and insisted he would attack only after adequate preparation. Consequently the attack on Pozières once more fell in line with the Fourth Army's attack on the night of 22–23 July.
The plan called for the Australian 1st Division to attack Pozières from the south, advancing in three stages half an hour apart, while north of the Albert-Bapaume road, the British 48th (South Midland) Division
British 48th (South Midland) Division
The British 48th Division was a Territorial Force division. Originally called the 'South Midland Division', it was redesignated as the 48th Division in 1915.- 1914 - 1918 :...
(British X Corps
X Corps (United Kingdom)
The X Corps was a British Army formation in the First World War and was later reformed in 1942 during the North African campaign of the Second World War as part of the Eighth Army.- First World War :...
) would attack the German trenches west of the village. The village and surrounding area was defended by elements of the German 117th Division
117th Infantry Division (German Empire)
The 117th Infantry Division was a unit of the Imperial German Army in World War I. The division was formed on April 2, 1915 and organized over the next several weeks. It was part of a wave of new infantry divisions formed in the spring of 1915...
. Early on 22 July the Australian 9th Battalion attempted to improve its position by advancing up the O.G. Lines towards the road but was repulsed.
The preparation for the attack involved a thorough bombardment of the village and the O.G. Lines lasting several days. The bombardment included phosgene
Phosgene
Phosgene is the chemical compound with the formula COCl2. This colorless gas gained infamy as a chemical weapon during World War I. It is also a valued industrial reagent and building block in synthesis of pharmaceuticals and other organic compounds. In low concentrations, its odor resembles...
and tear gas. The infantry were scheduled to go in at 12.30 am on 23 July, the attack being made by the Australian 1st
Australian 1st Brigade
1st Brigade is a formation of the Australian Army intended as its primary mechanised formation. Raised for service initially in 1914 for service during World War I, the brigade fought at Gallipoli and on the Western Front before being disbanded in mid-1919. In 1921, the 1st Brigade was re-raised as...
and 3rd Brigades
Australian 3rd Brigade
The 3rd Brigade is a combined arms brigade of the Australian Army, based around the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the Royal Australian Regiment . It was originally formed in 1914 for service during World War I, taking part in the fighting at Gallipoli and on the Western Front in Europe...
. The infantry had crept into no man's land
No man's land
No man's land is a term for land that is unoccupied or is under dispute between parties that leave it unoccupied due to fear or uncertainty. The term was originally used to define a contested territory or a dumping ground for refuse between fiefdoms...
, close behind the bombardment and when it lifted the German trenches were rushed. The first stage took the Pozières trench that ringed the village to the south. The second stage saw the Australians advance to the edge of the village, amongst what remained of the back gardens of the houses lining the Albert-Bapaume road. The third stage brought the line to the Albert-Bapaume road. The few survivors from the German garrison retreated to the northern edge of the village or into the O.G. Lines to the east.
It was also intended that the O.G. Lines would be captured as far as the road, but here the Australians failed, partly due to strong resistance from the German defenders occupying deep dugouts and 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....
nests, and partly due to the confusion of a night attack on featureless terrain — the weeks of bombardment had reduced the ridge to a field of craters and it was virtually impossible to distinguish where a trench line had run. Two Australians won the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
during the fighting in the O.G. Lines on 23 July; Private
Private (rank)
A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank .In modern military parlance, 'Private' is shortened to 'Pte' in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to 'Pvt.' in the United States.Notably both Sir Fitzroy MacLean and Enoch Powell are examples of, rare, rapid career...
John Leak
John Leak
John Leak VC was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Biography:...
(9th Battalion) and Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Arthur Blackburn
Arthur Seaforth Blackburn
Brigadier Arthur Seaforth Blackburn VC, CMG, CBE, ED was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
(10th Battalion
Australian 10th Battalion
The 10th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army, which served as part of the Australian Imperial Force during World War I. The battalion was completely recruited from South Australia in August 1914 and together with the 9th, 11th and 12th Battalions, it formed part of the 3rd...
).)
Bunker
A military bunker is a hardened shelter, often buried partly or fully underground, designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks...
known as "Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
",The "Gibralter Bunker" was known as "Das Blockhaus" by the German forces. Ref Hirschfeld (2009) Pg 214 which was the only structure in the area to endure the bombardment. During 23 July, some Australians went prospecting across the road. They captured a number of Germans and with minimal effort occupied more of the village. That night the 8th Battalion
Australian 8th Battalion
The 8th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Initially raised in 1914 for the First Australian Imperial Force during the First World War the battalion was completely recruited from Victoria and formed the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division. During the war it fought at Gallipoli and in...
of the Australian 2nd Brigade
2nd Brigade (Australia)
The 2nd Brigade was a brigade-sized infantry unit of the Australian Army.Formed in 1903 as militia formation based in Victoria, the brigade later served during the First World War as part of the Australian Imperial Force, allocated to the 1st Division...
, which had been in reserve, moved up and secured the rest of the village.
The attack of the 48th Division on the German trenches west of Pozières achieved some success. However, the main attack by the Fourth Army between Pozières and Guillemont was a complete and costly failure.
Holding Pozières
Success on the Somme came at a cost which at times seemed to surpass the cost of failure, and for the Australians, Pozières was such a case. As a consequence of being the sole British gain on 23 July, Pozières became a focus of attention for the Germans. Forming as it did a critical element of their defensive system, the German command ordered that it be retaken at all costs.Three attempts were made on 23 July but each was broken up by the British artillery or swept away by machine gun fire. Communication was as difficult for the Germans as it was for the British, and it was not until 7 am on 24 July that they received their confirmation that Pozières had been lost. With British activity now declining elsewhere on its front, the German IV Corps
IV Corps (German Empire)
The IV Army Corps was a formation of the Imperial German Army. It was established on October 3, 1815 as the General Command in the Duchy of Saxony and became the IV Army Corps on August 30, 1818...
, on whose sector Pozières lay, was able to concentrate most of its artillery against the village and its approaches.
Sausage Valley
Sausage Valley was the name given by British soldiers during the First World War to a shallow valley south of the village of La Boisselle in the Somme département, France. Sausage Valley was so named because the Germans would fly an observation balloon, known as a "sausage", at the head of the valley...
, received such a concentration of shellfire that it was thereafter known as "Dead Man's Road".
The German bombardment intensified on 25 July in preparation for their next counter-attack to retake the village. By this stage artillery from all around was able to join in. The German IX Corps had now taken over this sector and the commander cancelled the planned counter-attack, choosing to concentrate on the defence of the O.G. Lines which were the next objective of the British.
The bombardment reached a crescendo on 26 July. By 5 pm, the Australians, believing an attack was imminent, appealed for a counter-barrage. In addition to the batteries
Artillery battery
In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit of guns, mortars, rockets or missiles so grouped in order to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems...
of I Anzac
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...
and British II Corps, the guns of the two neighbouring British corps
Corps
A corps is either a large formation, or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service...
also joined in. This in turn led the Germans to believe the Australians were preparing to attack and so they increased their fire yet again. It was not until midnight that the shelling subsided.
At its peak, the German bombardment of Pozières was the equal of anything yet experienced on the Western Front and far surpassed the worst shelling previously endured by an Australian division. The Australian 1st Division suffered 5,285 casualties on its first tour of Pozières. When the survivors were relieved on 27 July, one observer, Sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
E.J. Rule said:
- "They looked like men who had been in Hell... drawn and haggard and so dazed that they appeared to be walking in a dream and their eyes looked glassy and starey."
The O.G. Lines
On 24 July, once Pozières had been secured, General Gough pushed for immediate moves against the O.G. Lines north and east of the village. The first task was to take the lines up to the Albert-Bapaume road; the original, unobtained objectives. Attacking in the dark, only the Australian 5th Battalion found either of the O.G. trenches and it was counter-attacked by the German 18th Reserve Division18th Reserve Division (German Empire)
The 18th Reserve Division was a unit of the Imperial German Army in World War I. The division was formed on mobilization of the German Army in August 1914. The division was disbanded in 1919 during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I...
. Simultaneously on the Australian's right, the British 1st Division made an attempt to capture Munster Alley, the section of the Switch Line where it intersected the O.G. Lines. A tumultuous bombfight developed, but only a small section of trench was held.
Before it was withdrawn, the Australian 1st Division had attempted to prepare a jumping-off line for the assault on the O.G. Lines. The Australian 2nd Division took over the sector on 27 July and General Gough, eager for progress, pressed for an immediate attack. The division's commander, General Gordon Legge
James Gordon Legge
Lieutenant General James Gordon Legge CB, CMG was an Australian Army Lieutenant General who served in World War I. His son Stanley Ferguson Legge reached the rank of Major General.-Early life and career:...
, lacked the experience and confidence of General Walker and succumbed to pressure from Gough. On the night of 28–29 July, in conditions far less favourable than those experienced by the 1st Division on the night of 22–23 July, the 2nd Division was expected to attack.
The remorseless German bombardment made effective preparations virtually impossible. The dust raised by the shelling prevented the Australian artillery observers from directing their field gun
Field gun
A field gun is an artillery piece. Originally the term referred to smaller guns that could accompany a field army on the march and when in combat could be moved about the battlefield in response to changing circumstances, as to opposed guns installed in a fort, or to siege cannon or mortars which...
s which were tasked with cutting the 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...
entanglements. An attack by the British 23rd Division
British 23rd Division
The British 23rd Division was a New Army division that was sent to France in August, 1915, under the command of Major-General Sir James Melville Babington...
on Munster Alley dragged in the Australian 5th Brigade — the ensuing bombfight saw the British and Australian infantry expend over 73,000 grenade
Grenade
A grenade is a small explosive device that is projected a safe distance away by its user. Soldiers called grenadiers specialize in the use of grenades. The term hand grenade refers any grenade designed to be hand thrown. Grenade Launchers are firearms designed to fire explosive projectile grenades...
s (AWM4-23-5-13.pdf (pages 5-6)).
The main attack went ahead, scheduled to start at 12.15 am on 29 July, but the Australian 7th Brigade
Australian 7th Brigade
7th Brigade is a combined arms formation or brigade of the Australian Army. The Brigade was first raised in 1915 as part of the First Australian Imperial Force and saw action at Gallipoli and on the Western Front during World War I. Following the end of the war the brigade was disbanded before...
was late in reaching its start line and its movement was detected by the German defenders — when the attack commenced, the Australians were met by a hail of 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....
fire. South of the road the 5th Brigade remained pinned down, unable to even get started. On their left, north of the road, the 7th Brigade encountered uncut wire. On the northern flank some minor progress was made by the 6th Brigade but everywhere else the attack was a failure. Including the attack and the preceding day of preparation the 2nd Division lost over 3,500 men; the 7th Brigade had to be withdrawn to reserve, so great were its losses.
General Haig was disparaging of the division's failure, telling Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
William Birdwood, the 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...
commander, "You're not fighting Bashi-Bazouks now." General Legge and the I Anzac staff resolved to do the job properly. To avoid the confusion of a night advance, the plan was to attack at 9.15 pm, just before dark at which time the crest of the ridge and the mound of the Pozières windmill
Windmill
A windmill is a machine which converts the energy of wind into rotational energy by means of vanes called sails or blades. Originally windmills were developed for milling grain for food production. In the course of history the windmill was adapted to many other industrial uses. An important...
would still be discernible. However, to attack at dusk meant assembling by day which was only possible to do in the protection of trenches. Therefore a system of approach and assembly trenches had to be dug at night. Whenever the Germans detected digging parties, they mistook them for troops assembling to attack and called down a barrage.
Originally the attack was to be made at dusk on 2 August but the trenches were as yet incomplete, the digging either being disrupted or the completed trenches demolished by shellfire. The attack was first postponed to 3 August and then to 4 August when the trenches were finally deemed ready. This careful planning and preparation delivered success and when the 2nd Division went in, both O.G. Lines were captured. South of and astride the Albert-Bapaume Road the O.G. Lines had been so thoroughly obliterated by prolonged shelling that the Australians ended up advancing beyond their objectives.
From their vantage in the O.G. Lines on the eastern edge of the Pozières ridge, the Australians now looked over green countryside, the village of Courcelette
Courcelette
Courcelette is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Courcelette is situated on the D929 and D107 crossroads, some northeast of Amiens.-History:...
close by and the woods around Bapaume
Bapaume
Bapaume is a commune and the seat of a canton in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:A farming and light industrial town located 10 miles south of Arras at the junction of the A1 autoroute and the N17 and N30 national roads its location is...
five miles (8 km) away. The German commander ordered "At any price Hill 160 Pozières ridge must be recovered."
Final counter-attack
By 5 August the brigadeBrigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
s of the Australian 2nd Division were exhausted and were to be relieved by the Australian 4th Division
Australian 4th Division (World War I)
The Australian 4th Division was formed in the First World War during the expansion of the Australian Imperial Force infantry brigades in February 1916. In addition to the experienced 4th Brigade were added the new 12th and 13th Brigades...
. While the relief was underway on the night of 5–6 August the Australians were subjected to yet another extreme bombardment — the ground they now occupied could be shelled by the Germans from all directions, including from Thiepval
Thiepval
The Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme is a major war memorial to 72,191 missing British and South African men who died in the Battles of the Somme of the First World War between 1915 and 1918 who have no known grave...
which lay to the rear.
On the morning of 6 August a German counter-attack tried to approach the O.G. Lines but was met by machine gun fire and forced to dig in. The bombardment continued through the day, by the end of which most of the 2nd Division had been relieved. From its twelve days in the line, the division had suffered 6,848 casualties.
At 4 am on 7 August, shortly before dawn, the Germans launched their final counter-attack. On a front of 400 yards (365.8 m) they overran the thinly occupied O.G. Lines — most of the Australians were sheltering in the old German dugouts — and advanced towards Pozières.
For the Australians, the crisis had arrived. At this moment, Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Albert Jacka
Albert Jacka
Albert Jacka VC, MC & Bar was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to members of the British and Commonwealth armed forces...
, who had won the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
at Gallipoli
Battle of Gallipoli
The Gallipoli Campaign, also known as the Dardanelles Campaign or the Battle of Gallipoli, took place at the peninsula of Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire between 25 April 1915 and 9 January 1916, during the First World War...
, emerged from a dugout where he and seven men of his platoon
Platoon
A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two to four sections or squads and containing 16 to 50 soldiers. Platoons are organized into a company, which typically consists of three, four or five platoons. A platoon is typically the smallest military unit led by a commissioned officer—the...
had been isolated, and charged the German line from the rear. His example inspired other Australians scattered across the plateau to join the action and a fierce, hand-to-hand fight developed. Jacka was badly wounded but as support arrived from the flanks, the Australians gained the advantage and most of the surviving Germans were captured. No more attempts to retake Pozières were made.
Aftermath
Thiepval
The Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme is a major war memorial to 72,191 missing British and South African men who died in the Battles of the Somme of the First World War between 1915 and 1918 who have no known grave...
. Having secured Pozières and the neighbouring section of the O.G. Lines, the attack now moved to the next phase; a drive north along the ridge towards the German strongpoint of Mouquet Farm which protected the rear of Thiepval. I Anzac Corps would carry the advance along the ridge while, on their left, British II Corps would keep in line, systematically reducing the Thiepval salient
Salients, re-entrants and pockets
A salient is a battlefield feature that projects into enemy territory. The salient is surrounded by the enemy on three sides, making the troops occupying the salient vulnerable. The enemy's line facing a salient is referred to as a re-entrant...
.
Initially the task fell to the Australian 4th Division, which had already suffered 1,000 casualties resisting the final German counter-attack, but both the Australian 1st and 2nd Divisions would be called on again, followed once more by the 4th Division.
When the Australians' ordeal on Pozières ridge was over in September, they were replaced by the Canadian Corps
Canadian Corps
The Canadian Corps was a World War I corps formed from the Canadian Expeditionary Force in September 1915 after the arrival of the 2nd Canadian Division in France. The corps was expanded by the addition of the 3rd Canadian Division in December 1915 and the 4th Canadian Division in August 1916...
who would hold this sector for the remainder of the Somme fighting. The O.G. Lines east of the village became the Canadians
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
start line for the Battle of Flers-Courcelette
Battle of Flers-Courcelette
The Battle of Flers-Courcelette, was a battle within the Franco-British Somme Offensive which took place in the summer and autumn of 1916. Launched on the 15th of September 1916 the battle went on for one week. Flers-Courcelette began with the overall objective of cutting a hole in the German...
.
After the battle it became apparent that General Birdwood had lost much of his Gallipoli popularity through his failure to oppose Gough's impetuous desire for "quick results" and his "lack of thought" at Pozières. Soon after, Australian troops rejected his personal appeal for the introduction of conscription, voting against this recommendation largely because of their reluctance to see additional men subjected to the horrors of piecemeal attacks.
The Australians had suffered heavy losses; they had lost as many men in the Battle for Pozières in six weeks as they had in the whole Gallipoli Campaign. One of the Official British Historians strongly praised the independent initiative shown by small sub-units of men in clearing the enemy from positions in the village, but at the same time attributed much of the severity of losses to Australian inexperience and their "reckless daring."
One of those killed, on 5 August, was the English composer George Butterworth
George Butterworth
George Sainton Kaye Butterworth, MC was an English composer best known for the orchestral idyll The Banks of Green Willow and his song settings of A. E...
, and in 2008 the road between the town and Martinpuich
Martinpuich
Martinpuich is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:Martinpuich is situated south of Arras, near the junction of the D929 and the D6 roads.-Population:-Places of interest:...
was renamed (George Butterworth Lane; 50.041172°N 2.733112°W).