Military History Tours Australia On Tour - Our Other Anzac Day 27 April 2008
  |
 |
Guests today travelled with their allocated historian for their third day of battlefield touring.
There were some special insights into the service that looked after the horses that drove the transport and our light horse operations. Visits were to the Puchevillers Cemetery, the Australian Memorial Park at Le Hamel an dthe 3rd Division Memorial at Sailly Le Sec
The visits were truncated mid-afternoon to allow guests to prepare for the Grand Ball Militare.
The Ball was held at the MegaCite, the major function centre in Amiens. This ball was magnificent, the historians, all former soldiers wore their ceremonial uniforms as did the former soldier guests. At one point over 400 people were dancing to the strains of the South Australian youth orchestra. The colour and flash took our minds back to the days of empire and the ball that preceded Waterloo.
CLICK HERE for a slide show of the Grand Ball Militare.
|
8 July 1916, the 5th Division relieved the 4th Division AIF in the Flerrbaix – Estaires area and took over the corresponding sector of the front line. They were supported by the 5th Army Veterinary Service situated on the northern side of the Somme River near Estaires and within easy reach of all units. Most of the Transport and Wagon Lines units were situated along roads between Sailly and Fleurbaix.
In April 1917 the Australian Veterinary Hospital was established near Calais with accommodation for 1,250 animals and an establishment of 7 officers and 459 other ranks. 25,000 animals were treated in the 18 months it it existed.
4,000 animals were on the strength of AIF units in France during World War 1.
Two Veterinary officers were killed in action Captain CR Seelenmeyer on 18 August 1918, and Captain WJ Ridley.
Captain HM Baker was killed in an accident, several officers were wounded in the field, some severely.
|
Tour guests honour the graves of their ancestors at Puchevillers Cemetery near Amiens
Puchevillers is a village about 19 kilometres north-east of Amiens. The British Cemetery is a little west of the village.
In June 1916, just before the opening of the Battles of the Somme, the 3rd and 44th Casualty Clearing Stations came to Puchevillers. Plots I to V, and almost the whole of Plot VI were made by those hospitals before the end of March 1917. For the next two months the 2nd/1st South Midland Casualty Clearing Station used the cemetery.
Plot VII contains for the most part the graves of men who died in the German advance in 1918, many of whom were buried by the 49th Clearing Station in March 1918, or by the 48th Labour Group in August. Puchevillers British Cemetery contains 1,763 First World War burials. Most are British, with some Commonwealth including Australian.
The cemetery was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens.
|
The Australian Memorial Park at le Hamel was opened in July 1998. The site is significant to Australian as it was here that under AIF direction (General Monash is pictured on the right panel) the battle was fought and won in July 1918.
It is currently being rebuilt, and will be open again in November 2008 in time
for our Armistice day tour.
Hamel marked the end of the mainly defensive attitude along the British front.
The AIF's Order of Battle is represented here with each unit patch shown on the top of the white walls. In addition to the memorial over twenty waterproof infomationa panels are located on a trail highlight the AIF's exploits in the area.
Information is also displayed about the Red Baron who was shot down near here (Corbie). Capt Brown of the Canadian Air Force pursued and fired on the German Ace, the Red Baron then flew over Australian ground forces who successfully shot at and downed the aircraft as it flew overhead. They saw it crash, recovered the body and buried Baron von Richthofen.
The Australian victory at Hamel was seen at the time as no more than a successful large scale raid. It was however, a complete vindication of Lieutenant General Monash's tactical methods - which would bear fruit a month later in the "Black Day" for the German Army at Amiens. JFC Fuller commented that no other battle of the Great War could compare with Le Hamel for rapidity, brevity and completeness of success - it was all over in 93 minutes.
Hamel had fallen to the Germans on 4th April 1918, creating a salient in the British line before Amiens with good observation from the ridge positions the Germans held. The task of recapturing Hamel was allocated to the Australian Corps and its commander, Lieutenant General Monash, drew up a plan for a limited attack mounted along a 6 kilometre front to a depth of 2500 metres, using just eight battalions of infantry supported by two tank battalions.
There would be no preparatory artillery barrage to give the Germans forewarning, instead tanks would advance hand in hand with the infantry, shooting them onto their objectives. Re-supply would be carried out by machine for the first time - re-supply tanks would carry stores and 100,000 rounds of ammunition, dropped by parachute. The expected strong points of Vaire and Hamel were to be overcome by special detachments while the troops for the final objective passed them by on either flank.
The task was to be achieved by the 4th Brigade of Major General Sinclair MacLagan`s 4th Australian Division, with 11th Brigade of 3rd Australian Division and 5th Army Tank Brigade under command. Support for the operation included : 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th Australian Heavy Machine Gun battalions (111 Vickers HMGs), 326 field guns and howitzers, 302 heavy guns and howitzers, 8th Squadron RAF and 3rd Squadron AFC to bomb infantry, guns and transport, at zero hour + 30 205th Squadron to bomb rear areas, 9th Squadron RAF to drop ammunition by parachute at pre-arranged points or by ground signals.
The flanks of the attack were to be protected by the 6th Brigade (21st and 23rd Battalions only) of 2nd Australian Division on the southern shoulder and 2 companies and a platoon from 15th Brigade north of the Somme.
Hamel was held by the German 13th Infantry Division (13th, 15th & 55th Regiments); and 202nd Reserve Regiment of the 43rd Reserve Division: nine battalions in all, deploying over 300 machine-guns and 26 trench mortars. Hamel village and what remained of Hamel and Vaire Woods were strongly fortified, but the German front line consisted of only one continuous trench with no shell proof dugouts and comparatively little wire. There were no communication trenches to the reserve trench or to the remainder of the defences, which consisted mostly of shell holes and short, shallow lengths of trench.
In Support: one field gun battery within the German position, heavier guns which significantly failed to take any part in the battle were concentrated in the Lamont-Cerisy valley.
Monash also asked for 18 planes to bomb Hamel, as well as older, noisier ones to distract attention from the noise of the tanks' whereabouts and movements. Several arms of attack were coordinated through the detailed and organised planning of Monash and his senior officers. All decisions and strategies were outlined, refined and formalised in group meetings.
Zero Hour was 03:10 on the 4th July. Six minutes before, the Australian troops moved silently out of their trenches and into no-man`s-land. As watch hands moved onto zero hour the British artillery crashed down onto the German trenches. After a whirlwind of steel which lasted just four minutes the field guns ceased their bombardment of the forward positions and began a creeping barrage - lifting 100 metres every 3 minutes. The tanks and infantry began an advance which was initially unopposed. The Germans caught completely by surprise by the assault, the brevity of the barrage, and the presence of tanks. In almost all cases the defenders of the first line were still lying in the bottoms of their trenches or sheltering from the shell fire in makeshift dugouts. In any case visibility was down to only 20 metres due to mist and smoke the Germans thought masked gas.
On the left the 11th Brigade`s objectives were to take Hamel village and re-establish the old French trench line beyond, which descended to the marshy ground of the Somme Canal east of Bouzencourt. The 42nd and 43rd Battalions encountered little resistance, except from the vicinity of Pear Trench, and once the front line had been taken the 44th Battalion passed through and divided into two prongs, each supported by 6 tanks. One prong moved against Hamel and the other worked south towards 4th Brigade. The 43rd, with a further six tanks, followed to mop up in the village. Resistance crumbled before the Australian's relentless advance and the final objective was secured between 04:45 and 04:55. The German response didn't materialise until 09:00 in the shape of the reserve battalion of 202nd Reserve Regiment. Well laid artillery fire and continual strafing attacks broke up the German concentrations. Late in the evening a final desultory German attack was made against the end of the ridge east of Hamel, which was easily beaten off.
Better and faster communications were an integral part of Hamel's success. Movements of German as well as Australian troops were marked on maps by crew members of low flying reconnaissance planes. These maps were identical to those held by commanders on the ground, and dropped with the latest troop dispositions to motor bike riders and light horse gallopers below who carried the maps to command posts the relevant section area. Consequently, Monash and all senior commanders had current information on the progress of the battle in minutes, compared with previous situations where battles had been lost before senior commanders were any the wiser.
On the extreme right the 21st AIF Battalion of 6th Bde secured the flank of the attack without encountering serious opposition. Eleven minutes later the German front-line succumbed to the men of the 13th battalion accompanied by six tanks. Hardly pausing, the battalion left the German front-line and advanced onwards past the southern flank of the Bois de Vaire, with a narrow front of only 400 metres. One company was deployed to form the leading wave, followed by two companies each on a two platoon frontage with the remaining platoons in lines of sections, the fourth company was in reserve.
Machine-gun fire against the left-hand company was quickly silenced by the tanks, and the machine-gun positions taken at bayonet point. A strongpoint which held up the right-hand company was suppressed by fire from the tanks, and 80 prisoners taken. This was the last opposition before the Reserve Trench fell to a combined assault by tanks and infantry.
16th Battalion's task was to clear the Bois de Vaire and Bois de Hamel. The six tanks accompanying the 16th Battalion were placed in pairs at each flank and in the centre. Strong opposition was encountered at the edge of Bois de Vaire but was quickly overcome with the majority of the fighting taking place inside the two woods, where the Germans had created several strong-points and dozens of machine-gun nests. With the aid of Lewis gunners firing from the hip to expedite the capture of the woods, opposition was crushed in just an hour and a half.
The 15th Battalion had the toughest time. Before the battalion's first wave reached the wire in front of Pear Trench, the barrage lifted giving the German machine-gunners time to re-man their weapons. To make matters worse, not only had the bombardment left the wire intact and trenches practically unscathed, but the three tanks detailed to tackle this tough nut, lost their bearings in the mist and smoke.
In the face of intense machine-gun fire the Australians cut the wire and overwhelmed the defenders in a fierce bayonet attack. Shells falling short from the British barrage caused a few casualties and one of the tanks was knocked out. The next obstacle was Vaire Trench, where the III Battalion 55th Regiment put up a stout defence. A determined assault, again at point of bayonet, cleared opposition. The 15th Battalion rallied, but before it could advance further suffered more casualties from strong points on either flank. The tanks advanced to deal with these.
12 resupply tanks arrived on the position, with ammunition, water and entrenching stores. Enfilading machine-gun fire from the enemy's reserve line, caused further losses and at the final objective there was a fierce struggle with elements of I Battalion 55th Regiment. A solitary tank followed by swearing Australians crushed resistance. With the assistance of one of the tanks the triumphant Australians consolidated with resistance all but being over by 07:00. There was one last final act as, a large force of Germans had established itself in front of the newly won positions. So teams of Lewis gunners and bombers pushed forward throughout the morning and drove the Germans back.
The plan for the attack at Le Hamel called for all objectives to be secured in 90 minutes. It actually took 93 minutes. The Battle of Le Hamel became the model for almost all of the following battles leading to the German surrender.
|
The memorial to the 3rd Division, AIF, rises at spot height 106 on the Picardy Plateau above the lakes adjacent to the River Somme at Sailly-le-Sec. It stands by the D1 road from Corbie to Bray-sur-Somme, between Amiens and Peronne.
An appropriate site as it was here, on 27 March 1918, that 3rd Division’s Commander, Brig. Gen. Cannan, on orders from General Monash, rushed his 11th Brigade in an attempt to stem the final German push towards Amiens in their Operation Michael offensive. They were to take defensive positions on the old French line, between the Ancre and the Somme.
The leading Battalion was the 42nd, under Lieutenant Colonel Woolcock, who took the line, on a front of 1,000 metres, extending from Mericourt, on the Ancre, to Sailly-le-Sec on the Somme, at right angles to the D1 road, across the position of the 3rd Division Memorial. The old French line was held by dispirited British units.
Later in the day, as more battalions moved to the front, the 42nd relocated towards the valley floor, whilst the 43rd took position, on their left, on the plateau to the D1. The 37th and 38th Battalions of 10th Brigade manned the line from the Monument to Mericourt on the Ancre.
From these defensive positions the 3rd Division moved progressively forward towards Peronne and the storming of the Hindenburg Line, the final German static defensive line, at the end of September 1918.
Despite the many battle honours across France and Belgium, recorded on the Divisional Monument, it stands in the most appropriate place. In Australian Victories in France in 1918, Monash recalls his meeting of 26 March 1918 with British Corps Commander General Congreave who Monash reports as saying "Thank Heavens – the Australians at last. … At four o’clock today my Corps was holding a line from Albert to Bray, when the line gave way. The enemy is now pushing westward and if not stopped tomorrow will certainly secure the heights overlooking Amiens."
It is possible to argue that the German army, though at the end of extended supply line, was 20 kilometres from driving a mortal gap between the British and French armies opening the way to the coast and to victory.
|
Unless otherwise noted battle and battlefield descriptions are prepared jointly by the Military History Tours Historians, as are the photographs.
|
|
