Echoes of a Distant Battle

Transcription

1 Pozières Echoes of a Distant Battle From July to September 1916, some Australians were killed or wounded in the Battle of Pozières. It was the first strategically important engagement by Australian soldiers on the Western Front and its casualties exceeded those of any other battle of the First World War, including Gallipoli. In this important book, explores the influence of Pozières on Australian society and history, and how it is remembered today. In the opening chapters he revisits the battle and considers its aftermath, including shell shock and the psychological effects experienced by surviving soldiers. The concluding chapters examine the way in which the battle has been commemorated in literature and art, and the extent to which it has been overlooked in contemporary remembrance of the war. Generously illustrated with photographs, maps and paintings, Pozières: Echoes of a Distant Battle is essential reading for anyone interested in the First World War and Australia s postwar society. is a lawyer and experienced author who has published works of biography and military history.

2 Other titles in the Australian Army History Series Series editor Peter Stanley Phillip Bradley The Battle for Wau: New Guinea s Frontline Mark Johnston The Proud 6th: An Illustrated History of the 6th Australian Division Garth Pratten Australian Battalion Commanders in the Second World War Jean Bou Light Horse: A History of Australia s Mounted Arm Phillip Bradley To Salamaua Peter Dean The Architect of Victory: The Military Career of Lieutenant-General Sir Frank Horton Berryman Allan Converse Armies of Empire: The 9th Australian and 50th British Divisions in Battle John Connor Anzac and Empire: George Foster Pearce and the Foundations of Australian Defence Peter Williams The Kokoda Campaign 1942: Myth and Reality Karl James The Hard Slog: Australians in the Bougainville Campaign, Robert Stevenson To Win the Battle: The 1st Australian Division in the Great War, Jeffrey Grey A Soldier s Soldier: A Biography of Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Daly Mark Johnston Anzacs in the Middle East: Australian Soldiers, Their Allies and the Local People in World War II Mark Johnston Stretcher-bearers: Saving Australians from Gallipoli to Kokoda

3 Pozières ECHOES OF A DISTANT BATTLE CHRISTOPHER WRAY

4 477 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne, VIC 3207, Australia Cambridge University Press is part of the University of Cambridge. It furthers the University s mission by disseminating knowledge in the pursuit of education, learning and research at the highest international levels of excellence. Information on this title: / c Cambridge University Press 2015 This publication is copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2015 Cover designed by Anne-Marie Reeves Typeset by Aptara Corp. Printed in China by Printplus Ltd A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library A Cataloguing-in-Publication entry is available from the catalogue of the National Library of Australia at ISBN Hardback Reproduction and communication for educational purposes The Australian Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or 10% of the pages of this work, whichever is the greater, to be reproduced and/or communicated by any educational institution for its educational purposes provided that the educational institution (or the body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) under the Act. For details of the CAL licence for educational institutions contact: Copyright Agency Limited Level 15, 233 Castlereagh Street Sydney NSW 2000 Telephone: (02) Facsimile: (02) info@copyright.com.au Reproduction and communication for other purposes Except as permitted under the Act (for example a fair dealing for the purposes of study, research, criticism or review) no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, communicated or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission. All inquiries should be made to the publisher at the address above. Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. Please be aware that this publication may contain several variations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander terms and spellings; no disrespect is intended. Please note that the terms Indigenous Australians and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples may be used interchangeably in this publication.

5 Contents Photographs Maps Acknowledgements vii ix xi Introduction 1 1 Prelude to Pozières 7 2 A place of sinister name and tragic happenings 29 3 A huge and horrible slaughter house 47 4 Mouquet Farm 75 5 The dead 93 6 The maimed, the halt, the lame Those made mad by war The conscription campaign of Writing about Pozières Painting and Pozières Remembering Pozières 200 Appendix: Structure of the First AIF in Notes 213 Bibliography 229 Index 237 v

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7 Photographs 1 Sausage Valley, the main route from Albert to the front at Pozières, August Pozières as it was in 1914 looking along the road to Bapaume Pozières as it appeared in late July 1916 shortly after its capture by the Australians Gibralter [sic], a German blockhouse at Pozières, drawing by Will Dyson The damaged church in Pozières from a German photograph German artillery bombardment of Pozières, early August The Old German 1 (OG1) Line looking north towards the Windmill from a point about 200 to 400 metres north of the junction with Pozières trench What had been back gardens at Pozières, August The blockhouse known as Gibralter [sic] can be seen on the horizon at right. In the foreground are sandbags from an Australian trench dug at the time of the initial assault The Pozières battlefield as seen from the Centre Way communication trench. In the distance German shells are bursting in front of the Australian lines King George V (holding telescope) watching the Battle of Pozières from captured ground. The Prince of Wales is behind the King talking to two officers Australian artillerymen at Pozières firing an 18-pounder British field gun as part of a barrage on the German trenches. 67 vii

8 viii PHOTOGRAPHS 12 Tramway Trench at Pozières looking north-east towards the Old German lines and showing part of the ground fought over in August and September Mouquet Farm, Pozières by Fred Leist. Watercolour sketch showing the wrecked strongpoint at Mouquet Farm Pozières village in April The grave is that of Captain Ivor Margetts, 12th Battalion, killed on 24 July General Sir William Birdwood and staff officers walking through the cemetery at Pozières after the unveiling of the memorial to members of the 1st Division AIF killed in the battle of July Back at Mouquet Farm by Will Dyson depicts two infantrymen of the 4th Division, AIF Bombardment of Pozières by Frank Crozier. Crozier, who painted this work as an Official War Artist in 1918, had previously served at Pozières General Birdwood with commanders of the five AIF divisions at the unveiling of the 1st Division memorial, July From left to right: General Birdwood; Major-General J.J. Talbot Hobbs, 5th Division; unidentified; Major-General Sir H.B.Walker, 1st Division; next two unidentified. Also present were Major-General N.M. Smyth, 2nd Division; Major-General John Monash, 3rd Division; Major-General E.G. Sinclair-MacLagan, 4th Division The 2nd Division AIF memorial near the Windmill at Pozières. The site of the Windmill is marked by the tripod-shaped flag pole Australian soldiers standing in front of the 1st Division memorial, October The remains of the Gibralter blockhouse are to the right, middle distance The author at the entrance to Pozières village in

9 Maps 1 British Sector of the Western Front, 1 July The First Division Assault on Pozières, July Australian advances from Pozières to Mouquet Farm, July ix

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11 Acknowledgements This book could not have been written without the support of many people and organisations. The Australian Army History Unit s Research Grants scheme provided funding that enabled me to visit Pozières and to carry out research in London. I remain grateful for this assistance, which helped me understand the problems faced by men of the AIF in the summer of I must also express my gratitude to the series editors, Dr David Horner for his help and support during the early stages of the project, and Dr Peter Stanley for his assistance and encouragement in bringing this project to a conclusion. I must also thank the numerous staff members at the Australian War Memorial s Written Records Section; the La Trobe Library, State Library of Victoria; the Mitchell Library, New South Wales; the Battye Library, Library and Information Services Western Australia; and the British National Archives at Kew for their helpful assistance in meeting my many and varied demands for information over the years it has taken me to research and write this book. In this book I have referred to works by other authors. I have wherever necessary sought permission to quote from their works. If I have overlooked any, they have my sincere apologies. I am deeply conscious of the help and support given by my wife, Sharman Feinberg, during the drawn-out process of researching and writing this book. She has listened patiently while I talked about Pozières and its aftermath and has always been ready with helpful suggestions. I am also grateful for the support given by my children, Nicholas, Elissa and Natalie. Although they are adults, with lives of their own, they have always provided support and encouragement. I dedicate this work to the memory of my dear friend and literary collaborator Maurice Gurvich, who hoped to see this book come to fruition, so that we could pursue other projects together. Sadly, that was not to be. xi

12 xii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Finally, this book, which looks at aspects of the Anzac legend and which was finished on Anzac Day 2014, is also dedicated to all those men and women who have served their country in war.