The Australian 1st and 2nd Divisions started arriving at Marseilles in the south of France in mid-March. The 4th and 5th Divisions remained a while longer in Egypt.
From Marseilles they moved north by rail to the French Flanders area west of Armentieres. This area was known as the “Nursery” as it was known as a relatively quiet part of the line where troops are familiarised with trench warfare tactics. They started entering front line positions at Fleurbaix south of Armentieres from early April and the first battle casualties were suffered.
The 4th Division started arriving in the Nursery sector in June and the 5th Division in July.
Meanwhile in the Somme about 150km to the south, British troops were engaged in the first Battle of the Somme with momentous casualties. The 1st and 2nd Australian Divisions were earmarked to proceed to that sector and the 4th and 5th Divisions relieved them in the line at Fleurbaix.
Fromelles ♠
At this time an attack was hastily planned near Armentieres to draw German troops away from the Somme further south. The plan was poor and over the past 12 months the British had attacked three times without success. The Germans had the higher ground and strong fortifications.
On 19 July the 5th Division and the British 61st Division were committed to the Battle of Fleurbaix near Fromelles. After an artillery barrage the attack commenced at 6pm.
The Australian 8th and 14th Brigades on the left captured the German front line but the intelligence was poor and the German support trenches they were tasked to capture turned out to be no more than shallow water ditches. It was a different story on the right where the Australian 15th Brigade was pinned in no man’s land in front of the enemy stronghold called Sugar Loaf. The British division further to the right also made no gains.
The Germans were able to counter attack and get behind the Australians on the left. During the night there was attack and counter attack and the enemy could now fire on the Australians from the front and rear. By morning the only option was to charge the German troops holding the old German front lines behind them in an effort to return to their lines. The Australians who were left were now fighting their way back through German lines, making a charge back to their original battle starting positions. By 8am, the general order to withdraw had been given however many parties of troops of Australian remained cut off and unable to break out, they continued fighting until silenced.
This battle was the worst day in Australian military history. The 5th Division lost 5,333 officers and men killed or wounded, and 400 prisoners. The British lost 1,550. The battle was heavily censored and remained somewhat unknown apart from newspaper casualty lists. It has become better known in recent times with the discovery of the mass grave of missing Australian soldiers. It is also well known as Adolf Hitler was present in the German trenches.
AGL Casualty:
3148A Private Richard Parton, 53rd Battalion, 33, gasmaker, married with no children, of Strathfield was posted Missing in Action on 19 July 1916. In September 1917 an inquiry reclassified him as Killed in Action. No known grave.
Pozieres ♠♠♠
The 1st Division reached the rear area of the Somme near Albert on 19 July. From July 13 – 15 the British had made 4 attacks at great cost to capture Pozieres which was seen as vital to the capture of the heights of Thiepval. The final attack had made some gains and the 1st Division was tasked for another attack.
The initial object was to capture the German trenches between the Albert Road and OG1 (Old German Lines 1) and then capture the village. They would have the British 48th Division in support on their left.
At 12.30am on 23 July 23 the 1st Division attacked and seized the front German positions after an artillery bombardment. Thirty minutes later they attacked again after another bombardment and this brought them to hedges just outside the village. They continued their third phase of the attack to the road through the village as the Germans fell back. The Germans counter attacked at dawn but were defeated. They had now taken all the objectives they were set except for the old German lines (OG1 ).
The area had been turned into a virtual moonscape making it difficult to determine exact locations. However during the day they deepened their trenches in preparation for a German counter attack and to prepare for further attacks on the village. The German strong point considered impregnable and known as “Gibraltar” was captured; and they continued to attack to capture the village.
After 3 days of battle, on 27 July, the 1st Division had lost 5,285 officers and men and was replaced by the 2nd Division. Pozieres was the only place in which any ground had been gained in the general attack.
The next objectives were the OG lines and a prominent windmill location to the east of the village. On August 4 OG1 & OG2 were captured, and the windmill the following day. The Germans counter attacked with artillery on the night of 6 August preventing the 2nd Division being relieved by the 4th Division. At 4am the Germans recaptured OG2 and several dugouts in OG1, however after some very tough fighting and bravery he Australians successfully counter attacked. The Germans were repulsed.
After 10 days of fighting the 2nd Division had lost 6,848 officers and men, and on 6 August they were replaced by the 4th Division. As the British still wanted to capture Thiepval the 4th Division was ordered to proceed north to capture Mouquet Farm rather than continue through the German OG lines.
The narrow frontage of the attack in the valley south of Mouquet Farm made it very easy for the German artillery to incessantly pound the 4th Division whose troops were very exposed. The German defensive troops were also in deep cellars unknown to the attacking troops and were thus able to withstand artillery bombardments and repulse infantry attacks.
After fierce fighting with little gain, on 21 August the 4th Division was replaced after sustaining 4,649 casualties. They were replaced by the 1st Division which returned to the front line a full one-third under strength after the losses it had sustained a few weeks earlier.
The 1st Division made some ground but lost 2,650 officers and men and as such was now virtually destroyed. The 2nd Division was now returned to the battle to replace the remnants of the 1st, however it fared little better. In 4 days they lost 1,268 men and had to be replaced by the 4th Division which continued the attacks on Mouquet Farm but failed to take the position from the German defenders. The last Australian attack on was on 3 September.
The 1st, 2nd and 4th Divisions had been used by their commanders as a battering ram and lost 22,200 officers and men in a mere 6 weeks on a front that extended little more than a mile. This casualty figure represented 50% of the total strength and finding replacements for the all-volunteer army was problematic.
AGL Casualties:
3227 Private Frederick Thomas, 3rd Battalion, 27, labourer, single, of Dulwich Hill killed 23 July 1916. No known grave.
3855 Private Thomas Cecil Lewis, 19th Battalion, 26, bootmaker, married with one child, of Concord killed on 27 July 1916. No known grave.
4612 Private Walter William Nicholson, 45th Battalion, 21, fireman’s assistant, single, of Concord wounded on 9 August died in hospital in England 24 Aug 1916.
The three Divisions all moved north to the quieter Ypres sector to rest and rebuild. The troops expected to remain there for the winter as they and the 5th Division had all suffered major casualties and loss of confidence in higher command. In October they were dismayed to find they were being sent back to the Somme.
Somme Winter 1916-1917 ♠♠♠♠
The Somme winter of 1916-17 was the harshest in 40 years. The autumn rains had turned the valley before Bapaume into a swamp and the conditions became the worst the AIF encountered in the war.
As they reached the Somme, the great offensive was nearing its end. The fight now was about seizing suitable positions for the winter during which major campaigning was impossible. On 5 November units of the 1st Division launched one attack near Gueudecourt before dawn and another near Flers in mid-morning. The advance in the mud was extremely difficult and, while troops from both assaulting forces held parts of the enemy trenches for some hours, the partial gains were not defensible and they withdrew. A further attack was made near Flers on 14 November by units of the 2nd Division, and these modest gains also had to be given up.
On 18 November, the Battle of the Somme officially ended and for the remainder of the winter of 1916–17 the Australians garrisoned the line east of Flers. From there they kept pressure on the Germans by means of small attacks and raids. However, the main battle was against mud, rain and frost-bite.
Eventually supplies of hot food and warmer clothing were made available but troops still had to be rotated through the front lines very often so they could survive the conditions.
Meanwhile the 3rd Division which had been training in England finally reached France in November and assigned to the Nursery sector in Flanders.
Four weeks of colder and brighter weather from mid-January to mid-February 1917 on the Somme froze the land and mud and improved conditions underfoot however the freezing conditions ensured the life remained extremely difficult. The ‘Somme Winter’ experience was not easily forgotten by men who served through it.
AGL Casualties:
4656 Private Frederick John Aplin, 17th Battalion, 23, meter reader, single, of Lewisham killed 8 November 1916.
4068 Private William Bolton, 18th Battalion, 28, gasworks man, single, of Concord killed 19 November 1916. No known grave.
2189 Private Edward Hills, 45th Battalion, 31, plumber, single, of Campsie wounded 19 January and died in field hospital 24 January 1917.
306 Private Charles Ackling, 3rd Battalion, 33, labourer, married with no children, of Burwood wounded 28 January and died in field hospital 2 February 1917. Veteran of Gallipoli landing, Lone Pine, & Pozieres.
Breakfast Point War Memorial 