| BATTLE
OF POZIERES FRANCE 23 JULY - 5 AUGUST 1916 |
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| See also: Brief History of 2nd Division | |||||||||||||||||||||
The battle of Pozieres
was one of a large number of separate battles that together made up
the battle of the Somme. The Somme operation remains one of the most
controversial, and least understood, battles in the history of the British
Empire. Day one of the battle still holds the distinction of being the
bloodiest day for the British Army, with nearly 60,000 casualties, including
20,000 killed. The Somme battle was originally planned as part of the Allied strategy of co-ordinated attacks, during the summer of 1916, on both the eastern and western fronts. The Russians launched the Brusilov Offensive on 4 June, while the Italians launched an offensive in the Trentino region of the northern Alps. On the Western Front, the British and French planned a combined assault on the Germans in the Somme area, with 40 French Divisions and 25 British. Unfortunately for the Allies, the great German attack on Verdun forced the diversion of the French forces from the planned assault to replace Verdun’s shattered defenders. The Somme now became a principally British Empire affair. The strategic intention was to punch a hole through the German lines on the high ground of the Thiepval-Pozieres-Ginchy Ridge, pass the considerable British cavalry force being held in readiness through this hole and roll up the German Line from south to north. Operational Setting The plan called for an initial penetration of about 4500 yards along an eighteen-mile front. The British massed 400 heavy and 1000 field guns on a front of 20 miles. The first day’s offensive was to be launched by 120,000 troops of the Fourth Army, with diversionary attacks being launched by the Third Army. Fourth Army consisted of approximately half a million men in five corps and sixteen divisions. The preliminary bombardment was to last for seven days, reaching a crescendo on 1 July 1916. Despite all this preparation the initial attack failed to achieve any of its objectives. Consequently, the Operation broke down into a number of more limited enterprises designed to achieve the overall objective incrementally. These attacks continued until the rains of autumn caused them to stop in mid November. The battle for Pozieres was one of the early ‘increments’. Battle Outline Pozieres village, and its adjacent windmill, occupied the highest ground on the Thiepval-Ginchy ridge and was thus the key to the German defences in the whole area. It was one of the highest priority objectives on day one of the Somme attack. It had still not been captured two weeks later. The main British attacks by the Fourth Army were aimed to the south of Pozieres, with responsibility for taking the village itself being left to the British Third Army. Third Army conducted four unsuccessful attacks against Pozieres in the first two weeks of the Somme operation. When 1 ANZAC Corps were transferred to Third Army on 17 July, 1st Australian Division was ordered to attack the village the very next day. This was deferred to enable preparations to be made and the first attack by the Australians was launched at 12.30 am on Sunday 23 July. The attack was mounted in 3 stages by the Australian 1st and 3rd Infantry brigades. The first, to capture the German ‘Pozieres’ Trench, was up the slope south of the village. Once the Trench was captured, the attackers moved on to the back hedges on the southern outskirts of Pozieres and the third stage involved capturing the whole south-east of the village up to the line of the Old Roman Road. The division achieved all its objectives by about 5.30 am on the 24th and then successfully cleared the Germans from the rest of the village. Unfortunately, the attacking formations on either side had not kept pace and the Australians now found themselves dangerously exposed and subject to counter-attacks from the front and either flank. Attack now became defence as for the next four days the division beat off repeated determined German counter-attacks and was subject to the heaviest and most concentrated shelling of the war. Despite this, the Division held on and was relieved by the 2nd Australian Division on 27 July. The second part of the battle, involving the 2nd Division, was the capture of the German defences north of the village, known as the ‘Old German (OG) Lines’. The first attempt, on 29 July, was an expensive failure. Pressure for a quick attack meant preparations had been poor. In particular, failure to construct ‘jumping off’ trenches close to the enemy lines left the assaulting infantry exposed to artillery and machine gun fire for too long. The second attempt, on 4 August, was much better planned and executed. Of particular importance was the capture of the Windmill on 5th August, which enabled the Australians to overlook the German defensive positions. Casualties were so great however, that the Division had to be relieved by the 4th Australian Division on the 6th. This relief occurred during a period of prolonged fierce German counter attacks, but the line, now including all of Pozieres and the high ground around it, was held. The direction of the attack then changed as the advance was pushed north-east along the ridgeline, only to be halted at Mouquet Farm. (Separate brief.) Key Participants 1st Australian Division – Major General Harold “Hookey” Walker. 2nd Australian Division – Major General J.G. Legge. 4th Australian Division – Major General H.V. Cox. Costs and Rewards The Windmill at Pozieres was the site to which Australia’s Official War Historian, Charles Bean, was referring when he said: “[this site] marks a ridge more densely sown with Australian sacrifice than any other place on earth.” Bean was correct, the battle cost the ANZAC Corps the following casualties:
The intensity of the fighting can be estimated from the number of Victoria Crosses awarded during the battle for Pozieres.
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