Blog category - Exhibitions

Pillbox fighting in the Ypres Salient

22 October 2007 by Craig Tibbitts. 5 Comments
To Flanders Fields, 1917, Battles, Passchendaele (Ypres)

A key feature of the battlefield between Ypres and Passchendaele in 1917 was the pillbox.  Along with the dreadful conditions and intense artillery bombardments, pillboxes forced a particularly grim situation upon the combatants that led to very bitter and costly fighting.

The Germans had begun a program of building concrete field fortifications in the latter stages of 1916 and early 1917, particularly in their new defensive position along the Hindenburg Line.  With the increasing weight of British artillery superiority, these constructions offered the Germans a way for their front line troops to survive the massive bombardments, and to fight from them as well.  By mid 1917, they had acquired the nickname ‘pillbox’ among the British and Commonwealth troops.

Constructed of concrete reinforced with steel, with walls and roofs several feet thick, they were able to withstand even direct hits from all but the heaviest calibre shells.  The Germans called them Mannschafts Eisenbeton Unterstände (reinforced concrete shelters for troops) and as this name suggests, their primary role was to protect troops from artillery bombardments.  Indeed many of them performed just that role, lacking firing ports (embrasures).  Pillboxes in the proper meaning of the word, were those that both sheltered the troops and were designed to fight from as well.  Low and squat, they were built in many different sizes, some designed to house only half a dozen men, while others, the size of a single-car garage, might house 10-20 men.  Still others were even bigger (with some having two storeys) and might house up to 40.  Often, debris were stacked on the roofs and against the wall to break up the pillbox’s silhouette.  Another cunning design in the pillboxes was discovered later; the rear-facing walls were made much thinner and weaker, so if the Germans were forced to retreat from a pillbox, the new owners would find the wall facing the Germans was of little protection.

The terrain conditions in the Ypres salient, more than any other place, meant that pillboxes would play an important role there.  With a high water table and high rainfall, trenches proved largely impractical.  Coupled with the need for protection from the heavy artillery bombardments, pillboxes were the only practical solution for the German defenders.

As the ground rose gradually towards Passchendaele, the Germans built three main lines of defence to a depth of several miles, anchored on the ridges that rose gradually towards the village of Passchendaele. Hundreds of pillboxes and shelters were scattered throughout the area making it an exceptionally strong defensive system.  Well behind these pillbox lines waited the German counterattack troops and the massed German artillery in support. The defences also incorporated fortified farmyards and in some cases pillboxes were built inside existing houses.  The positions were cleverly sited to provide mutually supporting crossfire, backed up by separate concreted machine gun posts set in the open.

In the Ypres sector, many of the pillboxes were individually marked on detailed battle maps.  Like any features on the battlefield they were given names to identify them.  Pillboxes in the area had a variety of names such as Israel, Potsdam, Judah, Thames, Seine, Waterfields, Anzac, Helles, Kit, Kat, Hamburg and so on. The shelters and pillboxes were often used as first aid stations and as command and communication posts, the latter making them important tactical objectives.

The German method of front line defence was based upon the pillboxes.  From here the occupants could survive the worst of the bombardment and be ready to fight for the front line posts as soon as the British and Commonwealth infantry advanced in its wake.  Previous German defensive tactics were an ‘elastic’ style defence, where troops under heavy attack could fall back, while counterattacking forces held in reserve would then come forward in counterattack to win back the lost ground.  With the pillbox, the defensive tactics changed, the front line German infantry being ordered to stay and hold their positions.  Their presence would break up the formation of the attacking troops, and pin them down before the pillboxes so they lost touch with the advancing artillery barrage designed to protect them.  All this rendered the attackers much more vulnerable to the coming German counterattack.

Of course for the British offensive at Ypres to succeed, the ground had to be taken, and that meant the pillboxes which proved mostly impervious to artillery, had to be conquered by the infantry.  With the new German tactic of holding and fighting from the pillboxes, this inevitably meant these places became the scenes of numerous bitter struggles.

But despite their disadvantage the bravery and tenacity of the British and Commonwealth infantry eventually prevailed – albeit with tremendous loss of life.  Despite being relatively safe from the shelling inside their shelters and pillboxes, the German defenders were usually stunned and demoralised by the relentless heavy shelling, and a well-timed, spirited and determined attack would often prevail.

Moving forward in small groups in the immediate wake of a creeping barrage using fire and movement tactics, the attacking troops were able to work their way forward and put increasing pressure on the desperate German defenders.  Small parties would work their way around the sides and the rear of pillboxes, clearing the supporting machine gun posts on the flanks with bombs and bayonet.  Lewis gunners would spray the pillbox embrasures to try and suppress the firing coming from within, while Mills bombs and smoke bombs added to the pressure and confusion.  Sometimes particularly daring individuals would make it right up to the pillbox itself and try to shove bombs through the embrasures.  Once surrounded, most pillboxes were ultimately forced to surrender, although this often proved a dangerous moment to both attackers and defenders, and did not necessarily mean the fight was really over.  The Official History relates a few of these grim incidents that the Australians experienced:

‘Here, as in so many pillbox fights, confusion, fatal for the garrison, occurred through the weaker spirits being ready to surrender while some brave men continued to fire. As the first German came out with his hands up, another behind fired between his legs and wounded a sergeant of the 20th [Battalion]. “Get out of the way, sergeant,” shouted a Lewis gunner, “ I’ll see to the bastards,” and firing three or four bursts into the entrance he killed or wounded most of the crowd inside’ (Bean, Vol IV, p 766).

‘Captain Moore, a beloved officer, now ran towards the pillbox, but was immediately shot by a German who, according to the reports afterwards made, had already surrendered.  The Victorians at once killed this man and others, and only interposition by their officers stopped them from exterminating the whole garrison … Lieutenant-Colonel D. A. Luxton’s report says: “Captain F. L. Moore was mortally wounded by a man who had surrendered and who, when he saw an officer, dropped for the gun fired a burst, and put up his hands again.’ (Bean, Vol IV, p 771-772).

‘The mistakes commonly made in hot blood during this murderous pillbox fighting are illustrated by a terrible incident, which occurred that day and about that time, and which has been described by Lieutenant W. D. Joynt of the 8th Battalion himself afterwards a recipient of the Victoria Cross. He states that during this attack he came upon a wide circle of troops of his brigade surrounding a two-storied pillbox and firing at a loop hole in the upper story, from which shots were coming.  One man, coolly standing close below and firing up at it fell back killed but the Germans in the lower chamber soon afterwards surrendered. The circle of Australians at once assumed easy attitudes, and the prisoners were coming out when a shot was fired, killing an Australian. The shot came from the upper story whose inmates knew nothing of the surrender of the men below; but the surrounding troops were much too heated to realise this. To them the deed appeared to he the vilest treachery, and they forthwith bayonetted the prisoners. One Victorian, about to bayonet a German, found that his own bayonet was not on his rifle. While the wretched prisoner implored him for mercy, be grimly fixed it and then bayonetted the man. The Germans in this case were entirely innocent, but such incidents are inevitable in the heat of battle, and any blame for them lies with those who make wars, not with those who fight them’ (Bean, Vol IV, p 771-772).

Hand in hand with these ferocious little battles and momentary absences of mercy, came many deeds of great courage and bravery:

‘… a series of gallant attacks on those in pillboxes then began. From the roof of one of these a machine-gun was firing. Sergeant McGee ran forward fifty yards and shot the crew with his revolver. The next blockhouse, “Hamburg,” was charged by Lieutenant Meagher as of the mopping-up company, who had advanced in answer to a signal to fill a gap. He was killed, but Lieutenant Grant continued to lead, and the place was captured together with 25 prisoners and four machine-guns. The right was strengthened by Captain Dumaresq with part of the reserve company, and, [the 40th Bn] together with the neighbouring part of the 41st under Captain Redmond and Lieutenants Fraser and Price, it fought down pillbox after pillbox, practically every blockhouse being taken by some act of individual daring.  After the objective was reached, a group of eight German officers or N.C.O’s still fought on, in a pillbox ahead on the left, until killed.’ (Bean, Vol IV, p 865).

And so it is hardly surprising that numerous Victoria Crosses were won attacking pillboxes at Ypres throughout the British and Commonwealth armies.  And not to forget, many other high decorations for bravery such as DSOs, MCs and DCMs were similarly awarded.  Seven Australians in fact won the VC attacking pillboxes during 1917.

• Second Lieutenant Frederick Birks (Menin Road)
• Private Patrick Budgen (Polygon Wood)
• Captain Robert Grieve (Messines)
• Private Roy Inwood (Polygon Wood)
• Captain Clarence Jeffries (Passchendaele II)
• Sergeant Lewis McGee (Broodseinde)
• Lieutenant Rupert Moon (Bullecourt)

See article on Victoria Crosses of 1917.

Read more on pillbox fighting of the Australians at Messines: Official History, Vol IV, Ch 15, pp 623-627.

Sources

Pillboxes on the Western Front: a guide to the design, construction and use of concrete pill boxes 1914-1918 / Peter Oldham, (1995), Pen & Sword Books.

Official History of Australia in the War of 1914-1918: Volume IV – The Australian Imperial Force in France, 1917 / C. E. W. Bean (1933).

Photos from the exhibition

15 October 2007 by Craig Tibbitts. 2 Comments
To Flanders Fields, 1917, Exhibition

I should have done this ages ago, but as the saying goes, ‘better late than never…’

These are just a few snaps I took of the exhibition today.

The entrance to the exhibition featuring Frank Hurley’s well-known photograph

A replica cast of the ‘Big Digger’ stands guard near the exhibition’s entrance. The real statue stands atop the Bullecourt Memorial

Portraits and uniform jackets of two prominent AIF commanders at Bullecourt. Brigadier John Gellibrand of 6th Brigade (L) and Lt Colonel Raymond Leane of the 48th ‘Joan of Arc’ Battalion (R)

 

Typical battledress of a German and an Australian infantryman on the Western Front in 1917

 

Two large artworks of Polygon Wood and Messines, plus a foot bridge used to cross the Douve near Messines and a stretcher that saw action at Passchendaele

 

This part of the exhibition presents the commemorative aspects, both then and now

 

Signposts from the battlefields

 

A long view down the first corridor of the exhibition

 

Looking back from the far corner

Our exhibition process to date

11 October 2007 by Mal Booth. No comments
Exhibitions,Lawrence of Arabia and the Light Horse, Our exhibition

September was a really busy month for us. We all had to meet deadlines for text, get the initial design concepts endorsed by management and write essays for magazines and our catalogue. So, just in case you are interested in what has gone on so far, here is a pretty comprehensive listing of the process and a few images we have taken along the way.

Several senior staff from the Memorial viewed the IWM Lawrence of Arabia: The life, the legend exhibition in London.

An informal approach was made to the IWM for their assistance and cooperation. (They replied favourably.)

A curator (Mal) and assistant curator (Robyn) were appointed, and the exhibition team formed.

A concept paper (with an audience segmentation summary) was developed, and the project manager (Susie) developed a draft budget and the development schedule (I was glad that I didn’t have to do that!). read on

Passchendaele: an almost universal experience

06 October 2007 by Craig Tibbitts. 1 Comment
To Flanders Fields, 1917, Commemoration, Passchendaele (Ypres)

Along with the intensity of the fighting, the horrendous conditions and the heavy losses of Passchendaele, there is another reason why this campaign universally symbolises such great loss, tragedy and futility above others of the First World War.  This is simply because such a high percentage of men experienced it.  During the three and a half months it lasted, just over fifty British and Commonwealth infantry divisions, and almost one hundred German ones were committed.  It is therefore reasonable to say that about one and a half million men witnessed this battlefield first-hand.

In such a tiny sector of the front, it is difficult to fathom how so many men could have been involved.  Across the whole frontage of the sector, only about 10 miles in width, both sides would normally have 10-15 divisions at any one time.  But behind them in reserve positions lurked many more, ready to come up in support to either exploit a breakthrough, or (in the case of the Germans), stop one.  Due to the intensity of the battle, some units would go into the front line and be decimated in a matter of days so they had to be pulled out and replaced by another division.  This went on over and over again; some divisions went in only once, while others were committed several times.  It is also worth noting that as the campaign progressed, the frontage under attack gradually narrowed until at the end, it was barely one mile in width (see map at bottom of this article)

Other arms of service supporting the infantry were also in the thick of the action, especially artillery, engineers, supplies, signals, tanks and medical services to name a few.  In the case of the Australians for example, while their infantry was committed to six of the eight phases of the campaign, their artillery was involved for its entirety.

The following illustrates the high proportion of divisions committed to Passchendaele throughout the second half of 1917:

• 88 of Germany’s 212 divisions, representing approximately 40 % of their army.  Many other German divisions spent almost the entire war on the Eastern Front, or opposing the French in the southeastern sectors of the Western Front.
• 41 of the British Army’s 66 divisions (nearly two-thirds).
• All four Canadian divisions.
• New Zealand’s one and only division.
• All five Australian divisions.

A useful comparison is the dreadful campaign at Verdun; during this ten-month ordeal in 1916 that cost at least 700,000 French and German casualties, three-quarters of the infantry divisions in the French Army went through it.  For the French, Verdun is symbolic of their great sacrifice and the main focal point of their commemoration.

Total casualties at Passchendaele are estimated at 475,000; about 275,000 British and Commonwealth and about 200,000 German.  38,000 Australians, 15,654 Canadians and 5,300 New Zealanders fell there, either killed, wounded or missing.  Especially for these smaller nations, Passchendaele was their most costly engagement of the war, indeed their entire military history.  Because of the scale of losses and the fact that the Commonwealth nations committed their entire forces to the campaign, it was sadly not uncommon for families to lose several members during it (see article on Polygon Wood battle).

With these statistics in mind it is little wonder that after the war ended, the Ypres-Passchendaele area quickly became the focal point for commemoration for all the nations involved in this terrible campaign, and remains so to this day.

Five diggers laid to rest today

04 October 2007 by Craig Tibbitts. 3 Comments
To Flanders Fields, 1917, Commemoration

The remains of five AIF soldiers will be laid to rest today with full military honours in the Buttes New British Cemetery at Polygon Wood, Belgium.  The remains were discovered by chance in September 2006 during roadwork and pipe-laying excavations near the small village of Westhoek.  This is situated in the middle of the dreaded Ypres-Passchendaele Salient where up to half a million casualties on both sides fell, of which tens of thousands were either never recovered or were unidentifiable.

The Australian Army through its History Unit headed the investigation into the identity of the five men, with the assistance of the Memorial Museum Passchendaele, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, and the Office of Australian War Graves.  The Australian War Memorial also provided some assistance early in the piece, particularly with archival maps and documents.

Subsequent DNA testing proved successful in identifying two of the five men (see news articles below).

May they all now rest in peace.

*New: A large number of photos and some You Tube clips can now be found on the Dutch/Flemish WW I Forum:
www.forumeerstewereldoorlog.nl/viewtopic.php?t=10901

New articles

History sleuth, Army News, 5 April 2007 (an earlier piece on the search for the mens’ identities)

Missing WWI soldiers identified, Army News, 4 September 2007.

Remains of diggers identified, Canberra Times, 5 September 2007.

Lost for 90 years, diggers identified by DNA, The Age, 5 September 2007.

Australian diggers honourably laid to rest, ABC News, 5 October 2007.

1917: a momentous year

25 September 2007 by Craig Tibbitts. No comments
To Flanders Fields, 1917, Battles

When contemplating any event, even large ones such as the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele) or the campaign on the Western Front, it is always worthwhile taking the time to consider the broader picture and the context in which those events took place. The year 1917 saw significant developments that effected the course of the war, and some that would have an impact on general world history in the later 20th Century. The following are those I consider the more important ones.

7 December 1916 – David Lloyd George becomes new Prime Minister of Great Britain.

December 1916 to January 1917 – After massive losses, particularly at Verdun and on the Somme during 1916, Germany puts out peace feelers. USA acts as intermediary, but the Entente, not impressed by the haughty German posture and their demands, reject the offer.

Mid January 1917 – Zimmermann telegram sent by the Germans and intercepted by the British.

1 February – Germany resumes unrestricted submarine warfare (the first period of unrestricted submarine warfare had commenced in December 1915 but was abandoned in April 1916 due to strong US protest).

In Russia, food and fuel distribution breaks down.

Late February to mid March – Germans withdraw to the Hindenburg Line (Operation Alberich).

1 March – US Government releases the details of the Zimmermann telegram to the US press.

11 March – British capture Baghdad.

26 March – First Battle of Gaza in Palestine.

March – Riots and mutiny break out in Petrograd. The Petrograd Soviet and a provisional government are formed. The Russian Tsar abdicates in mid March.

6 April – USA declares war on Germany.

9 April – British Arras Offensive begins.

11 April – First action at Bullecourt.

16 April – Nivelle Offensive begins (until 9 May).

19 April – Second Battle of Gaza in Palestine.

3-17 May – Second Battle of Bullecourt.

May – Parts of the French Army in mutiny after suffering disasterous losses during the Nivelle Offensive.

7 June – Battle of Messines.

1-16 July – Kerensky Offensive on the Eastern Front fails with much of the Russian army in mutiny and refusing to fight on.

31 July – Third Ypres offensive begins. First phase is the Battle of Pilckem Ridge (31 July – 2 August).

16-18 August – Battle of Langemarck. Second phase of Third Ypres offensive.

20-25 September – Battle of Menin Road. Third phase of Third Ypres offensive.

26 September to 3 October – Battle of Polygon Wood. Fourth phase of Third Ypres offensive.

4 October – Battle of Broodseinde. Fifth phase of Third Ypres offensive.

9 October – Battle of Poelcapelle. Sixth phase of Third Ypres offensive.

12 October – First Battle of Passchendaele. Seventh phase of Third Ypres offensive.

24 October to 9 November – Battle of Caporetto. Austro-Hungarians and Germans make a major breakthrough on the front in northeastern Italy, sending the Italians reeling back. A major collapse in this theatre is feared.

26 October to 10 November – Second Battle of Passchendaele. Eighth and final phase of Third Ypres offensive. Canadians finally capture Passchendaele.

31 October – Battle of Beersheba in Palestine. Australian Light Horse win a famous victory. (See also article ‘Charge of the 4th Light Horse Brigade at Beersheba’).

7 November – Bolsheviks seize power in Russia.

7 November – Third Battle of Gaza in Palestine.

20 November – Battle of Cambrai (initial British success relying heavily on a mass tank attack).

30 November – German counterattack drives British back and all gains in Cambrai sector are lost.

6 December – Rumania (allied to the Entente) ceases hostilities.

9 December – Allies capture Jerusalem.

17 December – Formal armistice signed between Russia and Germany.

3 March 1918 – Treaty of Brest-Litovsk formally ends Russia’s war with Germany. With the collapse of Russia and her subsequent withdrawal from the war, Germany had by late 1917 started moving most of its troops from the Eastern Front to the Western Front, in preparation for the planned Spring offensive in 1918.

But that is a story for next year…

Exhibition Catalogue now available

29 August 2007 by Craig Tibbitts. No comments
To Flanders Fields, 1917, Exhibition

A catalogue of the To Flanders Fields, 1917 exhibition is now available.  It’s 44-pages, is illustrated and sells for AUD $7.95.  It can be purchased at the Memorial’s shop or online.

One that got away

24 August 2007 by Mal Booth. 3 Comments
Exhibitions,Lawrence of Arabia and the Light Horse, Less than six degrees of separation, Loans

Well, at least something we were not allowed to borrow . . .

We did want to bring one of Lawrence’s Arab daggers out to show in our exhibition. Two were displayed by the IWM: a gold dagger made for Lawrence in Mecca in 1917 that is now owned by All Souls College, Oxford; and a silver-gilt dagger now owned by Lord and Lady Kennet. I thought that it would be best to try for both and my first negotiation was in London at the home of Lord and Lady Kennet. We didn’t get the dagger, but I have the Kennet’s permission to tell you this story, which is pretty interesting, at least from my perspective.

I was told on the phone by Lord Kennet that I could not have the dagger but was invited to evening drinks with him and Lady Kennet and walked up there, across Hyde Park from my ‘summer residence’ in South Kensington. Ha! When I approached the house I noticed one of those blue historic site disks mounted on the house. They live in the former home of Sir James Barrie.

read on

Second Lieutenant Roy Lytton Cummings, No. 5 (Training) Squadron, AFC

24 August 2007 by Amanda Rebbeck. No comments
Aircraft 1914 - 1918,Personal Stories, Training

A native of Franklin, Tasmania Roy Lytton Cummings enlisted in the AIF on 19 November 1914 and after training was posted to the 3rd Field Ambulance. He embarked for overseas service aboard HMAT A70 (Ballarat) on 9 September 1915 and saw a short period of service in the last month of the Gallipoli campaign.

read on

56th Battalion at Polygon Wood: a unit and a family’s sad loss

14 August 2007 by Craig Tibbitts. 20 Comments
To Flanders Fields, 1917, Frontline troops, Passchendaele (Ypres)

The Third Battle of Ypres (a.k.a the Battle of Passchendaele) that began on 31 July 1917 was a series of pushes from the Ypres Salient eastwards to the village of Passchendaele atop the final ridge. The Australian infantry first became involved on 20 September in the Battle of Menin Road, spearheaded by the 1st and 2nd Australian Divisions in the centre, with five British divisions on their flanks. The result was a complete success. The next push was set to commence on 26 September with the 4th and 5th Australian Divisions taking the lead this time. Australians would come to know this battle as ‘Polygon Wood’. The objectives on this occasion were to advance approximately 900 yards, capturing the remainder of Polygon Wood in the first stage, then a few hundred metres more to capture a section of the main German defensive line known as ‘Flandern I’.

The 5th Australian Division would attack with its 14th and 15th Brigades. One of the 14th Brigade’s four battalions involved was the 56th. This battalion had been raised in February 1916 in Egypt, with half its establishment coming from the older 4th Battalion and the remainder being new recruits. Most of the battalion were New South Welshmen. Their first taste of action as a unit was the disastrous Battle of Fromelles in July 1916, where having the good fortune of being in reserve, their casualties were light. Then in early 1917 they saw their next lot of fighting before the Hindenburg Line and at Bullecourt. In early August they moved north to Flanders for the great offensive at Ypres.

The 56th Battalion was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Humphrey Scott, DSO of Wahroonga, Sydney, only 26 years old and a hero of Lone Pine, Gallipoli. This much admired young leader was ably supported by a host of similarly young officers, all talented and brave leaders in their own right. In charge of A Company was the youthful Captain Vernon Smythe, just 23 years old, but a veteran of the Gallipoli Landing and Fromelles where he won the Military Cross. B Company was commanded by Temporary Captain Raymond Single a 31 year old accountant from Mudgee. C Company was led by Captain Hubert Thompson, also 31 and a solicitor from Bathurst. D Company was commanded by Captain Norman Plomley, 25 years old from Manly in Sydney. Plomley also held the Military Cross for his brave and resourceful leadership at Bullecourt earlier in 1917. In fact all four company commanders had cut their teeth at Gallipoli and rapidly risen through the ranks. On account of their battalion number, they adopted the nickname ‘The Half Hundredweights’ (i.e. a hundredweight being 112 pounds, and 56 being half that).

Left to Right: Lieutenant Colonel Alan ‘Humphrey’ Scott DSO, Officer Commanding 56th Battalion; Captain Vernon Smythe MC; Captain Raymond Single; Captain Hubert Thompson.

Unfortunately the 56th did not produce a battalion history after the war, however from their unit war diaries, the files of the Red Cross Wounded and Missing Enquiry Bureau, the AIF Official History and the letters and diaries of men who served in the battalion, we can gain a reasonably clear picture of their ordeal at Polygon Wood.

At 7:30 pm on the evening of 25 September, Scott held a conference with his company commanders. At this meeting he informed them that zero hour for the attack was 5:30 am the next morning, Wednesday 26 September. This was later postponed to 5:50 am. He also gave instructions regarding the methods to be adopted in the attack, what to do when resistance was encountered, and particularly stressed that the attacking troops must follow their protective artillery barrage closely. Raymond Single had been wounded in the arm a couple of days before, but chose to remain on duty.

During the night of the 25th, the battalion moved up for the attack through Glencorse Wood and Nonne Bosschen through continuous shelling. Shortly after 1:00 am whilst moving up to their jumping off point, the battalion suffered a bad setback when a shell killed two members of the headquarters staff including their medical officer, Captain George Elliott, the younger brother of the 15th Brigade’s commander Brigadier ‘Pompey’ Elliott. Pressing on, the battalion set up headquarters in a blockhouse just behind the line. By 3:46 am they had made it to the start line for the attack and wired the codeword ‘Manly’ to brigade headquarters indicating their arrival and readiness.

53rd Battalion was to take the first objective (Red Line), which included all of Polygon Wood and the important Butte feature (a prominent earthen mound), at its eastern end. After a short pause to consolidate and reorganise, the 55th and 56th would then press on and take the second objective (Blue Line). This second objective was the capture of the major German defensive line (Flandern I), portions of which had the codenames Jetty and Jubilee.

The battlefield at Polygon Wood: At left a long shot of the area with the Butte looming in the distance. Centre: a closer view of the Butte which hosted a network of German dugouts, tunnels and shelters. Right: an aerial photo of Polygon Wood showing the utter devastation caused by incessant shelling.

The attack commenced at 5:50 am with a mighty barrage, the most powerful and awe-inspiring any of the men had ever seen. Next, the men stood up, fixed bayonets, and as one man described, shook off their nerves and tension of the past few hours with nearly every man lighting up a pipe or cigarette they’d been craving. They advanced in waves behind the barrage, which the Official Historian likened to a massive ‘Gippsland bushfire’, roaring slowly and inexorably across the landscape. The men following closely behind this creeping barrage quickly overran the German defenders, who were stunned and depleted by the intensity of the barrage. A few sharp fights occurred around some concrete pillboxes but these were quickly dispensed with. No quarter was given except to those who surrendered quickly, while the more resolute German machine gunners and snipers were ruthlessly hunted and killed.

The German defenders in the Polygon Wood area comprised elements of the 3rd Reserve and 220th Divisions, and later in the day the 50th Reserve Division. The morale of the 3rd Reserve Division in particular was very poor even before the battle. This division had until only a few weeks ago been exclusively on the Eastern Front, and were now getting their first taste of the intensity of battle on the Western Front. In particular the division’s 49th Reserve Infantry Regiment had problems with a high desertion rate and among some of their number, a refusal to attack on this day of battle. Australian battlefield intelligence confirmed this, describing the prisoners taken from the 3rd Reserve Division as ‘rather rattled.’

The attack was progressing very well indeed. But shortly after 6:00 am a message arrived at headquarters from B Company stating that they had ‘lost Captain Single, presumably killed.’

The second phase of the attack commenced at 7:30 am with the 55th and 56th Battalions pushing further on and capturing the Flandern I line and clearing the enemy pillboxes immediately beyond it. In this final action Captain Smythe led an attack with some of his men on a troublesome pillbox and cleared it. Also prominent was Colonel Scott’s younger brother, Lieutenant Lee Scott, who led a party to secure the battalion’s right flank, which was for a while dangerously exposed.

At 8:20 am a runner from D Company delivered a message to battalion headquarters confirming that Captain Single had been killed in action. One of his lieutenants had taken charge of his company. It was also reported that Captain Thompson of C Company was ‘OK’. Only later was it learned that Single had been killed by a shot through the head, presumably from an enemy sniper prior to the commencement of the attack.

According to Company Sergeant Major Sidney Dewey of C Company, this happened sometime shortly after 5:00 am, before the attack commenced. He wrote,

‘A captain from B Company [Captain Single], a noted cricketer, came to visit the company commander of C Company [Captain Thompson], and had a luminous watch on his wrist. He was being told about how his watch showed up in the dark when crack went a bullet. The thought of the company commander and his company sergeant major was that he had yawned, but as he seemed to stay in the sitting position something was said to him, but no answer. He had been shot dead, and there is no doubt it was his watch that directed the fire of the vigilant Hun sniper.’ (Private papers of CSM S. C. Dewey, 3DRL/6620).

Although there were the usual variations on how he died, most witnesses supported Dewey’s account.

With their objectives met, the men of the 56th and their neighbouring battalions spent the remainder of the day consolidating and strengthening their newly won positions. During the afternoon the Germans made a concerted effort to counterattack but this was broken up at length by the protective artillery fire and the machine guns immediately set up in the forward posts and atop the Butte. At 7:30 pm the battalion reported they had sustained 109 casualties including nine officers so far. At 8:30 pm, 56th Battalion established its headquarters at the Butte on the eastern edge of Polygon Wood. But later that night it was reported that Hubert Thompson, commanding C Company had been killed by a shell.

14th Brigade had taken this important ground, capturing 439 Germans and 34 of their machine guns. The remainder had been killed or put to flight. Ultimately 14th Brigade suffered 1,100 casualties, with the 56th Battalion losing 255 of those.

For their actions at Polygon Wood, Smythe was awarded a second Military Cross, Lee Scott a Military Cross, and Plomley a second Military Cross. Hubert Thompson was recommended for a Military Cross as well, but unfortunately this was not granted. With the new positions consolidated, preparations began in earnest for the next push scheduled to begin on 4 October, with the vital Broodseinde Ridge as its objective. Sadly, only a few days later on 1 October as the 56th was about to come out of the frontline, their much loved commander Humphrey Scott was shot dead by a sniper at the Polygon Wood Butte whilst showing the front line positions to a relieving British unit.

The deaths of Scott, the two staff officers and two company commanders was a grievous loss to the battalion. But the loss of Captains Single and Thompson would be more keenly felt back in Australia, for Raymond Single and Hubert Thompson were cousins. And to further compound a disastrous day for the family, another cousin, 23-year-old Wilfred Single was also killed on 26 September, serving with the 29th Battalion, operating just a few hundred yards away on the 56th’s flank. Wilfred was wounded in the arm at some stage during the attack and was sent to the rear for treatment, escorting two German prisoners on the way. A sniper shot him through the back of the neck and he was killed instantly.

All three men were descendants of the grazier John Single (1791-1858), who in 1822 built Nepean House at Castlereagh (just west of Sydney), and pioneered the northwest plains of New South Wales. Thirty-three of John Single’s grandsons or great grandsons served in the First World War. Of this extended family, nine did not return, either being killed in action or dying of disease. Their sacrifice plots a virtual map of the momentous battles of the AIF during the war:

• John Digby (Gallipoli, 1915)
• Percy Single (Pozières, 1916)
• Gordon Yeoman (Died of Disease, France 1916)
• Alexander Frank Fraser (Passchendaele, 1917)
• Horace Thompson (Hill 60, Belgium 1918)
• Francis Digby (Mont St Quentin, 1918)

And of course the three who died on that fateful day, 26 September 1917 at Polygon Wood.

Humphrey Scott’s body was recovered and he now lies near where he fell in the Buttes War Cemetery, Polygon Wood. Raymond, Hubert and Wilfred were all given battlefield burials, however due to the intense shelling and the subsequent heavy rain, their remains were either never found again, or never identified. Their sacrifice is therefore commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing.

The author of the above article along with a colleague at the Memorial are now researching and writing a complete unit history of the 56th Battalion. It will be published as part of the Australian Army History Publications Series, sometime in 2009. The authors would be very grateful to hear from members of the public who might have information, letters, diaries or photos of any men who served in the 56th. Contact: Craig.Tibbitts@awm.gov.au or phone (02) 6243 4318.  Alternatively visit the project’s new blog.