Chapter 11: Preparing for France

AWM photo one of the tented areas at Heliopolis Camp, 1915 (H02283)

From Men of Beersheba (Neil C. Smith, 1993) p 45:

" From the men who had been evacuated wounded or sick from Gallipoli and who after a period in hospital were now available for duty, and from fresh reinforcements a new squadron of the 4th Light Horse regiment was formed and known as D squadron. This squadron, plus B squadron formed a unique Light Horse contribution to the campaign on the Western Front and went to France. The troopers were destined to be linked with the Otago Mounted Rifles and then placed under command of a New Zealand officer. Australian 4th LHR original Lieutenant Colonel Hindhaugh later took
over. "

From a letter written by Percy Smith on March 1st 1916:

" The 4th L.H. is very much over strength so all those who have come back from hospital lately have gone in what they call the details, and have no horses yet. The details consist of D + E squadron. I am in D squadron under the command of Lieut Ross."

From The Battle of Hamel: the Australians' finest victory (John Laffin, 1999) pp 25-26

" …after the fighting against the Turks on Gallipoli the Australians believed that they could stand up to any conditions, dangers and hardships that might face them in France and Belgium.

The men of the 1st and 2nd Divisions knew little about the war in Europe other than what they occasionally read in the newspapers of Cairo. The ignorance of most of them about what was happening on the Western Front was profound. They were not to know that the battles fought by General Sir John French used up men at a frightening rate. On 25 September 1915, while the Australians were still on Gallipoli, 15 470 men became casualties on the first day of the Battle of Loos. On 11 October a single British division lost 3 800 men in ten minutes of fighting. The entire battle cost General French 61 280 casualties - and without gain.

Unknown to the Australians, some British generals considered that they had great soldierly potential. By common British consent, they lacked discipline but they could fight. Early in 1916 the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, in London, telegraphed the British commander in Egypt: 'Three Anzac Divisions in France in April might be worth six at a later date, He meant that the British and the Canadians were under such pressure that the sooner the Australian divisions arrived the better.

At the end of 1915 General French was dismissed for his failures and the new British commander-in-chief, General Sir Douglas Haig, had begun planning a major offensive to relieve the German pressure on the French armies.

The newspapers in Cairo emphasised the heroism on the Western Front, and there was plenty of that, rather than the horrors of which there were also many. The heavy casualties were rarely correctly stated and some defeats were presented as victories. The newspaper reports had one important effect - the Australians now knew that the Gallipoli campaign had been a sideshow and they were eager to move on to England, which was 'Home' to most Australians, and then on to the war in France and Belgium.

The transfer came in March 1916, though direct to France, not via England. Lieutenant General Sir William Birdwood, the Briton who had commanded the Australians at Gallipoli, visited each brigade to give them the news, usually during a church parade. He told them that in France they would be among people whose young men were fighting for their country, leaving behind the old men, the women and children. The Australians would be living among these people and serving with British, French and Canadian soldiers, as well as those of France's many colonies. He appealed to the men's honour to uphold the good name of Australia and to justify the reputation they had won at Gallipoli.

The theme of service, honour and probable sacrifice came up in sermons preached by army chaplains on troopships carrying the Australians from Alexandria to Marseilles."

From Service Record :

11 March 1916
Transferred to 2nd Div. A.C. (2nd Division Ammunition Column)
Taken on strength
Zeitoun

From Smith, Men of Beersheba p 49
A result of the re-organisation and growth of formations and new units in the Middle east in early 1916 gave rise to massive personnel transfers to and from the 4th Light Horse Regiment…Scores of men were transferred to the 2nd Divisional Ammunition Column and about one hundred and fifty went to the newly formed Cyclist Corps…
Most transfers occurred on 11 March.

From Service record:

19 March 1916
Appointed Act Driver and posted to No 2. Section
Zeitoun

AWM photos of Zeitoun:

Zeitoun campfire and kitchen (P00620.010)

Line of sleeping huts, Zeitoun (H12865)

Chapter 13: Drivers and Horses

A very powerful painting of horses and drivers by Septimus Power. (ART19842) "First Australian Artillery going into the 3rd Battle of Ypres (1919). This work shows a team of six horses, three mounted and three led, struggling through thick mud pulling a heavy 18 pounder gun on the limber. Six other soldiers on foot are helping to haul the gun, all moving away from the viewer. Septimus Power has captured the dash, the urgency, the immediacy of guns being moved to give fire support on the battlefield. You can almost hear the sound of mud sucking on the hooves, the gasping of the horses, the slap of leather, and creaking of axles, and the shouts of men. And you can imagine the sounds of the great battle beyond and sense the danger towards which the gun team is headed. "

Power did some wonderful drawings and paintings, many of artillery, horses and drivers. Search the AWM Collection using the term "Septimus Power" to see his other works.

From Laffin: "Man and Horse: Sharing The Load" To save manpower, the AIF used mules at night to take water tins as close as possible to the front line. Ten mules controlled by two minders could carry as much water as 60 men. During the bitter 1916-17 winter at Flers, wounded men were evacuated in improvised sleds drawn across the mud by one or two horses. In emergencies, ambulance horses were commandeered for direct military purposes. In November 1916 at Flers, the front-line units planning an attack needed 600 scaling ladders so troops could climb out of their deep, muddy trenches to go over the top. Orders were issued that ambulance horses were to be used to transport the heavy ladders across the sea of mud on sleds normally used for the wounded. The heavy labour wore out the horses, but most ladders were delivered in time for the attack. Endlessly toiling along tracks, the thousands of packhorses and mules made them almost impassable. At places in the Ypres Salient during the 1917 offensive, horses pulling ammunition wagons sometimes became trapped in treacherous areas of mud and sank almost out of sight. The drivers struggled to keep the animals' heads up until help arrived. The country-bred Australian drivers were regarded as the finest on the Front. In winter conditions, Australian drivers were dirty and their wagons battered, but their horses were groomed and in good condition. When strings of wagons were shelled, all soldiers in the vicinity dived for cover, but no shell-fire could separate an Australian wagon driver from his beloved horses. Horses at the halt trembled when they heard the whine of an incoming shell and instinctively buried their muzzles in their soldier-minders chests. Many animals were wounded, particularly by shell-fire, and among the busiest units were the Mobile Veterinary Sections. The 2nd Division's MVS was shelled in the back area in the summer of 1916 and reported that its horse patients suffered acute shell-shock. On August 21, enemy planes dropped seven bombs on the wagon lines of the 7th field Artillery Battery in Becourt Wood, near Albert. Apart from the soldier casualties, 15 horses were killed and 29 wounded. About 80,000 horses and mules in British service died on the Western Front. Australian fighting men, always sentimental about their horses, swore with anger when they came across animals gasping piteously for breath after a German gas attack. And when parted from their horses at the end of the war, tough Digger drivers often wept. The bonds they had forged with their four-legged mates were as strong as those they had made with their fellow soldiers. AWM photograph of Australian mule transport in winter mud, The Somme, December 1916. (E00036) From CEW Bean Vol IV The AIF In France 1917: September 1917, Polygon Wood. “The circuit roads had to be made whatever the cost. The forward one lay in ground always heavily shelled, frequently with mustard gas, and the shelling increased when the German airmen, as they quickly did, observed the new roads. In the early stages the pioneers constantly suffered from small burns due to the mustard oil, which, hanging about the shell holes, clung to their clothing. These minor hurts were soon avoided by changing clothes on return to camp near Ypres, but the drain of more serious casualties continued steadily. Particularly trying was the duty of the transport drivers, Strings of waggons had to carry the planks slowly along the narrow, mainly one-way, roads. When, as often happened, the track was shelled, and a length of it destroyed by direct hits, while the breach was being repaired the drivers had to sit, each on his high perch, controlling his horses, while the shells struck home on or around the crowded traffic. Other than Australian transport was used for this work; the superiority of the Australian drivers for it was most evident. They belonged to the finest class their nation produced, unassuming country-bred men. They waited steadily until the break was repaired or some shattered waggon or horses dragged from the road, and then continued their vital work. No shell-fire could drive them from their horses. The unostentatious efficiency and self-discipline of these steadfast men was as fine as any achievement of Australians in the war.” AWM photo of Artillery horse and driver on the road between Montauban and Mametz. Dec 1916 (E00002) Painting by Septimus Power - Horse Lines on the Somme (ART03335)