Chapter 14: Arrival in France

March 1916: The Second Division was the first division to move to France; "nursery" section around Armentieres. From Service Record and 2nd DAC War Diary: 20 March 1916 Embarked on H.T. Magdalena Alexandria 27 March 1916 Disembarked at Marseilles Marseilles 1 April 1916 Arrived at Abbeville 7.30am Abbeville AWM photograph of 18th and 19th Battalions at Marseilles, 25 March 1916.(C04393) AWM photo of troop train at rest stop between Marseilles and Le Havre (P02321.053) Soldiers stretch their legs, or pick wildflowers to decorate the train carriages. From Diary of Gunner Kenneth Sydney Day : [AWM records PR01054] 21/3/16 At midday we boarded a train for Le Havre. We were put in cattle trucks, two men and 8 horses per truck. We are having a lot of snow, and it looks fine on all the stations and hills surrounding them. We arrived at Havre at 5p.m. on Wednesday, after sleeping two nights in trucks and freezing all the time. From Lyons it rained all the way through, and the ground was awfully muddy. Havre Railway Station…This is a very long railway station, and contains, I suppose thousands of pounds worth of war material, etc. We stayed at Havre for a week to get our equipment. While here, being new chums, we thought the war was over as one day a brigade of "Froggies" marched past all cheering and singing; but we soon found out our mistake, when speaking to someone, they told us they were going up to the line. Havre is a very nice city, and the lady in charge of the Y.M.C.A. is a West Australian girl. We left Havre on Wednesday night at 11.30 p.m. on cattle trucks as usual for a place called Eyre. Arrived there at 5 p.m. Thursday and drove eight miles to a small town called Lynde. This place is about 15 miles from the firing line, and we can hear the guns all day and night. Left Lynde at 7 a.m. Saturday and took the wagons to a big ammunition factory in Eyre and got them loaded up with Shrapnel and High explosive Shells, and then went back to Lynde. Monday left Lynde at 5 a.m. and set out for a place called Armentieres. This place is only one mile form our support trenches, and is a town between Lille and Ypres. It is well within the range of the german guns, and they are always sending shells into it." From Bill Gammage, The Broken Years Australian Soldiers In The Great War (1974) p 147: " The Australians landed at Marseilles, belied their reputation by almost faultless behaviour in the port, and in a few days entrained for billets in northern France. The journey was their most pleasant since leaving Australia. The green countryside and the cheers and kisses of the populace seemed paradise after Egypt, and second only to one other land and people on earth. But it was not the Western Front, and almost every Australian was eager to man that legendary line." From Laffin, The Battle of Hamel (1999): "On 19 March 1916 troopships carrying the 2nd division reached Marseilles, where the bands, which had not once been able to play at Gallipoli, struck up 'La Marseilles'. The men were wildly excited but the officers retained control, much to the relief of the British staff in the port who had feared riots. Day after day trains carried the Australians through the beautiful countryside of southern France, fresh with spring, into the cold, wet and snowy north. They finished up in billets in barns around St Omer, Aire and Hazebrouck. In the distance the crump of shells and flashes and flares told them that they were indeed approaching the 'real war'. They were in what the army called the 'Nursery', where reinforcements were trained. The Australians considered themselves veterans and they impatiently endured lectures on many subjects, including how to relieve a trench garrison. AWM photo of Armentieres railway station about Dec 1916 (H15699)

Chapter 16: The Somme 9 July - 6 September 1916

From 11th Battery, Australian Field Artillery: Brief History 18 Nov 1915 – 20 Dec 1918 (AWM 224; MSS13)

9 July 1916 Left L’Menengate, arrive St Marie Cappel

11 July 1916 Left St Marie Cappel, road to Arques, entrained.

12 July Arrived Longue (?) Siding (outside Amiens), road to La Chaussee

13 July – 19 July Camped La Chaussee

20 July Left La Chaussee, arrived Puchevillers

20 – 26 July Camped Puchvillers

27 July Left Puchvillers by road, arrived Albert “Brickfields”

27 – 29 July Camped Albert Brickfields

From Battleground Europe: Courcelette by Paul Reed, the Brickfields are described:

On the outskirts of Albert was the Brickfields, a large billeting area among an old brick factory. "... an inhospitable area of chalky ground, scantily covered with grass, on a low ridge west of town. Bare and uninviting at the best of times.
On the Brickfields the men quickly discovered that boxes of Small Arms ammunition could be built into substantial walls; and when a tarpaulin was thown over them an adequate hutment was the result. Diligently they applied themselves to the task of creating comfort,their industry accelerated by the downpour which began to drench the place. Huddling within their improvised shelters, they paid little heed to the long-range shelling which was scattered indiscriminately over the area."

30 July Left Brickfields and established Wagon Lines at Bécourt Wood

30 July – 15 August Battery in action in Sausage Valley. Wagon Lines at Bécourt Wood. Infantry attacked Pozieres 4 Aug.

Photo of funeral at Bécourt during August 1916. [AWM EZ0064] "A chaplain reads the burial service beside the grave of a fallen Australian in a cemetery in a wood, near a chateau that housed a casualty clearing station. The burial party standing around the grave includes English and Australian soldiers. The man on the far right has a 2nd Division colour patch on his sleeve. Note the stretcher in the foreground."

Photo of artillery drivers at Bécourt Wood, July 1916. One is identified as Lieutenant Frederick George Fitzpatrick of Heyfield, Vic (far right); all others are unidentified. The gunner on the left has two postcards or photographs propped in front of his boots, and a trench biscuit balanced on his knee. Cooking utensils and stores are lined up along the edge of the 'roof', which is covered with vegetation for camouflage purposes. (AWM C00474)

16 August Left Bécourt Wood

17 August Arrived Vadencourt Wood, between Warloy and Contay

17 – 22 August Camped Vadencourt Wood

23 August Left Vadencourt Wood, arrived back at Bécourt Wood Wagon Lines

23 August- 3 Sept Battery in action Sausage Valley

4 Sept Left Bécourt Wood, arrived Vadencourt Wood that night

5 Sep Left Vadencourt Wood, arrived Hem

6 Sep Left Hem. Entrained at Doullens, arrived Hopoutre Station, near Poperinge. Road to Berthen

“A few gunners went up to gun pits which we were going to take over [ near L’Menengate] but receiving sudden orders to move these positions were left and on the ninth [July] we went to St Marie Cappel where we remained until the 11th then that day entrained at Arques, detrained at Oeuveus and billeted at La Chaussee until the 20th and then went to Puchevillers remaining until 27th when we went by road to the “Brickfields” near Albert, camped there until the 30th and went into action in Sausage Valley the same day, wagon lines being established at Bécourt Wood. Remained in Sausage Valley until Aug 16, covering our infantry in the attack on Pozieres on Aug 4th. Very little enemy shelling near our position – one man killed by a 60 pounder premature(?). Relieved on 16th and went to Vadencourt, returning again to the same position in Sausage Valley again on 23rd and stayed there until Sept 4th. This time the Valley was rather heavily shelled and we had two or three men wounded.

Leaving Sausage Valley on Sept 4th we returned to Vadencourt – stayed there one night and next day went to Hem, near Doullens. The following day we entrained at Doullens and detrained at Hopoutre (Poperinghe) the same day, went to Berthen where we billeted until the 8th … “ [back to Flanders]

From Diary of Gunner Kenneth Sydney Day:

16/6/16 We entrained at 11.30, and passed through Aire, Lillers, St. Pol, Doullens, Domart and arrived at Amiens at 8.30 a.m. the following day. This town has one of the best cathedrals. We stayed there for one day and went on to a place called Argoe, a small village just outside the town.

19/7/16 At 9 o'clock I was called out to be transferred to the 11th Battery, so packed up and walked to Picquigny, five miles away. …

28/7/16 Moved on to-day to a place called Contalmaison and the Infantry went into Pozieres. Our guns are in a place called Sausage Gully (where the name came from I do not know). There are hundreds of guns in this place; there is also a big chalk pit or crater. There are Canadian and English batteries as well as our own, so we have a great variety of swear words.

12/8/16 Met some Tommies to-day and they were saying that they did not like the way we advanced so much, they like trench warfare the best. I do not think much of them; they are a dirty lot - taking them on average; the Scottish are far the best, they take far keener interest in their work.

16/8/16 At 2.30 we came out of action after a stay of 19 days, we are getting very sick of living in the mud and the noise of the guns; went to the other side of Albert for the night, and then to a rest camp just outside Contay, called Vadencourt Woods. Stopped there for six days and then went back into action again to the Somme and mud.

We took over the same gun pits as before and stayed there for 12 days, came out and then marched to a place called Hem, stayed there for the night, and then to Dollens, where we entrained , left there at 9 a.m. and passed through St. Polaire, Hazebruck and disentrained at Poperinghe, drove to our wagon lines at Renninghelst, 5 miles from Ypres; our guns went into action the same night; it is seven miles between our wagon lines and Gun Pits, an average two trips per night, and drill all day, so there is not much rest for the wicked.
Ypres has been a very fine city, but there is not much left of it now, they have very wide streets and also a beautiful Cathedral. It is at this Cathedral that the Kaiser said he would be crowned King of Belgium, but I am afraid it will not be there when the war is over. (On the Somme where we were last in action the villages of Fricourt, La Boissille (sic), Contalmaison and Pazieres (sic) are all blown level with the ground or thereabouts, I know I would not like to pay for the rebuilding of them).

Photo of Vadencourt 30 July 1916. Lord Northcliffe and Australian war correspondent CEW Bean inspect the cooking facilitites at 2nd brigade camp (AWM E00794)

Cemetery and woods at Bécourt (May 2005):


Looking from Bécourt Wood across Sausage Valley towards La Boisselle and Lochnagar Crater:

Looking across Sausage Valley to La Boisselle from road between Bécourt and La Boisselle:
Approaching La Boisselle:

Chapter 17: Pozieres

Pozieres evokes two turning points in the Battle of the Somme: the Australian troops’ first major engagement and the first use of tanks in a battlefield.

The failure to capture Thiepval by the west in the offensive of 1 July 1916 led the British to move around the second German line, by the south, through Pozieres. This mission fell essentially to the Australians. From 23 July they captured the second line of the German positions and a large blockhouse known as ‘Gibraltar’ on the Albert-Bapaume road. On 4 August the Australians reached the hill-top and took the remains of the blockhouse known as ‘The Windmill’. There was a windmill on the site from as early as 1610, but during WW1 a blockhouse was built there. Australia lost more men here than on any other battlefield in the war.

The battlefields from Gibraltar Blockhouse, May 2003.

Photo of the main street (Bapaume Rd), Pozieres 25 Aug 1914 (AWM G01534I)

Photo of the main street of Pozieres after the battle (AWM A05776)
Photo of Pozieres April 1917 (AWM E00532 )

Main street of Pozieres, near Le Tommy Cafe, looking in Bapaume direction. May 2003.

From Major and Mrs Holt’s Battlefield Guide to the Somme, rev,ed 2003:

The valley was named ‘Sausage’ after a German spotter balloon which was flown in the area. The valley on the opposite side was dubbed ‘Mash’

Photo of busy scene through Sausage Valley 1916 (AWM EZ0113)

The following photos are of ‘Sausage Valley’, May 2003

Photo of field gun of an Australian battery , July 1916 (AWM EZ0141)

From Bill Gammage The Broken Years (1974) p 164:

" The Second Division relieved the First on 26 July, and gave way to the Fourth Division on 5 August. The incoming battalions were quietened by the ruin they saw: by the dead,'dozens and dozens…all distorted and frozen looks of horror on their faces', and by the storm of shells, which 'became too awful for words, burying men alive and blowing up trenches, and making the whole place a shambles like a huge ploughed field'. "

From Martin Marix Evans The Battles of the Somme, 1996 p.42:

"The beautiful summer weather continued, sunny and warm. The flies prospered. They were everywhere, tormenting troops on the move, settling on troops in the trenches. The maggots waxed fat on the profusion of flesh scattered over the fields of Picardy. The rats thrived. The battle went on remorselessly.

Photo of King George V (with telescope) watching the battle, 10 Aug 1916 (AWM H15924). The Prince of Wales is behind, talking to two officers.

Photo of Australian second division memorial (AWM E04578). Erected to the members of the Division who fell in the operations of July and August 1916. The site of the Pozieres Windmill (behind) is marked by a small tripod shaped flag pole.

CEW Bean’s private accounts of the Pozieres period.

From: Making the legend The war writings of C.E.W. Bean. (Selected by Denis Winter, University of Queensland Press, 1992)

Pozieres has been a terrible sight, suffused with pink and chestnut. One knew that the brigades which went in last night were there today in that insatiable factory of ghastly wounds. The men are simply turned in there as into some ghastly great mincing machine. They have to stay there while shell after shell descends with a shriek close beside them, each one an acute mental torture, each shrieking, tearing crash bringing a promise to each man instantaneous – I will tear you into ghastly wounds, I will rend your flesh and pulp and arm or a leg; fling you half a gaping, quivering man like these that you see smashed round you to lie there rotting and blackening like all the things you saw by the awful roadside. Ten or twenty times a minute, every man in the trench has that instant fear thrust upon his shoulders -–I don’t care how brave he is – with a crash that is physical pain and strain to withstand. (pp100-101)
- Bean, Diary, 4 August 1916

Walking across parts of the ground near Pozieres Windmill is like trying to walk across honeycomb. There is barely room between the huge shell-holes for a man to tread. There are three bits of building left in the village – three solitary fragments of wall. The rest is eaten into the ground as if someone has poured acid all over the surface of it.

- Letter, Bean to his parents, 2 October 1916

The dead lay sometimes in batches of ten or twelve together, especially of the 28th. There was not a soul in sight; only the powdered grey earth. No sign of any trenches of ours. All as still and dead and deserted as an ash heap . . . I turned back and followed a goat-track path. There were only blackened dead and occasionally bits of men and torn bits of limbs unrecogrnsably along it. I wandered on for five minutes without seeing a sign of anybody till I came to a gradually improving trench, quite deserted, peopled only by dead men, half buried, some sitting upright with bandaged heads apparently little hurt except for the bandaged wound; others lying half covered in little holes they had scatched in the trench side . . . I didn’t want to go through Pozieres again. I have seen it once now.
- Bean, Diary, 31 July 1916

Photo of German communications trench, Pozieres, April 1916 (AWM J00218)

Pozieres windmill site (May 2003)
Pozieres windmill site

Tank Memorial, Pozieres

On 15 September 1916, three tanks of the canadian Division set out from Pozieres with a sugar refinery as their objective. Only one tank reached it, the others becoming bogged down.

Photo by Frank Hurley of derelict hulk of a British tank (AWM P03631.210) "The derelict hulk of a British tank on the Pozieres battlefield. This Mark I Male tank, C1, (Champagne), belonged to C Company, Heavy Machine Gun Corps, later to become the Tank Corps. It was one of seven tanks assigned to the Canadian 2nd and 3rd Divisions for their attack on Courcelette, and German positions to the south and east of the village on 15 September 1916. The 2nd Division attacked from prepared positions across the Albert to Bapaume road toward Bapaume and to the north of the road with the village of Courcelette as their first objective. Of the seven tanks assigned to the attack on Courcelette, one broke down before the attack, three became bogged in German trenches, two reached Courcelette, although only one was still in action beyond Courcelette. C1 was commanded by Lieutenant (Lt) A. G. C. Wheeler, Machine Gun Corps (MGC), and the crew from the MGC included, 2527 Sergeant F. J. Saker, 2801 Gunner (Gnr) E. H. Bax, 2720 Gnr W. N. Smith, 2736 Gnr F. C. Stone, 2602 Gnr G. G. Lloyd, 2752 Gnr H. Rothera and the driver M2/105514 Private (Pte) H. Brotherwood, Army Service Corps. Lt Wheeler and his crew reached their start position at 0400 on the extreme left of the divisional area after moving through the ruins of Pozieres. C1's steering had been damaged by German shellfire during the night and although this had been repaired the driver Pte Brotherwood must have had a very difficult time keeping the tank on track, avoiding old trenches, the many shell craters and the growing number of Canadian casualities falling in the tanks path. The terain was so difficult that the tank could not keep up with the infantry and the speed was reduced to around 10 yards per minute until at about 0700 when the tank bellied out and although the tracks were still turning the tank had stopped. Lt Wheeler later placed the tank at map reference R35a 3.9. The crew tried to dig the tank out, but after labouring "

Chapter 20: The Somme 27 Oct to 31 Dec 1916

From 11th Battery, 4th F.A.B Brief History 24 October 1916 Left Cassel, arrived Polincove 27 October Left by road for Audruicq, entrained 28 October Arrived Lounque (?) Siding (Amiens), road to La Napelle, arrived 6am, left for Albert 10am, arrived Albert 29 October Left Albert 30 October Arrived Longueval where Wagon Lines set up. 30 October-24 November Longueval. Guns in action north of Flers. 25 November Left Longueval by road, arrived Vielle-sur-Corbie 26 November Left Vielle-sur-Corbie, arrived Bonnay 27 November Left Bonnay, arrived Naours. 27 Nov – 21 Dec Billeted Naours Photo of soldiers in Naours, 12 July 1916, on their way to the Somme (AWM EZ0163) 21 December Left Naours, arrived Buire-sur-Corbie [also Ancre] 22 December Left Buire-sur-Corbie, arrived Montauban. Wagon Lines established there. Gunners to Ginchy Leaving here on Oct 23rd we went to Cassel and stopped on the outskirts of the town for one night; next day going on to Polincove where we remained until the 27th when we entrained at Audruicq and arrived at Amiens the same day and moved to Berne sur Ancre where we camped for the night. The next day we took up wagon lines at Longueval and gun positions north of Flers. This position was practically under direct observation and consequently was heavily shelled. We had several casualties here, three men killed and others wounded. The transport conditions were very severe, the roads being muddy and full of deep shell holes, everything had to be packed and this combined with the weather and shelling made things very uncomfortable for the drivers. While in this position Major Derhani (???) was called to England to the 3rd Div. Major (then Capt) Milford took command of the battery. Leaving Flers on Nov 25th we stayed one night at Ville-sur-Corbie, one night at Bonnay and then arrived at Noaurs where we remained until Dec 12th [perhaps 21st – as per document Positions Occupied by the 4th A.F.A. Brigade in France and 11th Battery Brief History, first part] Left Noaurs Dec 12th [21st] and stopping at Buire-sur-Ancre, one night, arrived at Montauban where our wagon lines remained while the gunners went to Ginchy. The right section being attached to the 12th battery and the left to the 10th to form six gun batteries. Very little shooting other than harassing fire was done while in this area. Letter to sister Maud Lade December 1st 1916 Somewhere in France Dec 1st 1916 Dear Maud I am writing this in comfort thanks to a young French lady who very kindly invited me into write by the fire. Our billet [Sally: Naours] is very good to sleep in but there is not much convenience for writing. We have been out of action since last Saturday and although we had a rotten time for three days travelling about I am not sorry to be away, but am afraid it won't be very long before we are back again. We went into action on the 29th Oct and spent over three weeks in the mud and rain to say nothing about the frost and snow. We only had one day's snow, and I must say it was better than the rain and rather nice once ones feet got a bit warm, although it is hard to see much beauty in anything at four in the morning when your feet are several degrees below zero. Then one or two mornings when the wind was favourable Fritz decided to make things a bit more unpleasant by sending over a large number of gas shells in addition to his usual supply of 5'9" + 4:2'. However the bad weather didn't affect me very much, as I didn't even get a cold. Some of the chaps suffered a good deal though with swollen feet and bad colds. After coming out of action we travelled by road for three days and are now billeted in a village well behind the line. I am beginning to think lately that we are descending into something like the savages - go into the line and fight for a time, then out again and off some-where else to fight again. Yesterday I spent a most enjoyable day in a large town close by (eleven miles). ? they ? ? got the enjoyment was three good meals and a bath. Also I went through a fine old church which is quite as good if not better than the one I saw in Malta. I have been getting my mail very regularly lately and the day before coming out of action had one from you, mother, Laura, Bill + Cila. ? ? were all written about the 26th of Sept. This is the first time I have done any writing for some time so you mustn't blame the postal people if you don't get any letters for a week or two. During the time we were in action it was quite impossible to do much writing. Must close now Love to all Percy. Photo of wagon transport at Montauban on the road to Longueval. 21 December 1916. [AWM E00627] Photo of cleaning off winter mud at Montauban Dec 1916 [AWM E00016] Photo of Australian Comforts Fund canteen, Longueval, December 1916. [AWM E00034] Photo of sandbagged Australian cook house. Longueval, December 1916. [AWM E00032] Photo of driver giving his horse a drink at Australian Comforts Fund canteen, Longueval, Dec 1916. [AWM E00076] Photo of mule transport in winter mud, Montauban, Dec 1916 [AWM E00036] From: Gunner Day's diary: 10/11/16 Went back into action again; on our way we passed through Contalmaison, Freicourt, Mametz, Montauban, Bazentin and finished up at a place called Flers. It is a very hot corner and we had to leave our guns several times as the Germans got to know where our battery was located. We also had a good few killed and wounded - horses included. 24/11/16 moved out at 7 a.m. and drove back to the Brickfields again, six miles away, as we only had half our horses left and they were in poor condition. 25/11/16 Moved on the next day…..(Day went to hospital with a cold then had to find and rejoin his Battery) 28/11/16 I met one of our boys and he told me our Batteries were at Naours…. 22/12/16 After a stay of a few weeks we went back into action, to a place called Ginchy, or just alongside. We are on the main road between Flers and Ginchy. There are a good few 9.2 and 8 inch Howitzers, and a bit further on there are a few 15 inch Naval Guns, so there is plenty of row (noise) going on. 25/12/16 Christmas day, raining up till 9 a.m., and then by way of a change we had Sun for the first time in two weeks (we usually have grey days). We worked all day on Bully stew and strong tea, and got a Xmas box of an extra dose of rum. [insert awm pic support line in front of flers dec 1916] From John Laffin Guide to Australian Battlefields of the Western Front 1916-18. Kangaroo Press and Australian War memorial, 1992, p 83-84 The Australian divisions, except the 3rd, were ordered back to the Somme from the Ypres sector in October 1916 and took over the Flers front. There were dreadful conditions. There was cold, rain and mud. Flers was not shelled as often as neighbouring Gueudecourt and some other places but several units reported it too dangerous for occupation. Nevertheless the AIF used Flers as a HQ and sometimes reserve troops were sheltered in the ruins. On October 30 a brigade commander in the front trenches reported that his men remained cheerful but were worn out with exposure and that their rifles were covered with mud, despite all efforts to keep them clean. German and British troops, he said, were equally exhausted, hungry and cold and were walking about on the parapets looking at each other. Conditions steadily deteriorated and men waiting to make an attack were lying in mud and rain. On the night of 4th November three waves of Australian attackers were using a trench at the same time. The first wave of men arched their bodies over the trench to make room for their mates beneath them and lay there strained and uncomfortable in the rain. On the morning of 5 November, short-shooting heavy British or Australian batteries killed ten men of the 3rd battalion and wounded seventeen others. They had been ordered to fire during a gale and the wind affected the flight of the shells. In the confused and sometimes desperate fighting the 7th Brigade, which was the most heavily involved formation lost 819 officers and men. Four attempts to advance in this sector had failed but Fourth Army HQ ordered another assault. The earliest it could be made was 14 November and as winter wore on life became harder. Heavily, burdened, the soldiers reached the trenches exhausted. The mud was so sticky that men had to be dragged out by mules or horses. A rescue party broke the back of an officer whom they were trying to haul from the mud. It was not unusual for wounded men to be left lying in the mud for twelve hours because not enough bearers were available to carry them out. The trenches were nothing more than muddy drains where the men stood and shivered and waited for their two days in the firing line to pass. After that they spent two days in the support line where life was a little safer but no less uncomfortable. The attack of 14-15 November was only partly successful and led to the usual German counter-attack. Apart from the casualties, men were being steadily evacuated with illness, trench feet and sheer exhaustion. One soldier of the 24th battalion shot himself dead rather than face another spell in front trench. Some men suffering from trench feet crawled back to the dressing station to allow the stretcher-bearers to carry men with greater need than themselves. The First battle of the Somme ended on 18 November. Photo of support line in front of Flers, December 1916. [AWM E00576]