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Commemorating the 90th Anniversary Battle of Pozieres 23 July 1916


Battle of Pozieres, France
23rd July – 5th August 1916

The battle of Pozieres was one of a large number of separate battles that together made up the battle of The Somme which took place in the summer of 1916.
During the period of late-1915 to mid-1916 the Germans had turned the high ground around Pozieres into an extremely strong defensive area. From their elevated vantage points they could see any possible advancement by the British and French armies.
The first attack by the Australians was launched at 12.30 am on Sunday 23 July. The attack was mounted in three stages by the Australian 1st (New South Wales) and 3rd Infantry Brigades. The first stage, to capture the German ‘Pozieres’ Trench, was up the slope south of the village. Once the German trench was captured, the attackers moved on to 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 Australian 1st Division achieved all its objectives by about 5.30 am on July 24 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.
The 1st Division defended their captured positions from repeated German counter-attacks for the next four days and was subject to the heaviest and most concentrated artillery shelling of the war. The 1st Division held on and was relieved by the 2nd Division on July 27.
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 Lines’. The first attempt on July 29 was an expensive failure. Failure to construct ‘jumping off’ trenches close to the enemy lines left the assaulting Australian infantry exposed to enemy artillery and machine gun fire for long periods. The second attempt, on August 4, was much better planned and executed. The capture of ‘The Windmill’ on August 5 enabled the Australians to overlook the German defensive positions. The 2nd Division’s casualties were very great and it had to be relieved by the 4th Division on August 6. This relief occurred during a period of prolonged German counter-attacks, but 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.
Australia’s official war historian, Charles Bean, referred to ‘The Windmill’ at Pozieres as “ … a ridge more densely sown with Australian sacrifice than any other place on earth.”
The Battle of Pozieres cost the AIF the following casualties:
1st Australian Division - 5,285 officers and men
2nd Australian Division - 6,846 officers and men
4th Australian Division - 4,649 officers and men
………………………………………………………

More than 2500 Hunter Valley men fought at Pozieres.
75 were killed in action or died from wounds received in the battle.
These men were:
Pte William Thomas Alder, Newcastle, 18th Inf Bn, 4/08/1916
Pte Lott Andrews, Dunolly, 3rd Inf Bn, 22-25/07/16
Pte Arthur Banks, Newcastle, 2nd Inf Bn, 25/07/1916
Sgt William Bell, The Junction, 11th Inf Bn, 25/07/1916
Pte Leslie Edward Benning, East Maitland, 1st Inf Bn, 24/07/1916
Pte William Younger Black, Minmi, 4th Inf Bn, 26/07/1916
Pte Alfred Brown, Cooks Hill, 4th Inf Bn, 22-25/07/16
Pte Alfred Lancelot Brown, Hamilton, 20th Inf Bn, 27/07/1916
Pte John William Buchanan, Plattsburg, 3rd Inf Bn, 22-25/07/16
Pte John Albert Burns, North Adamstown, 25th Inf Bn, 29/07/1916
Spr Thomas Bradbury Burton, Tomago, 5th Fld Coy Engrs, 26/07/1916
Cpl Vincent Campbell, Nelson Plains, 19th Inf Bn, 27/07/1916
Pte Frederick John Carpenter, Muswellbrook, 3rd Inf Bn, 22-25/07/16
Pte John Cavanagh, Weston, 3rd Inf Bn, 22-25/07/16
Lieut Henry Stanley Chapman, Murrurundi, 3rd Inf Bn, 25/07/1916
Pte Arthur Collett, Waratah, 1st Inf Bn, 22-25/07/16
Pte Archibald Cox, Denman, 4th Inf Bn, 24/07/1916
Pte William Ingham Dixon, Tighes Hill, 4th Inf Bn, 24/07/1916
Pte James Doran, Wickham, 45th Inf Bn, 6/08/1916
Pte David Douglas, Wickham, 4th Inf Bn, 24/07/1916
L/Cpl Albert Bruce Doyle, Paterson, 20th Inf Bn, 26/07/1916
Pte Roy Victor Dransfield, West Maitland, 2nd Inf Bn, 25/07/1916
2nd Lieut Charles McKenny Draper, Waratah, 45th Inf Bn, 6/08/1916
Pte Albert Edward Dudley, Newcastle, 1st Inf Bn, 22-25/07/16
Pte Archibald Eastham, Mayfield, 3rd Inf Bn, 27/07/1916
Pte Harold Rodger Farr, Merriwa, 1st Inf Bn, 22-25/07/16
Cpl James Roy Felan, Parkville, 17th Inf Bn, 27/07/1916
Pte Isaac James Foster, Stockton, 4th Inf Bn, 24/07/1916
Pte Clarence Edward Frank, Cooks Hill, 3rd Inf Bn, 23/07/1916
Sgt Alexander Gale, Newcastle, 19th Inf Bn, 27/07/1916
Pte Stephen Greenfield, Killingworth, 1st Inf Bn, 22-25/07/16
Pte Keith Eric Griffin, Hinton, 1st Inf Bn, 29/07/1916
Pte Sydney Haggarty, Dungog, 19th Inf Bn, 6/08/1916
Pte George Hardy, Wickham, 19th Inf Bn, 3/08/1916
Pte Edward Vere Hare, West Maitland, 1st Inf Bn, 3/08/1916
Pte Joseph Clyde Harrison, Waratah, 17th Inf Bn, 2/08/1916
Pte Augustine Bartholomew Hayes, Lambs Creek, 3rd MG Coy, 27/07/1916
Pte John Rowland Hill, Jesmond, 17th Inf Bn, 26/07/1916
Pte John Howard, Singleton, 25th Inf Bn, 5/08/1916
Pte Ivor Thomas Howell, Kurri Kurri, 18th Inf Bn, 2/08/1916
Pte Alexander Hugh Hastings, Newcastle, 2nd Inf Bn, 25/07/1916
Sgt Thomas Hunter, Kurri Kurri, 10th Inf Bn, 31/07/1916
Pte Oliver Jennings, Horseshoe Bend, 4th Inf Bn, 24/07/1916
Pte John Jones, Scotts Flat, 20th Inf Bn, 5/08/1916
Sgt Robert Haldane Kilpatrick, Hamilton, 18th Inf Bn, 31/07/1916
Pte Maurice Gustav Larsen, Stroud Road, 1st Inf Bn, 22-25/07/16
Pte Patrick Ledden, Hamilton, 25th Inf Bn, 29/07/1916
L/Cpl Keith Taylor Luscombe, Muswellbrook, 20th Inf Bn, 27/07/1916
Sgt Charles Lambert Madden, Bolwarra, 4th Inf Bn, 24/07/1916
Pte John Makinson, Dungog, 9th Inf Bn, 23/07/1916
Pte Leslie Albert Mannall, West Maitland, 20th Inf Bn, 25/07/1916
Pte Thomas Marrion, Teralba, 17th Inf Bn, 26/07/1916
2nd Lieut Richard McGuinness Fitzgerald, Newcastle, 18th Inf Bn, 4/08/1916
Pte Edward McKenzie Cole, East Maitland, 19th Inf Bn, 30/07/1916
L/Cpl William McMillan, Abermain, 1st Inf Bn, 22-25/07/16
Pte Harry Milford, Mayfield, 3rd Inf Bn, 27/07/1916
Pte Samuel Outram, Teralba, 17th Inf Bn, 5/08/1916
Cpl Ernest Parker, Newcastle, 1st LTM Bty, 25/07/1916
Pte Norman Peacock, Morpeth, 17th Inf Bn, 28/07/1916
L/Cpl Samuel Robinson, Millers Forest, 3rd Inf Bn, 27/07/1916
Pte Reuben Henry Rundle, Edden Ville, 19th Inf Bn, 26/07/1916
Pte Percy Laurence Ryan, Branxton, 18th Inf Bn, 26/07/1916
Pte David James Sault, Dudley, 17th Inf Bn, 4/08/1916
Pte Albert Schofield, Newcastle, 2nd Inf Bn, 23/07/1916
Pte George Alexander Smith, West Maitland, 17th Inf Bn, 26/07/1916
Spr Harold Sunderland, Newcastle, 7th Fld Coy Engrs, 30/07/1916
Pte Albert Taylor, Broadmeadow, 4th Inf Bn, 24/07/1916
Pte Stephen Veitch Telfer, Branxton, 18th Inf Bn, 28/07/1916
Pte Harrie Martyn Trennery, Maitland, 19th Inf Bn, 26/07/1916
Pte Leo Darcy Walsh, Gloucester, 17th Inf Bn, 3/08/1916
Spr George Wheatly Forster, Newcastle, 5th Fld Coy Engrs, 25/07/1916
Pte Herbert John Wilson, Waratah, 17th Inf Bn, 26/07/1916
Pte Joseph Henry Winterbottom, Minmi, 2nd Inf Bn, 24/07/1916
Pte Arthur Lorn Wyborn, Lorn, 3rd Inf Bn, 22-25/07/16
Pte Harold William York, Waratah, 2nd Inf Bn, 23/07/1916
"Their Glory Shall Never Be Blotted Out"
7/22/2006, 3:07 pm Link to this post Send PM to diggerdave
 


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