Battle of Pozières

Battle of Pozières - Victory at Pozières, but at a cost

This is written as a newpaper article from the 9th of August, 1916.

The Australian army has claimed victory in the Battle of Pozières. The battle started on the 23^rdof July and ended on the 7^th of August 1916. The battle was a joint effort by Australia and Britain, but it was primarily an Australian battle. However, to attain this victory, our 3 divisions lost over 13000 men. The battle officially ended with the repulsion of a final German counter-attack.

The purpose of the battle was to remove a critical point of the German’s defence. The village of Pozières has one of the highest elevations of the surrounding area, and this height means an advantage in observation and would be a helpful asset.

- The "Gibraltar" bunker in Pozières

The first part of the attack on Pozières had 3 main stages involving the Australian 1st and 3rd Divisions. First, we were capturing a key trench called the German ‘Pozières’ Trench, which was up the slope on the south side of Pozières. Afterwards, the Australians moved into the southern outskirts of Pozières. The final stage involved capturing the south-east of the village, after which the German defence would be unable to be maintained.

The attack was successful, and the Australians took over the German village and cleared the Germans out. This proved dangerous, however, since the Australians lost their attacking formation, they were very exposed to shelling. The village became a focus of attention of the village and the Germans were ordered that it “must be recovered”. The Germans shelled perhaps the heaviest they did in the whole war, and shell-shock was no doubt abundant. The Australian 1st and 3^rd Divisions were relieved by the 2nd Division on the 27^thof July, and this was critical in moving on.

Sergeant E.J. Rule talking about the 1st and 3rd divisions when they were relieved on the 27^th of July. “They looked like men who had been in hell... drawn and haggard and so dazed that they appeared to be walking in a dream and their eyes looked glassy and starey.”

The second part of the battle is the Australian 2nd Division capturing the ‘Old German Lines’ (also known as the OG), which were the German defences north of the village. On the 29^th of July, an attempt to capture the lines failed miserably. The reason for such a failure was thought to be inadequate preparation. A second attempt was tried on the 4^th of August. This was much better planned and the execution was successful. There were still, however, enormous casualties and the 2nd Division were relieved by the 4th Australian Division on the 6^th of August. The Germans launched a final counter-attack on the 7^th, but they were repulsed, and the Australians held the German dugouts.

- View across the Pozières plateau reaching the Old German Lines.

The Battle of Pozières was a victory for the Australians. But an enormous number of soldiers were being killed. The shelling was the more severe in the whole war, which must have been a horrific experience especially for those who were hit with shell shock, but also, those who observed their mates being killed. The Pozières ridge is "more densely sown with Australian sacrifice than any other place on earth."

Bibliography:

"Battle of Pozières." Wikipedia. 2007. 10 Sep. 2007 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Pozi%C3%A8res>.

"Battle of Pozieres." Dept of Defence. 2007. 11 Sep. 2007 <http://www.defence.gov.au/ARMY/ahu/HISTORY/Battles/Pozieres.htm>.

"The Battle of Pozieres Ridge." First World War.com. 2007. 11 Sep. 2007 <http://www.firstworldwar.com/battles/pozieres.htm>.

Posted by Proabffmm on Friday, June 6, 2008.