Battle of Amiens

A grateful France gave thanks to the 6000 Australian troops who were casualties at Amiens, battling to save the encroaching Germans.  “We bow to you, Messieurs les Australians, for the magnificent deeds you did on those days, now happily at an end, for your country and for France, and for the victory of hope and sanity” proclaimed the Bishop of Amiens, “the soil of France is transformed to a new divinity by your sacrifices and bravery.”

Such is the acclaim and respect in which the Australians are held by the community of Amiens after their reprieve from the continual bombings and the reclaiming of their village.

On 8 August 1918, an attack began on the Somme that would be staggeringly successful. The Battle of Amiens, an all-arms attack led by Australian and Canadian troops, captured kilometres of ground and vast numbers of German men and materiel. From 8 August 1918, the German Army was on the back foot, the result of what Erich Ludendorff called "the black day of the German Army". Often regarded as the natural conclusion to Monash's success at Hamel a month earlier, Amiens was warfare on a staggering scale.

The battle began at 4.20 am with 2070 guns opening up a “titanic pandemonium” of artillery fire in the heavy mist.  The facing Germans were blinded by the heavy fog and unable to fire accurately and were crushed by the weight of the barrage of tanks and infantry.  The joint forces of Australian, Canadian, French and British troops made significant gains – advancing the front by up to 8 miles in some areas.

On the first day of the battle, the allies captured 13 miles of the front, seized 400 guns, and caused 27,000 casualties to the Germans, 12,000 of these were prisoners of war.

Tank losses on first day were severe: only 155 of the 430 that had gone into action on 8 August were serviceable the following day.  And the push slowed significantly in the following days – however for the Germans, it was the “greatest defeat the German army suffered since the beginning of the war”.

By 12^th August, as the German resistance hardened – the advance of the British Fourth Army slowed.  Only half a dozen of the British tanks were still in action.  Nevertheless, the manner of the Allied victory at Amiens mattered more than its scale.  The BEFs combat skills and confidence were growing daily at a time when the German Army as a whole was clearly in sharp decline.  Their artillery and machine-gunners continued to fight, but a morose and fatalistic mood had descended upon many units.

Bereft on long-term solutions following Amiens, the Kaiser agreed at a conference at Spa on 14 August, to open peace negotiations through the Queen of the Netherlands.  Even so, as long as its forces continued to occupy large areas of Belgium and northern France, Germany might still hope to bargain from a position of strategic strength.

By 1^st September, the 2^nd Australian Division, stormed and held the formidable German bastion of Mont St Quentin, facilitating the capture of Peronne, which was cleared of German troops by midday on 2^nd September.  Meanwhile, the Canadians broke through the Drocourt-Queant Position, and as these vital points between the Somme and the Sensee fell in turn, the only option for the Germans was to retreat from the Hindenburg Line.

Ballarat Star 1st January 1921

Private John Leslie Daniel (6786A)

 21^st Battalion, who fought at the

Battle of Amiens, from Daylesford, Victoria

(Photo courtesy : AWM archive)

NO

The second conscription referendum was held on December 20, 1917.

The results were published in the Courier and the Star on December 21st.  Ballarat voted No, although there were many Yes votes at the different polling stations across town.  Victoria changed from a Yes vote in the previous referendum to No.

The Ballarat Star, Friday December 21, 1917, page 1

Interesting to note, working class Ballarat East clearly voted no, while Soldiers Hill, Ballarat and Ballarat West all voted yes.  Warrenheip, a largely Irish population, asserted themselves by strongly voting no.

The papers reported it was a very hot day, and all the hotels were closed. For many, the vote must have been a relief from the debate, which was strenuous.  Prof. Weston Bate in Life After Gold notes "The YES and NO votes spared no invective in distorting each other's positions, although at Ballarat the campaign was comparatively clean."

1917 in retrospect

It was Australia's worst year of the war.  At the end of 1917 victory seemed along way off. It was a year that saw 76,000 Australians, killed, wounded and go missing on the Western Front. To put this into perspective this was twice the number of casualties that were recorded on the Western Front the previous year, 1916, and three times the casualties which occurred during Gallipoli. The 40,000 deaths which occurred in 1917 amounted to two thirds of all Australian deaths for the entire war.  Not only was the scale of the casualties horrific but the allies strategic position in the war seemed worse then ever. For the families back home the sadness was compunded by the fact that many of their loved ones that were missing would never be found either as there bodies were cut to pieces by machine gun fire or they had drowned in the atrocious conditions that made up the battlefield in Belgium.

1917 was also the year which highlighted to the Australians the British command's ineffectiveness in conducting the strategic planning of the Allies war effort. This was strikenly eveident at Bullecourt and Passchendaele. The later becoming the word which described the sorrow and suffering of allied soldiers.  Charles Bean witnessed first hand many Australian soldiers being torn to pieces in 1917  and he wrote of one instance following the Battle of Bullecourt, "Bullecourt more than any other battle shook the confidence of Australian soldiers in the capacity of the British command"

In looking at the year the Middle East must not be overlooked especially the charge at Beersheba, in which The 4th Australian Light Horse  conducted a charge upon the city.  The opposition they faced was fierce but ended with the capture of the city. They suffered 67 casualties and earned a place in Australian military folklore.

From amongst all the terrible losses the AIF suffered in 1917  they still believed in their worth as soldiers. Again as Charles Bean wrote " where ever they fought they were sustained by the belief in their worth"   As dire as the situation seemed on the Western Front at the end of 1917 by November  the followimg year the war would be over. 

In conclusion Dr. Brendan Nelson, Director of the Australian War Memorial, puts it best we he writes " much that was precious was given in 1917. But from it and what would follow we would emerge with a greater belief in ourselves and a deeper understanding of what it means to be Australian,"

When people think of the Western Front during the war the following images represent their thinking. Theu were taken in late 1917 and are Australian soldiers at Chateat Wood which clearly show the awful conditions they were asked to fight in.

Remembrance Day, 2017

Ballarat's Historic Avenues of Honour - Celebrated and Forgotten

A conversation between Professor Keir Reeves, Federation University; Phil Roberts, who is preparing a book on the Arch of Victory and the Avenue in Ballarat West; and Michael Taffe, who is researching other less well known Avenues throughout Ballarat. 

Join us for a interesting conversation reflecting on Remembrance Day and the meaning of memory.

Light refreshments served.

Ballarat Library, Saturday November 11, 11.30 am to 12.30 pm.

Ross McMullin at Ballarat Library

This week we are fortunate to have Ross McMullin at the Ballarat Library on Thursday evening at 6pm, to talk about his latest book Pompey Elliott at War : in his own words.

This enthralling new book about Australia’s most famous fighting general, whose brilliant and vigorous leadership was crucial in iconic Australian triumphs such as Villers-Bretonneux and Polygon Wood.  He was a Ballarat resident when young, attending Ballarat College, and he remained very fond of the city.

Pompey’s letters and diaries were extraordinarily frank and forthright, and he expressed
himself vividly, writing rapidly and fluently with an
engaging turn of phrase.
  

Ross McMullin is an award-winning biographer and an entertaining speaker.  Do join us at Ballarat Library at 6pm on Thursday November 9^th as Ross brings Pompey to life.   This promises to be a riveting event, book your place early!

Battle of Broodseinde Ridge

The 100th anniversary of the Battle of Broodseinde Ridge will be commemorated on the 4th October. This battle, which occurred eight days after Polygon Wood, was the third operation overseen by British general Herbert Plumer.  These battles formed part of the Third Battle of Ypres campaign. As with the previous two battles this operation bore all the hallmarks of a Plumer planned operation. The attacking advance was no more than 1500 metres, the advance would be preceded by a massive artillery bombardment and a creeping barrage would lead the troops on to their objectives and then protect them while they consolidated their positions.

The battle was a large scale operation involving 12 divisions, including both 1 and II ANZAC.  The allies attacked as planned on the morning of the 4th October.  The Australians involved came under heavy artillery fire  on their start line with a seventh of them becoming casualties before the attack had begun.  When the operation finally commenced the advancing allies were met by German troops advancing towards them.  The Germans had decided to launch an attack of their own at the same time. The Australian troops were able to continue their advance through the German assault and achieve all of their objectives  along the ridge. Again while the operation was a success it came at a cost 6,500 casualties among the Australian divisions included in this were men from Ballarat and district. After Fromelle this battle was the second worst day for Ballarat and district casualties. 33 Ballarat and district men were killed or died of their wounds.

Follwing is two articles from The Courier and the Star reporting on the battle.  Also included is an article from the Courier providing brief biographical information on two of the many Ballarat and district men who fought and were killed in the battle.

Ballarat Star 5 November 1917, p.1

Ballarat Courier 5 November 1917, p. 3

Ballarat Courier 3 November 1917, p. 7