AUSTRALIAN MORALE

Hokitika Guardian, 31 May 1929, Page 8

AUSTRALIAN MORALE

V.O. 'WINNISH’S AUDACITY

Pozieres, fclie scene of some ol' the -enest lighting; m me Great, War, was captured ny troops ol ihe First Australian jmvisiou on .the night of July 23, iIM). The original advance, after the German positions iiad been heavily shelled, was made successful in very lew Jionrs. Jlea.y losses however, were suifeied in retaining the gains. LL is not the intention ol this article once again to recount the details of this historic encounter (says a. writer in the Melbourne Argus), nut to extract from •\tr 15. \Y. Bean’s latest vo.ume of the Ofiicial History of Australia in the oar, certain incidents which throw interesting sidelights on the lighting. Soon after the objectives were taxon the Germans, yoriniratory to and during me first great counter-attack, laid down a heavy barrage over the area through which reinforcements had to travel to reach the front line. “The Australian soldier was at last,” writes Air Bean, “encountering the dreaded barrages of the Somme, and, as at all other stages of the war front the first moment of this new experience lie adopted his own independent standard of conduct. He judged, by what he saw, that all hut the heaviest barrages could he passed with a reasonable chance of survival provided that in did not hesitate, and it became' a matter of pride that if lie was carrying food or ammunition to his mates waiting for them in the firing line hi> burden must he delivered. Having resolved that this shell-fire must hi faced he went through it characteristically erect, with careless gait, as if the scream and hurst of the projectiles were unnoticed. “THE COMMANDANT OF POZIERES.”

While Captain A. S. Vowles, a native of Ivew, who, however, lought will, a West Australian battalion, wa> superinteiKling'the forma(jUn of the e.\.reme right of the advanced position lie almost stumbled into the dark doorway of a dug-out that had been previously bombed and then forgotten. Vowles ordered another bomb to In thrown in.. As all was then quiet two men began to descend the stairs, but hearing voices they came hack. Vowles shouted, “Parley-vous Francaisf” ’ A voice below cried,. “Ouil” an,d the head of a German appeared at Jie bottom of the stairs. When motioned to come up, 17 Germans, sonu wounded, mounted the stairs, saying there was a captain below, Vow lei sent for him. This officer, a dappci figure in a long grey coat, informed Vowles that his name was Ponsonhv Lyons, his grand father having l>een an Englishman. Seeing the stars, on Vowles’ shoulders he asked who h< was, and added. “J am the commandant of Pozieres.” “Tell him that he ‘was’ the commandant,” said Vowles to Lieutenant E. W. 1). Laing, who was interpreting, “hut that I shall he happy to relieve him.” The Gorman saw tlie joke. Fierce fighting continued in the neighbourhood of Pozieres from July 23 to the beginning of September. :

liis account of tho operations near Uourcelctto on August 7 Mr Real, mentions an interesting incident. "Beside the Australian lines an unusual situation had developed,” lie writes. “For some minutes the Australians on the northern flank of the attack had maintained a constant firo upon the- right Hank of the. German advance As the German penetrated beyond flu old German lines they became visilih o tho whole semi-circle of Australia' supports in the Centreway, Tom’s Cut and Tramway Trench, some of whom at first joined in the fusillade. Then followed within the. sight of many of the onlooking troops an incident of which there remain numerals descriptions. The easv attitudes of the Germans on the nill gave'the impres sion that they had overcame the local opposition and were about to «-'>< • down or reorganise. Suddenly party of no more than eight Austr linns, led by air officer, was seen to spring from a fold in the ground and charge them frun tlm rear. An immediate change came over tho battlefield: other Australians aivnirmtly re. sinned the attack, and tho ,do"e became the scene of an extraordinary a cere cation of separate hand-to-hand conflicts.

Ho.. AN ATTACK WAR TURNED. What haptmned was th is : —Lieutenant Jackn V.C. eommauding a platoon of the 14th Battalion had gone up at

mtwn to tile Li'eneh and found the iioinoardiuent sim fading heavily. He bad not tong returned to the underground chamber when Jiis men, some of wlioni were sleeping alter the .heavy strain, were aroused by a deafening explosion at the loot of the stairs. Ihe attacking Germans had reached the dug-out entrance and had rolled ) a bomb. Jaeka, fired at the German i bomber and rushed up, followed by his men, who had to seuanible over i wo of their groaning mates, maimed

oy the bomb. The enemy had swept past, and could he seen in large mini,icrs between tile dug out and Pozieres. ,India immediately decided to line up all the sound men, seven or eight in number, and dasir through the enemy back to Pozieres. His men had hardly been drawn up when he saw a column of the 48th. Battalion, escorted by Germans, returning towards linn. He ict them tome within .‘i.l yards and then jumped out of the hack of the trench and charged. About half tin merman guards threw down thcii . ifies, hilt uie rest opened fire, and every one of Jaeka’s small party were uit. Seeing Jaeka’.s movement Sergeant C. 'll. Beck,..of Essendon ‘with a small party instantly charged to vacua's assistance. The captured men j| me 48th. Battalion also broxe away, ome of t’licm seizing the rifles of their wane me remainder of me began to shoot them down. Ihe fight immediately became a memo,' into tne thick of wfiicli Jaeka anti -lie survivors ot liis small party plung'd. At this stage parties of Austru•ians from the unattaciied„ portions ot me surrounding area, almost automati- . ally began to make towards -ne struggle. Lieutenant Dunworth V A.,S. \\.) led Jus platoon of the 15th. battalion from mo north towards a . nit y ot t)ie, enemy, who- on seeing .acka’s attack had turned back anti .link' into shell holes, . From the west ;.iajor Fuhnnann, of Ale I bourne, sent -i platoon of the 14th. Battalion under -lieutenant F.‘ \Y. App'.eton, of Si. .vilda; Lieutenant 0, ii. Law (,South who with a remnant ot ills ../inpauy of the 46111, Battalion, had • ■ Id imnjy throughout, sent two platoons as ronuorcements, and the forward movement was continued, determined looking men silently advancing ivpin shell hole to shell hole. They reded on their bayonets a.one—since the -ierina ns ahead of them were so intermingled with the Australians as to •vender bring impossible. ‘.ln front ol Jicm,’ wrote Lieutenant E. J. Bide, ol -lie 14th. Battalian, ‘was one of the piecrust sights 1 have ever seen—.uns and Attssies were .scattered in mes and twos along the sale of the .ill. Each Aussie seamed as if lie .core having a war on his own.’ This was one of the few occasions when bayonets were really crossed. The Gor..ans included a number of bombers, ml some were lighting from shell io!es. Jaeka dived in among them, Ajhing and capturing a number, but veceiving a wound which nearly killed him. The gallant Beck was killed. The ippearance of Lieutenant Appleton’s platoon, together with some of Lieutenant Dobbies, seemed to have settled die issue, for the Germans suddenly surrendered. Jacka’s counter attack, which led directly to this result, stands as the most dramatic and effective act if individual audacity in the history of the A.1.F.”

NERVE SHATTERING SHELLFIRE

Pozieres, and Air Bean, set a standard by which enemy shellfire was ever afterwards measured in the A.I.E. subsequent experiences being referred -o as “better (or worse) than Poz- • cres.” TJie subjection of the troops a second time to the strain of drawnnit bombardments at Pozicrcs had un.L'tihtedly, in the ease of certain over-, drained units, been unwise. No other iivision after loss such as that of the 2nd. Australian Division in its first lour was sent back for a. second immediate tour. The overstrain had two outstanding results. In the first place t imbued some men with a horror of diotlfire greater than their self-re-peet. The bombardments had ripped rom their souls tho protective coverings of conventions, and although the great majority, after a short rest, set their teeth and quietly gave themselves u]) to a renewal of such terrors, a small proportion could never without compulsion face them again. The second result was a certain bitterness towards the high command. Air Bean adds that a few weeks’ rest in the hack areas worked wonders. The natural resiliency of the spirits of tlm troops soon restored them fo normal, a£ the lighting in 1917 showed.