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3. In the later stages of the war General Monash had devised a new
type of advance that involved a staggered movement forward in
stages that allowed your artillery to continue firing without hitting
your own troops. This allowed the AIF to get forward closer to the
final objective as seems to be the case in this description.
4. Carrying a digging utensil and a sand bag with you was important
because it allowed you to “dig in” if necessary.
5. Obviously, soldiers returning home either during or after the war,
often returned home requiring continuing medical assistance.
18. The
distance between opposing trenches
varied according to the
terrain but always favoured the defenders. Thus while the two hundred
metre distance between the trenches made the Australian troops at
Fromelles undertake a ridiculous and murderous attack by inexperienced
troops, the attack at Pozieres, while a successful fifty metre gain, was
unacceptable in terms of Australian casualties.
At Pozieres a lengthy artillery barrage had forewarned Germans of the
timing and positioning of the attack. In addition, the AIF found a deep and
elaborate trench system that meant that they were able to capture the
initial trenches with comparative ease but they had greater difficulty
capturing the later trenches. Unlike the wide “no man’s land” at
Fromelles that made success impossible, the gain at Pozieres was possible
over 50 metres but still was gained by unacceptable losses in manpower.
19.
Killed and Lost
The trench system and the weaponry used ensured
that families at home were never completely sure where their sons were
buried during the war, if they were buried at all. In particular, the failure
of both sides to sanction any burial system for soldiers killed in no man’s
land meant they many soldiers were killed and “lost.”
One process introduced occurred as soldiers moved forward to the line or
the most forward of the AIF’s trenches. A soldier gave an officer in the
communication trench his personal possessions, including in some cases
wills, so that if he didn’t return his most valuable items could be returned
to his family in Australia.
The
Red Cross
and the
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
were
set up to address that issue, but the military graves still consist of plaques
to signify the ‘death but not found’ situation of the many AIF soldiers. It
is not just the Commonwealth forces that suffered this way; imagine how
German families felt when their sons were ‘atomised’ at Messines.
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