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as expressed in the earlier Newcastle Herald story, the German forces
were encouraged to maintain a defensive position rather than counter
attack. This meant that throughout the war, except for near the end, the
German forces were able to maintain the trench system in a fairly static
position especially as their trenches were very elaborate in most cases and
therefore able to withstand heavy artillery fire.
In 1918 with reinforcements arriving from Australia the battalion helped
halt the major German offensive of 1918 at Villers Bretonneux, and were
able to counter attack at Hangard Wood. The Australian’s actions at
Villers Bretonneux was claimed to be crucial in the Commonwealth
countries success of 1918. It prevented the German attackers from a
“break out”, that would have threatened Amiens, Paris and the English
Channel approach to Britain.
Many of the young officers proved crucial in maintaining a sense of
composure during the Battle of Villers Bretonneux. For example, Captain
Gilbert Coghill, wanting the German troops to come as close as possible
before his troops fired, stood on the parapet as a target only dropping his
flag when he thought that the enemy would be within a distance to sustain
maximum casualties. He suffered an arm injury as a result but continued
moving around his defensive positions until another gunshot would send
him to a dressing station. Carlyon Page 519.
All of the above volunteer and army battle information can be found in
the Australian War Memorial’s Unit History and the Service History
covered by the National Archives.
I have called “our” forces “Commonwealth” forces as they represented all
members of the British Commonwealth including countries still ruled by
Britain like India.
Fighting very desperate German troops proved very costly with a casualty
rate of approximately seventy percent. While some troops took part in the
final allied offensives, the Battalion had a relatively quiet period leading
up to the Armistice.
The above information is taken from the AWM 35
th
Battalion War Diary
and M.E.Lyne’s
Newcastle’s Own : The Story of the Battalion
Newcastle Sun, 8th March, 1920.
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