diggerdave
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90th Anniversary - First Battle of Bullecourt 11th April 1917
90th Anniversary - First Battle of Bullecourt 11th April 1917.
Bullecourt, a village in northern France, was one of several villages to be heavily fortified and incorporated into the German defences of the Hindenburg Line in 1917.
In March 1917, the German army had withdrawn to the Hindenburg Line in order to shorten their front and thus make their positions easier to defend. This move was rapidly followed up by the British and Allied forces, and they launched an offensive around Arras in early April 1917.
To assist the Arras operations, an attack was launched on Bullecourt on 11 April 1917 by the 4th Australian and the 62nd British Divisions.
The battle was a disaster caused by poor planning and the failure of the new ’tanks’.
The two brigades of the 4th Division that carried out the attack, the 4th Brigade and the 12th Brigade, suffered over 3,300 casualties.
1170 Australians were taken prisoner - the largest number captured in a single engagement during the war.
The Australian units involved in the First Battle of Bullecourt were the 4th Brigade comprised of the
13th Battalion – New South Wales
14th Battalion - Victoria
15th Battalion - Queensland and Tasmania
16th Battalion – South Australia and Western Australia
4th Light Trench Mortar Battery
and the 12th Brigade comprised of the 45th Battalion – New South Wales
46th Battalion - Victoria
47th Battalion - Queensland and Tasmania
48th Battalion - South Australia and Western Australia
12th Light Trench Mortar Battery
The following thirteen Hunter Valley diggers were killed in action or died of wounds at Bullecourt on Wednesday 11th April 1917:
Pte Oliver Anderson, Wickham, 13th Inf Bn
L/Cpl James Herbert Brannigan, West Maitland, 13th Inf Bn
Pte Thomas John Conlon, Cooks Hill, 13th Inf Bn
Cpl Holles Roy Dawes, Cooranbong, 45th Inf Bn
Pte Thomas Arthur Hayne, Scone, 46th Inf Bn
Lieut Charles Kaler, Newcastle, 13th Inf Bn
Sgt Peter Clarke Kibble, Cessnock, 13th Inf Bn
Pte George Bernard McCurry, West Wallsend
Pte Patrick McLoughlin, Scone, 15th Inf Bn
Pte Ross Patterson, Carrington, 13th Inf Bn
Pte William Poore, Newcastle, 13th Inf Bn
Pte Forrest Richardson, Newcastle, 15th Inf Bn
Pte Harold Thornton, South Singleton, 13th Inf Bn
May They Continue to Rest in Eternal Peace
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4/10/2007, 11:40 pm
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Mark1916
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Re: 90th Anniversary - First Battle of Bullecourt 11th April 1917
11th April 2007
Had a most memorable day walking over the Bullecourt battlefield. There had been a ceremony on the 9th April, which linked all the various sites of the Battle of Arras. Canadian flags were everywhere in the region! However, to be at Bullecourt on the 11th was special. (Grandfather captured there - 15th Battalion) I spent three hours, camera in one hand and trench map in the other, following the line of the infamous attack. The weather was glorious for April - unlike 1917. There was no-one else in sight the entire time (apart from my long suffering wife!)At the Bullecourt memorial we said a prayer for all the men from 'down under' who never made it home.
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5/4/2007, 7:16 am
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ghosken
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Re: 90th Anniversary - First Battle of Bullecourt 11th April 1917
Hi Mark, Yves Fohlen and Jean Letaille were on the Bullecourt battlefield wandering around, also on the 11th! While you didn't see them, it's good to know you weren't alone in your thoughts.
Graeme
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5/5/2007, 11:34 pm
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