Source: File: Private
(Signaller) Arthur Joseph Hill. See an original image at: <http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205301221>
[Accessed 03 March 2017]
Source: File: Arthur Joseph Hill. See an original image at: <http://beyond1914.sydney.edu.au/profile/3168/arthur-joseph-hill>
[Accessed 03 March 2017]
Source: File: Letter from Arthur Hill, father of A.J. Hill. See an original image at: <http://beyond1914.sydney.edu.au/profile/3168/arthur-joseph-hill> [Accessed 03 March 2017]
i
A Sydney lad of
Waverly New South Wales,
Left home of 60
Wiley Street,
With his father's
name - Arthur Joseph Hills
Had departed to
take part in war.
Born 18 September
1897 Arthur's early
Education in
Waverly; Christian
Brothers College
to University of Sydney,
To study English
till 1916.
In schooling
career his bright disposition
Was recognised; upright with
Manly
participation in sports and class -
Captain of 1st 15
football team.
Arthur Hill's
ability had been well proved
And matriculated, in 1915
He made a place
at University to gain
A bursary for a
good future.
Then aged 18,
Arthur enlisted February
On the 23 day, to
attend signal
School at Kiama -
examinations taken
Made him first class
signaller.
Within six months, at rank of Corporal,
24th August Arthur Hills
Departed
Australia, with expeditionary
Australian Imperial
Forces.
Late 1916, Signaller
Arthur Hill in France
With
Reinforcements Battalion,
Took part in
actions about the Somme;
Bapaume as
Germans retreated
Corporal perhaps was
a temporary rank;
Private Arthur 'Snowy'
Hill,
Affectionately named
being tall, stout lad,
With light hair and
complexion.
ii
Into 1917 a
military operation carried
Out codenamed 'Alberich' -
In 1916 had
formed German salient’s
Of saint-Quentin
and Arras.
This was a
planned strategy to regroup
To the Hidenburg
line to cut
Front, for ease of
defence - though allies
Believed this was
a retreat.
Preparations had
seen German troops
Destroy commune’s
roads and
Railways while
poisoning water supplies,
Leaving booby
traps behind.
The dawn of 1917
still offered no sign
Of allied Victory,
when
The shift away of
German presence from
Salient’s made
hope.
The area lay in close
sight of Australian
Trenches, where Signaller
Arthur Hill 3827, took part in the operation
To move into gaps
left.
17 March 1917, would see the Australians Make a road to Main
Square
Of Bapaume -
where an Anzac army band
Made appearance
to play.
Yet a time
delayed mine had been placed
Below the town
hall, to
Blew within days
to bury troops; meanwhile
Snipers were an
issue.
iii
Amid later accounts
of the Australian Red
Cross, came
informants
Of those close to Signaller
Private Arthur
Hill, to clarify events.
Pte. J. Glynn
3815, Pte. W. Curran 4015,
C. Wallbank, Pte.
Mckenzie 384,
Cpl T Mckenzie
1116, Pte. L. O. Lees 3835;
Snowy Hill's mate, Pte. F. Dunne.
The Australians
were close to Bollecourt,
In Sunray Trench
the lad
Nicknamed Snowy, Pte.
Arthur Hill 3827
Helped gain 1/2
mile of trench.
Pte. Glynn told
how Snowy had been part
Of fatigue duty
at Sunray
Trench, close to
the 'crater' - then under
German counter
attacks.
Varied versions by likely battle confusion,
As Pte. W Curran
4015
Said shelling in
the early hours struck
Snowy down
instantly.
Yet all others
said that sniper problem
Had got him - Pte.
Glynn
Believed a sniper
took Hill down through
The heart -
killed outright.
Cpl. Mckenzie
1116, was at the time there
As a witness that
Pte. Hill
Had moved just
above the parapet, to be
Target of a keen
sniper.
Pte. Mckenzie 384, a close mate, said
Hill was also
known as 'honey' -
That they shared
leave in London. Only
Later to find out
what happened.
Others were there
close to the signaller,
Paul Vincent of A
Coy,
Told that Pte.
Arthur Hill had looked over
Parapet of Mosoon
trench.
Some sniper took a
rapid aim to shoot
The signaller
through
The neck - C. Wallbank
was with him
And confirmed his
identity.
Another
uncertainty lay over Hill's grave;
Close by to
Sunray trench,
But his mate failed to find it and later told
It lay at Cameron
Sap.
Pte. Lees
reported how Hill's death had
Been registered with
Padre Ward - a cross
marked the grave,
How his effects
sent home.
Days later his
father, Arthur, wrote to thank
University Union
President, for
Kind letter of
sympathy for a son's death -
Signed, yours
respectfully.
Thursday 22 February 1917, another day
2nd day 29th Week
In the 3rd year
of war, an Australian man
Was shot digging a
sap.
A day short of
one year in joining, had
Seen Pte. Arthur
Hill killed -
22 February 1917
genuinely popular lad,
Named Honey and Snowy.
by Jamie Mann.
Source: File: Explore Military Uniform. Available
at: <https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/294422894375837134/> [Accessed 03 March 2017]
Source: File: Beyond 1914 - The University of Sydney and the Great
War. Available at: <http://beyond1914.sydney.edu.au/profile/3168/arthur-joseph-hill> [Accessed 03 March 2017]
Source: File: Bapaume To Bullecourt (1917). Available at: <http://aso.gov.au/titles/historical/bapaume-to-bullecourt/notes/>
[Accessed 03 March 2017]
Source: File: [PDF] 3827 Private Arthur Joseph Hill - Australian War
Memorial. Available at: <https://www.awm.gov.au/images/collection/pdf/RCDIG1047611--1-.pdf>
[Accessed 03 March 2017]
Source: File: Men of 30th Battalion AIF among ruins of Bapaume - the day they
entered the town. See an
original image at: <https://www.awm.gov.au/blog/2007/04/03/bapaume-to-bullecourt-the-fighting-in-france-1917/>
[Accessed 01 January 2017]
i
Time moves on a
pace -
The bite of winter
starts to fade.
February's end sees
news
Of Gommecourt,
which German
Troops abandoned.
A hammered
commune
8 miles north of
Albert, within
The Bapaume
triangle -
A two-man patrol
had set out.
Members of the
Durham
Light infantry
entered the park
Of Gommecourt
chateau;
The ruins
striking a stark line.
The commune
remnants
Being easily
taken, without any
Fight - 9 months
before
Had seen a London
regiment.
Then an assault
had
Been taken on the
impregnable
Position, to
threaten
Them with total
annihilation.
For reasons the Germans
chose
To retreat during
dusk -
Their way had
been protected,
West of Bucquoy.
With a wedge
formed
By rear guard posts
- machine
Guns lined about
Rossignol and
Biaz woods.
Return to
normality
Saw resurgence of
dirty tricks -
Booby traps set
out
To catch out
unwary hunters.
Souvenirs of abandoned German helmets concealed
Explosives set to blow If touched, as were trip wires.
Insignificant
devices
Were seen as less
of a threat
Than machine
gunners
And snipers concealed all about.
ii
Work of the
troops being
To hunt them out
from hiding -
Not so far very
far
Away Puisieux
village hid many.
A manhunt took
Place within the
maze of brick
Ruins, in the night
Of Tuesday 27
February 1917.
In the clearance
The British line had
expanded;
Gommecourt, lay
Left to Puisieux,
right to Irles.
All such communes
Destruction were
thorough -
To include Irles
And Achiet le
Petit churches.
In German
occupation
Churches were
destroyed to halt
Advantages as
platform
For their enemies
observers.
The clock tower
Of Bapume had
also gone -
Noted how in the
Somme this had
told time.
South of Bapaume,
North of
Ligny-Thilloy - yet
Another village
fell
Into allied hands
-Thilloy.
Speculation makes
For reasons, in
the ease
Of taking the line
Within these communes.
Steady pressure
Of allied attacks,
perhaps had
Pushed enemy; back
To poorer,
shorter grounds.
Yet a
concentrated
German line set
to rebuild their
Offence and defence;
Annoyance came
via new shells.
iii
Bapaume lay under
A mile away 'he' i.e.
Germany,
On the other side
had
Big guns, on
railway mounts.
Over the bubble
that
Was Bapaume shot
quick fire
Artillery - barbed
rolls
About Achiet and
Bucquoy.
The loop
continuing
At Loupard wood -
what then
Was plan of German
High command to
pull back?
His tactic
perhaps
To regroup along
a shorter,
Stronger line - a
pivot
At Le Transloy held
his lines.
Allied anticipation
To perhaps reform
before
Arras, Cambrai
And Douai - in
speculation.
Beyond Bapaume
Were eastern
strongholds
Of an enemy, set
In French woods
and villages.
These British
gains
Were results of consolidation
To re-strengthen,
Maybe against
losses of 1916.
by Jamie Mann.
Gibb, P., 1917. German Retreat - More British Gains. The
Daily Telegraph, [online]
1
March 1917. P.7. Col.2. Available
at: <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/12214348/Daily-Telegraph-March-1-1917.html>
[Accessed: 1 March 2016].
Mann, J., 2016. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal
communication, 1 March 2017).
Source: File: Battle of Flers–Courcelette. Four Mark I tanks filling with petrol. Chimpanzee Valley, 15 September 1916, the day tanks first went into action.Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia Wikimedia Commons. See an original image at:<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Battle_of_the_Somme,_July-november_1916_Q5576.jpg> [Accessed 15 September 2016]
Source: File: Infantry moving off with a tank, at the Battle of Flers-Courcelette (the cage on top was to prevent grenades from being tossed on top of the tank).See an original image at: <http://www.historywiz.com/tank.htm> [Accessed 15 September 2016]
Source: File: WW1 The
Introduction of the Tank - History Channel. See original footage:
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fLCdNudUxk/> [Accessed 15 July 2016]
i
29th July 1916, a
letter arrived
Into the hands of
Haig - he opened
The envelope and
unfolded
The paper - to
read words written
By Chief of the
Imperial General
Staff, Sir
William Robertson.
His statement spelt
out that to an
Extent, the
pressure on Verdun
Had been relieved
- but at what
Cost? Nearly
300,000 casualties
For some little
gain - Haig wrote his
Reaction in
margin; 'not very CIGS.'
1 August 1916
Haig sat and penned
His reply to
Robertson - intentions
Were to maintain
the pressure over
The Somme -
wherever their
Preparations were
ready, the army
Were to push with
strong attacks.
ii
All gains had to
be secured
Against
counterattacks - with
Such processes
the offensive
Would carry on
well into the
Autumn; Z day at summers
Height then 4 week’s
before.
September would
see further
Drafts of plans,
in order to keep
Intensity across
the front line,
And exploit any
opportunities
Made on the field
- Haig held
Deep concerns
close to home.
He found a lack
of standards
In his staff, as
many leaders had
Been lost - a
sudden expansion
Of a raw army
lacked experience;
Haig reinforced
the need for
Preparation in
all new operations.
This in part, was
to target
German defences
of Somme
Ridge - high
points of Pozieres
And Martinpuich,
Mouquet
Farm and Thiepval
village; as
With Delville and
High woods.
Amid other
targets were all
Set in localised
operations -
Yet not without
struggles;
High wood had
proved itself
Impenetrable,
Delville wood
Had been counter
attacked.
iii
Gullemont village
finally fell,
Its ruins prized
and the line
Swung slowly out
to Leuze
Wood - all events
leading
Into September,
while French
Made for
impressive moves.
Fall of German
held Falfemont
Farm freed the
way of enemy
Watchers - a
French arm swept
Into Clery and
Ommiecourt -
But all faltered
at Combles
For Germans had
found safety.
Underground in
ancient cave
Systems, with
solid steel and
Masonry above -
so their aim
Set out to cut
off the occupied
Commune - the French
began
Their attack
September 12th.
French infantry
groups dropped
Down into German
trenches,
Where fierce
exchanges made
Mid day results;
Colonial Corps
Past Le Forest gained
spurs,
Others pushed
about Combles.
The Rancourt road
was taken,
The lines were
broken - orders
Of Foch to
advance further
Proved impossible, due to their
Troop exhaustion
- but French
Would give British
gun support.
Therefore assaults September
15, would not
involve French.
The Somme outline
for planned
Third main
offence would act
Out in three
stages; first capture
Of the remaining
German line.
Support would
come form
The Heavy Section
Machine
Gun Corps -
secondly, taken
Ground was to be
then held
By Reserve Army,
while more
Of 4th army would
break line.
The German held
Bapaume,
Albert road, along
with Flers,
Then on out into country were
To go the cavalry - once more
1 July was replayed on
a narrow
Front - but with
a new weapon.
iV
A deadline for
preparations
Had to be met for
the new
Force to be in place
- the date
15 September 1916
- these
New machines made
their
Arrival in France
August 30.
Security of these
arrivals had
Continued with
a crawling
Advance of fifty machines,
Gaining great
attention; those
Who saw
them made distraction In demand of demonstrations.
The unknown
celebrities crawled
Their way to make
their premiere.
They drew wide
eyes and jaw
Dropping looks; 'What are they?'
Were likely asked;
'tanks' came an
Answer. 'Tanks?
what are tanks?'
'They are the
heavy beasts, you'll
See. They'll
break through the Hun,
Just wait and see,'
as the pellet
Shaped hulks
wheeled on their
Way. to their
waiting assignment -
Yet it was not
all glamour inside.
Constant wear and
tear, even before
They got to where
they were to be -
Squeezed in among
engines and
Arms, the crew
could hardly speak
For noise -
having to devise hand
Signals to make
any operation.
A man would take
note and change
Gears, as each
track had a man
To work levers to
brake tracks,
In adjusting
directions of the thirty
Tons of metal and
moving parts,
Into the darkness
of 13 September.
The surviving
tanks now 36, edged
Forward towards
their assembly
Positions - groans
and splutters
Disguised by
combined artillery,
Pulverizing the
way ahead - white
Tapes guided
their torch lit way.
V
A signaller of 19
years Bert Chaney
Stopped on
hearing rumbling noise,
To see three of
the strange visions,
Mechanised
monsters who toppled
On their noses, as two small wheels
Of their tails
balanced the metal.
Each side bulges
held doors with
Swivel machine
guns, to surprise
The signallers -
further were their
Sex; these Mark 1
differed in male
Hotchkiss
6-pounder guns, 4 to the
5 machine guns of
the female.
Throughout the
darkness all were
Sat in position -
the crew of four
Likely enjoying
some relief before
The big hour of
6.20 a.m. but night
Was not quiet, a barrage continued.
After slow hours
engines started.
Even though one
Mark 1 failed -
Prior to zero
hour the other tanks
Began to move -
this was now
A battle
environment, that training
Had not been able to recreate.
On the left
section two late starters
Got into
difficulties - to veer towards
Right direction - one ran short of fuel
And had to turn
back, as the other
Ditched - not
quite a glorious start,
But the others
crawled on their way.
Vi
Zero hour 6.20
a.m.A creeping
Barrage began - to
take advantage
Of eight hours of
daylight, the Red
Line had to be achieved by 12 noon,
At a point between
Abbey and Ligny
Road, to establish
a new allied line.
This was the
fourth objective to lay
Beyond the third
Blue Line of Flers,
And the first
Green Line; defences
Of Martinpuich.
Rawlinson's plan
Favoured cautious
step by step
Attacks -
everything was planned.
The presence of
the tank though
Was an unknown quantity - a need
Being to defeat German
strongpoint
Called Quadrilateral - the forward
Battalion were to be
accompanied
By three tanks, but two broke
down.
The third tank tracked the
railway
Line towards the
Quadrilateral,
The time 5.50 a.m. - between
British troops the tank fired at
Them - an officer dodged firing
To inform the tank crew of
error.
Setting it on the right direction
The tank turned towards Straight
Trench in an attack - battle
plans
And realities of field
were obvious;
Wire was untouched and fire gave
Halt to advance - the tank
turned.
Back to the start; low on fuel and Bullet riddled - a tank group of three Reached Ginch-Lesboeufs road,
To progress to the Triangle's
south.
While three tanks on left
were to go
West of Ginchy towards Pint
trench.
But one was lost - meanwhile
central
Tank group were to go to the
NW
Point - but all broke down as
did the
Tenth, which had been to
support
Corps attack east of
Melville wood -
All these errors were not a
good start.
Vii
Attacking troops
unused to tank
Presence pushed
on all about -
Communications
suggesting
The guards
brigade had taken
The third
objective by 8.20 a.m.
Yet successes
were steady.
Majority of the
tank force had
Been assigned
with the 41st
Division to
target Flers village -
Within 40 minutes
of zero hour
Switch Line and
Tea support
Trench were
quickly gained.
50 minutes later
7.50 a.m. Flers
Trench was taken - 14 tanks
Were to take part, yet D14 was
Ditched close to
Flers and D15
Close to the Switch Line had
Come a cropper, knocked cold.
Shell fire
damaged D18, then
To withdraw from
Flers trench -
D17 with D6 and
D9 circled
East part of
Flers, targeting
Machine guns and
strong points;
Fate of D6 lay near
Gueudecourt.
D6 was set alight as
D9 halted
At Glebe Street - artillery fire
Hit D17, to be
abandoned and
Later recovered
by 8 20 a.m. -
With the 122nd Brigadetroops
D16 rolled
proudly into Flers.
Enemy scattered, driven out by
10 a.m. fleeing to
Gueudecourt.
The New Zealanders
had dug
In about the Switch
Line - on the
Left uncut wire
halted progress,
Prompting a wait
for their tanks.
Metal support
arrived with D11
And D12, with D10
left out cold
At Flat Trench - raking over wire
The tanks made
a path for last
Objective; Abbey
road was made
By D8 though its
vision damaged.
Viii
West of Flers D12
had become
Ditched, to leave
D11 along
The Ligny road to
stand guard.
The British Mark
1 Tank had
Made a debut, to
form a shock
Tactic to the
German held lines.
A foggy September
morning
Had dawned hours
before,
Around the Flers
village that
Had become a hold
of German
Troops - they
emerged from their
Dugouts bleary
eyed, expectant.
An allied bombardment
had
Fallen, now would
come assault
Of allied foot soldiers - the lull
Ended as a
creeping barrage
Began - the
soldiers stirred to
Alert, expectant
of an advance.
A journalist
there experienced
The feelings of
his blood freeze -
Among the
defenders he saw,
From out of the
morning haze,
Two objects like beasts, slowly 'Limping, staggering,
swaying.'
Metal shapes took
a steady
Pace towards them, moving
With supernatural
force; they
Had no wheels - crawling easily
Over pitted
ground devoid to Harm, gave men shocked breath.
Throwing hand
grenades at these
Objects had no
effect - what
Then might be these
machines?
Something like land submarines
Perhaps carrying British troops -
Then the objects
opened fire.
German crews
held onto their
Forward shell
holes, crushing Easily any slow, hesitant man
In its path and straight
across
German lines - an
experience
Seen all round
the Flers areas.
Overcoming dumb surprise,
Resistant Germans
used all
Their weapons, trying to find
The weakness of
the machines -
A German field
gun had hit one
Outside Flers to
allow studies.
iX
German engineers
quickly took
Close
examinations of machine,
To discover inch
thick armour
Plating, steered
by and up and
Down levers carrying much food,
Ammunition and a pigeon’s
cage.
Germans were
reported making
Their attack, despite being under
Its fire, they ran
at the crawling
Tank - attacking hand to hand -
Climbing onto it
trying to open
Its hatch and
fire into any slot.
Despite efforts
and resistance
The Germans found
Flers fall
From their hands,
as D16 made
It to objective
Blue line - perhaps
Relief and
reassurance filling
Those following
in their tracks.
12th east Surreys troops along
With Royal
West Kents, as they
Entered Flers - for one Private
Ernest Rueben
Hicks, aged 21,
About to become a
father in 4
Days, fought this his first battle.
There on the
Somme for those
Who might learn, years later
Of his foot steps
among others,
Marching behind
the lumbering
Tank, whose tracks
made claim
Of the village
for hope of future.
That this then
could be final
Breakthrough - Private Hicks
And company
walked on - about
The Hun ran about like rabbits -
The tank rolled
on seemingly Intent to flatten everything about.
Troops spreading out, taking
Over remnants of
the village,
Gathering
together prisoners.
All seemed
something like a
Game - please with
the ease
Of progress, the
tank halted.
Four men emerged, stretched.
They took a slow
inspection
Of their machine
and conferred,
Standing about
looking lost - Producing a primus stove and
With tank as cover made tea.
by Jamie Mann.
Source: File: Battle
of Flers–Courcelette. Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Flers–Courcelette>
[Accessed 15 September 2016]
Source: File:
History of the tank. Available at:
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_tank> [Accessed 15
September 2016]
Source: File:
British heavy tanks of World War I. Available at:
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_heavy_tanks_of_World_War_I#Mark_I>
[Accessed 15 September 2016]
Mann, J., 2016. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal
communication, 15 September 2016).
Source: File: Letter from Arthur Hill, father of A.J. Hill. See an original image at: <http://beyond1914.sydney.edu.au/profile/3168/arthur-joseph-hill> [Accessed 03 March 2017]
