Anne McEwen (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This July marks 100 years since the widely known Battle of the Somme, one of World War I's largest battles, in which British and French troops fought against the German Empire. In what became one of the bloodiest battles in human history, the Battle of Somme saw more than one million men wounded or killed.

Though it was the British and French troops who predominantly contested the Somme offensive, a lesser known but equally as important battle, the Battle of Pozieres, took place during the middle stages of the Battle of the Somme. Comprised of many smaller battles, the Battle of Pozieres plays an important role in Australia's wartime history and has significant links to South Australia.

The French village of Pozieres, some 150 kilometres north-west of Paris, lies on an advantageous ridge, which was used by the Germans as an important defensive position during the Battle of the Somme. The Somme Offensive, as many people would be aware, commenced on 1 July 1916. The attack was made by five divisions of the French Sixth Army either side of the Somme, eleven British divisions of the Fourth Army north of the Somme and two divisions of the Third Army opposite Gommecourt, against the German Second Army of General Fritz von Below. With a gain of just 1½ kilometres, the British Fourth Army were rapidly and horrifically overwhelmed. They recorded 57,470 casualties, of which 19,240 were killed. Support was unquestionably required and the Australian troops answered the call.

On 23 July 1916, the 1st Australian Division, many of whom were survivors of the disastrous Gallipoli campaign, joined the fighting. Beginning in darkness, the 1st Division were thrown in succession into the fighting around Pozieres. In one of the first great battles involving Australians on the Western Front, Australian troops stormed Pozieres and captured the village. A few days following the capture, and after enduring almost continuous artillery fire and repeated and heavy counterattacks, the exhausted team was replaced by the 2nd Division. Within the space of four days, the 1st Division had suffered 5,285 casualties. The 2nd Division mounted two further attacks. The first, on 29 July, was a costly failure. The second, on 2 August, resulted in the seizure of further German positions beyond the village. Again, the Australians suffered heavily from retaliatory bombardments. They were relieved on 6 August, having suffered 6,848 casualties. The 4th Division was next into line at Pozieres. They too endured a massive artillery bombardment and defeated a German counterattack on 7 August, which was the final attempt by the Germans to retake Pozieres.

For 42 days, the 1st, 2nd and 4th Division Australian battalions took part in 19 major attacks, with 16 of them occurring at nightfall. In figures that shocked the nation, within just two weeks the Australians had suffered 12,000 casualties. By the end of the fighting, the losses numbered a staggering 24,000 men. These figures were horrific—comparable to those sustained by Australians over eight months at Gallipoli. With German forces on three sides and their own artillery firing from the rear, these men lived and fought, and many died, amongst a constant rain of shells. According to the Australian War Memorial's Senior Historian, Peter Burness, Pozieres, during the Battle of the Somme, became 'the worst place on earth'. Burness wrote, 'The soil seemed to have turned to ash, the whole place smouldered like a rubbish tip, the air was acrid, and death lay all around.' Indeed, it was the historian Charles Bean who said after visiting Pozieres that the place 'is more densely sown with Australian sacrifice than any other place on earth'.

More than 700 of those men who were classified as either missing or deceased from the Battle of Pozieres were South Australian. Deriving from the 10th Battalion, 27th Battalion, 48th Battalion and 50th Battalion, South Australian troops played an integral part in the Pozieres battle. Significantly, one of those South Australians was Arthur Seaforth Blackburn, a lawyer before joining the forces. It is believed that in 1915 Blackburn and another man penetrated further inland at the Gallipoli landing than anyone else. Later, in Pozieres, he commanded a party of 50 men, which in the face of fierce opposition destroyed an enemy strongpoint and captured nearly 400 yards of trench. His commanding officer said of Blackburn that upon arrival at Pozieres:

Matters looked anything but cheerful … but Blackburn lost neither his heart nor his head.

Undoubtedly one of the country's bravest soldiers, his courageousness saw him become the first South Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross. After returning to legal practice in Adelaide and serving for a short time as a Nationalist member for Sturt in the South Australian House of Assembly, Blackburn led the 2/3rd Machine Gun Battalion in Syria during the Second World War. He was promoted to command 'Black Force', an assorted group of over 3,000 Australian troops from various units to assist the Dutch against rapid Japanese advance. In spite of Blackburn's reluctance, the Allied Forces ultimately surrendered and Blackburn was held as a prisoner of war until 1945. After his release, he received many accolades for his services.

Blackburn's name appears at the top of the water tower memorial at Pozieres. While his heroism is acknowledged, there remain more than 4,000 men from the Battle of Pozieres with no known grave. In memoriam of those unknown soldiers, and as tribute to the thousands of Australian men who fought there, the Pozieres Remembrance Association, together with the local village, is planning the installation of the Pozieres Memorial Park. Commencement of work on the park is scheduled to start towards the end of April this year. The first stage of the memorial park will be opened on 23 July this year, the centenary of Australia's first involvement in the Battle of Pozieres. As part of the park, it is intended to rebuild the historic windmill destroyed in the fighting in 1916. The park will include a special section to pay tribute to the bravest of the brave, including South Australia's Arthur Blackburn and four other Victoria Cross recipients. However, without adequate awareness or funds, the full dream of the Pozieres Remembrance Association may never become reality. I highly encourage all senators and members to log on to the website www.pozieresremembered.com.au and join me in lending their support to remembering those soldiers who did so much for Australia.

Significantly, last December a bayonet unearthed from the fields of Pozieres was presented to the citizens of South Australia. The bayonet is a gift from the people of the village as a symbol of the Pozieres community's admiration for Australians who gave their lives for their freedom and to raise awareness of this significant battle. I have been told the bayonet was gifted by the President of the Pozieres Remembrance Association, Barry Gracey, on behalf of the mayor and citizens of Pozieres and was graciously accepted by the state Minister for Veterans' Affairs in my home state, Mr Martin Hamilton-Smith, on behalf of all South Australians. The bayonet was erected last month for public display in the South Australian parliamentary library.

On top of the Australians who were killed in the battle, many more were severely maimed. I would like to pay tribute tonight to those diggers who paid the ultimate sacrifice and those who were wounded, and also I would like to pay tribute to the ongoing work of the Pozieres Remembrance Association to honour these great Australians. It often takes volunteer groups like the Pozieres Remembrance Association to remind us of our history and particularly our war history.