While the fledgling 3rd Division would not leave Larkhill for France for some weeks, reinforcements from command and training depots were sent to replace losses at the front. Having departed Southampton, the transports carrying reinforcements would cross the English Channel, mindful of the ever-present threat of German submarine attack. It was a tense, anxious journey for the troops. Disembarkation at Etaples on the French coast was met with relief despite the prospect of action promised by the next stage of the journey.
FRANCE, JULY — THE FIRST BATTLE OF THE SOMME
The first day of July was chosen for the largely British attack against the German lines on the Somme River to the east of the ancient city of Amiens, where the lines of the British and French forces met. The ‘big push’ involved 120,000 Allied soldiers advancing on a front that stretched almost 30 kilometres. The entrenched German lines had been subjected to a massive seven-day bombardment considered sufficiently intense to cut the wire and destroy German entrenchments, promising a straightforward advance for the Allied troops. The push was designed to relieve the pressure on French troops at Verdun and aimed to capture not just the strategically vital ridge on which the village of Pozieres was perched, but also break through to the market town of Bapaume, some 13 kilometres in front of the British lines and occupied by the Germans since August 1914.
The roar of the massive artillery barrage was heard as far away as the shores of England, and the soldiers prepared for their advance. They would be attacking at 7.30 am — in broad daylight — on a beautiful summer’s day. Despite the intensity of the barrage, in which over 1.6 million shells had been fired, the barbed-wire defences had not been cut and the three rows of deep enemy trenches with concrete fortifications, enormous bunkers and pillboxes had withstood the bombardment, allowing the German troops to survive the maelstrom. The British artillery had not achieved the expected devastation of the enemy lines and the Germans were primed and waiting.
British soldiers clambered from their trenches, in some cases ordered to walk towards the enemy lines with one-minute intervals between units. Inevitably they were cut down by the machine-gun fire of the Germans, now emerging largely unscathed from their underground fortresses. The units were continually ordered forward despite the carnage. The slaughter also continued. Those wounded who could move stumbled or crawled back to their lines; others died a dreadful death in no man’s land amid the cries of their wounded comrades.
To the south of the British advance, the French artillery had successfully paved the way for its assaulting infantry and their objectives had been attained. The British were slaughtered in their thousands. On the first day 19,240 British soldiers were killed and another 38,230 wounded.3 It would be Britain’s bloodiest day of the war. In a little over a fortnight, 100,000 men would be listed as killed, wounded or missing.
* * *
FRANCE 2011
Ninety-five years on we drive through the picturesque French countryside with our guide, military historian, writer and authority on the history of sniping, Martin Pegler. We stop at a cemetery. Close to a wall, a large unexploded shell, freshly uncovered from the surrounding fields, stands in silent menace. We walk along a section of the British jumping-off line at Serre Sheffield Park, just north of Beaumont-Hamel, on the northern end of the Somme battlefield. The memorial here is dedicated to the Accrington Pals, a regiment comprising groups of friends from Accrington in East Lancashire, England. Of 720 Pals who advanced in the opening phase of the Somme battle, 584 were listed as killed, wounded or missing. Signs point to other nearby cemeteries and memorials.
We look up the slope towards a small cemetery perched on the edge of the ridge. It was up this slope that the British soldiers were ordered to walk, into the face of machine-gun fire that cut them to pieces. It is a delightful spring morning; the sky is clear, the larks singing. We listen as our guide reads a surviving soldier’s account. His words cut to the heart as we stand on the soil that today hides the dreadful truth of a senseless slaughter. The sustained attack in the face of clear disaster is beyond our comprehension; the futility is inconceivable.
FRANCE, JULY
By 5 July, the Australian 1st and 2nd divisions had been relieved in the trenches south of Armentieres by the 4th and 5th divisions and were now further north, close to the Belgian town of Messines. They were preparing for an attack, a diversion designed to draw German troops to this sector. The 2nd Brigade moved into the front line, remaining there for a fortnight. On 7 July the planned attack on Messines was abandoned and I Anzac Corps was ordered to proceed immediately to the French city of Amiens, some 140 kilometres south of Messines. The Australians were to provide reinforcements to support the Somme Offensive where the attempt to take Bapaume had failed in the face of devastating casualties.
George penned a hurried letter to his brothers just prior to the move south:
July 3rd, 1916
Dear Allan & Percy
I am dropping you a few lines in chance that this letter might reach you, if it should would you drop me a few lines straight away and let me know where you are and what you are doing. I have had a letter from Albert saying that he thought you would be sailing about the 1st May so I suppose by now you are in this part of the world. This is my address 2748 2 A/2 Light Trench Mortar Battery 2nd Inf Brigade Headquarters, this address will find me, we are not allowed to say what part of the firing line we are in of course you know that I am fighting in either France or Belgium and have been under some heavy bombardments lately if you get any war news you will see that we have made some advances on this front I have just come out of the front line again and it was very lively this time you wouldn’t believe what it is like when all the guns speak well lads I wont say much this time as you mighten get this letter. Albert said that you were in the 38 Batt. I have been expecting some letters from you but I haven’t had any since Xmas, have only had two mails since Xmas. Well lads I will close, good luck to you all and I hope it is all over before you get in the firing line. Goodbye from your loving Bro
George
Remember me to all the lads.
I am not attached to the 7 batt now but am in the trenches with them, this is what I am in, is small guns for firing bombs it is not very safe work in the trenches. I picked up a paper here and noticed that the 10 Brigade was going to march through Melbourne on the 1st May, I don’t think the war will last much longer. Well lads I hope you do better than me for letters I have only had 1 dozen since I arrived in France and I have been a long while here now.
Goodbye and Good luck to all.
Several of George’s letters also appeared in the Pyramid Hill Advertiser. Recipients would often forward letters of interest to their local newspaper to share the news of their loved ones with the community. It was not a practice that appealed to the Marlow brothers and in later correspondence they implored their parents not to publish any of their letters. In this remarkable letter from George he writes of the mocking threats exchanged between the Germans and Australians across no man’s land and of being surprised by a German deserter. He explains that the infantry preferred not to be located near the trench mortar and machine-gun teams, known as ‘suicide clubs’ for their ability to draw enemy fire. George, however, had acquired his own brand of front-line fatalism, concluding that location or role was irrelevant; to survive or to be killed was a matter of fate.
Pte. G.T. Marlow, writing to his brother in Mologa from France, says – At last I have received some letters, the second mail since Christmas, and am pleased to hear that all are well; but those papers you sent have not arrived yet. They would be a luxury. I am in the Brigade Trench Mortar Battery. They asked for volunteers out of my company; only three of us stepped out; we had only five days of instruction, and then they gave us a bit of an examination. The infantry chaps did not like us firing at first but they don’t take much notice of it now, as Fritz always fires back to blow us out. We give Fritz about two to one, so things are pretty lively at times. When their artillery sta
rts shelling our trenches ours always retaliates; the bombarding is nearly always done at night, and sometimes the trenches get badly blown about. One night after they had finished the bombardment, we thought we were going to charge, so every one of us got his head and shoulders up above the parapet and gave them five rounds of rapid rifle firing and, in a new favourite army phrases, invited them to have a go next morning. They had a notice up that they were stopped by the “scum of the earth”. Another night they put up a notice that peace would be declared on the 15th of that month, but before that they were going to have the ground between our trenches and theirs strewn with Australian dead. I think they will get a lively time if they try it on. The machine gunners and trench mortar battery are called the “suicide club”, as they reckon it is not too safe. But if one is to be killed it does not matter what he is in. The other night we had a visit from a German deserter. When he got close to the parapet he asked if there were any Melbourne lads there. Someone said Yes. So he came up and told us that he used to live in Melbourne. We also took some prisoners. I was looking forward to a trip to England, but now the leave is altered my turn is so far off, that is not worth bothering about it now. I have been in the army 12 months and have not had an hour’s sickness. I was sorry to hear young Miller from Pyramid was dead. I noticed in the paper that he was ill. The last I saw him was on the 22nd February. He was quite well then. I used to have a talk with him every night.4
July 5th 1916
Dear Mother, Father and Brothers,
… I don’t know whether you will receive these letters as it is rumoured here that they are stopping all letters from going for a while as there is big things doing now, you will see by the papers that we are pushing old Fritz back I think he is out for a lively time, with the Russians advancing also the Italians and there attacks on Verdun have been a failure, I think it will be all over before Xmas. Our artillery is to good for them also the aeroplanes when we first arrived here Fritz’s planes used to be always hovering about but now very few come over if they do ours are soon after them, I have seen several brought down, it is a great sight to see them come down, our men are very plucky in the planes, they are nearly as thick as flies now. I wrote a letter last week saying that we were in the trenches again and in a different place this time in Belgium this time before we were fighting in France and it is much hotter in this place; I have been under some very heavy bombardments they kept it going every night for a week in a lot of places the trenches were blown down flat with the ground, but we came off very lucky, we used the gas and got good results, you wouldn’t believe what it is like when all the guns roar as there are thousands of them around where we are, nearly all the bombardments are done in the night time and when they start in the night is turned into day by the flash of the guns. The firing line here is much different to where we were before it is hilly and thickly timbered in places, you wouldn’t think there was a war two miles behind the firing line, the people go about their work the same as in peace time, they have some nice crops here and are all out in ear, every house that is left standing is turned into a shop of some kind, they sell mostly postcards, smokes, chocolates etc. can get a feed of eggs in nearly every farm house, 3 eggs, one cup of coffee and a piece of bread and butter for 1 franc that is 10d. That is very reasonable, I reckon there has been more eggs eaten here since the war started than what was ever eaten before especially by the Australians, the people must be making their fortune out of us. They have stopped all leave for us to England and also for the Tommies while the big move is on … I think you had better not send any more parcels and papers to me as I haven’t received a paper yet and have only got one of the parcels and not getting the letters regular it beats me where they got to. One of the chaps got an Argus today dated the 10th and there was a lot in it about us landing in France, my word they kept it back a long time because we have been here over 3 months and the second division arrived here before us, and we went into the firing line the beginning of the second week in April, we have done well with the raiding parties. I wrote a letter to Allan today and addressed it Machine Gun Section, 38 Batt I doubt whether he will get it, but I think he must be in England. I will now close with best wishes to all
From George
George appears to have been completely unaware of the disaster that had unfolded to the south on the Somme and into which he was soon to be thrown. In England and across the Commonwealth, the reports were vague and generally positive; censors prevented war correspondents revealing detail that could be valuable to the enemy or detrimental to the morale of those at home. It would be years before the extent of the disaster was reported with any accuracy.
MOLOGA, JULY
As the month of June drew to a close, Charlie made another attempt to enlist. He travelled to Bendigo and visited his girlfriend, Pearl Clee, whose family had shortened the long days for Allan and Percy when they had first arrived in the central Victorian city. On 29 June at the age of 25 and, having fixed the problems with his teeth, Charlie was deemed fit for active service. While listing his father as next of kin on the enlistment form, Charlie added that this listing was ‘not to be construed as in the nature of a will’. Charlie and Pearl had other plans.
The news of Charlie’s enlistment travelled swiftly north and, as the new month opened, Albert’s sweetheart, Myrtle Stone from nearby Calivil, wrote to Albert with news of her own brothers who had recently enlisted and of the impact Charlie’s enlistment would have on the Marlow family. Unlike George, who suggests to his family that the war will be over before Christmas, Myrtle was far less optimistic.
Calivil South
July 1st
My Dear Albert
Just a few lines hoping you are well, I suppose you think I am never going to write but I have not had a chance Alma as [has] gone home so now I can write without her prying into it, well Charlie has passed I suppose your mother will be upset over it it is too bad on her so many of her boys going. It’s a pity the war don’t end but it looks as if it will last a while yet. I suppose you have had plenty of rain now we have had a lot here too wet to plough new ground, Joe is out of the hospital Jimmie was in for two days, we got a letter from him last night he said he was still isolated they would of liked to get home today but could not get out. Joe went up to Bendigo last Saturday. There was a Euchre party & dance in the Calivil South school last Friday week mother won the 1st prize & Alma the booby. There was a Euchre & dance at Jarklan last night we did not play, we were too, there was not many there the roads are so bad, there is going to be another there on Tuesday I think I will be booked for playing that night it is for the Hospital Queen Funds its no treat sitting so long playing these cold nights. Dolly Rowe is getting better now I am glad she is the boys came home to say good bye to them but had to turn & go away again. We got a letter from Jim Johnson last week written 7th May he was then well he a [has] been in France 3 months, did you hear from George I hope he is alright yet. Have you got Allans and Percys photos yet don’t forget I am to have one of each. Most likely Jim & Joe will be home next Sat so you ought to try & get over if you are not too busy you could come on Sat & stay all night they would like you here while they are home. I just wish you were here next Friday to go with us to Bramleys they sent word over today that they are having a party it is Fannys 21st birthday I think it will be fun to see Mrs B fussing around I suppose Mary will be able to entertain the company with her usual performances & the old woman will wind up with God be with you. Well Dear Albert I will close with love from your affec girl
Myrtle
XXXXXXXXX
Life continued as usual in the tiny community while locals rallied behind the war effort with dances and gatherings to raise funds for the various organisations which had sprung up to support their young men. Myrtle was kept busy providing the musical entertainment. Her brothers, Jim and Joe Stone, were both farmers. Joe was 20 years old and embarked with his brother in February 1917, both allocated to the 14th Battalion. Joe later wrote a remarkable
letter describing the sinking of the Ballarat and his rescue off the coast of England. He was gassed on 20 May 1918 and returned to his family at Calivil in April 1919.5 Jim was 21 when he enlisted. He fell ill when he arrived in England and was hospitalised with pneumonia, convalescing until May 1918 when he finally moved to the front line. On 9 July he was shot but recovered to rejoin his battalion on 1 October 1918. He returned to Australia a few days before Christmas in 1919.6
In late July, the Mologa community of the Church of England decided to honour the service of its young men with the unveiling of an honour roll. The Reverend Plumtree delivered an address which included the expectation that these men would also have their names engraved on an ‘Immortal Honour Roll in Heaven’, as reported in the local newspaper:
Mologa – Honour Roll Unveiled
On Tuesday evening a special service was held in St. Luke’s church, in connection with the unveiling of an Honour Roll. There was a large congregation and the service was most impressive. After the singing of Kipling’s Recessional “Lest we Forget” the Rev. H. Plumtree gave an earnest and inspiring address on the words, “But rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven”’ Luke 10.20. The preacher said that the disciples were soldiers of Jesus Christ, and their names were written in heaven because, it is their country, for they are only pilgrims and strangers here; also because they are precious in their master’s sight. The unveiling of the Honour Roll this evening means that some men have heard their country’s call, and they are away in a strange country; while they are away we place their names on an Honour Roll, because their lives are precious to us. The names on the Honour Roll represent an individual life, history, experience, and destiny; this means that if our names are written on an earthly Roll or on the Heavenly Roll of Honour, we must live up to the reputation which is involved upon us. There are no Honour Rolls for the shirker, and pleasure seeker; for these there will be shame and disgrace. Only those who are faithful, who live the purest lives and make the greatest sacrifices in the world, will be recorded on the Honour Roll; whether it be in heaven or on earth. There is a joy in having the name on the Honour Roll; it is a cause of pride to the parents and a great joy to the faithful soldier. As a soldier will make a great effort to have his name mentioned in a dispatch or in history, even at the risk of losing his life; so all Christian men and women should seek to have their names written on the Immortal Honour Roll in Heaven. Before concluding his address Mr. Plumtree unveiled the Honour Roll, reading out the names of the soldiers who had left the church.
ANZAC Sons Page 13
