ON the night of April 12 the 48th Battalion, which had been so greatly reduced in numbers by the attempt at Bullecourt or the preceding day, left Bapaume for Albert. A few days later it was again back at Henencourt Wood. This, however, proved an unhealthy place for a camp, so the men went into billets in the neighbouring village of Millencourt. The weather was now quite fine, and all were already enjoying a foretaste of the beauty of spring in France. When Anzac Day was celebrated on the 25th of the month, the men were showing but little signs of the fatigues and hardships of winter.
Those few weeks spent at Millencourt were the happiest yet enjoyed by the battalion. The surrounding country was very pleasant and outdoor training in the fields was an enjoyable recreation rather than a toil. The first weeks of May saw the unit in the same place, and on the 12th the 4th Australian Division was inspected by General Birdwood. The different units of the division had at this time got the reinforcements so badly needed after Bullecourt; they had had a considerable spell and time for regular training. Never perhaps did the division present such a fine appearance. General Birdwood addressed the officers and men, reviewing the good work of the division and mentioning particularly the work of the 48th Battalion at Pozieres and more recently at Bullecourt.
Only one thing marred the joy of the day, and that was Birdwood's announcement that the division was to leave the 1st Anzac Corps and for a time be attached to the 2nd Anzac Corps. This was felt very keenly, for the 4th Division had an old comradeship with the 1st, 2nd and 5th Australian Divisions, whilst the divisions of the 2nd Anzac Corps were as yet strangers to it. Moreover the diggers were ever fastidious in the matter of corps commanders.
Nevertheless the 48th Battalion in common with the whole division had to get ready for its journey to the north of France two days later. It moved to Aveluy, and entraining there on the morning of the 16th arrived at Bailleul the same evening.
It was already known that an operation on a large scale was intended, which should involve the capture of the Messines Ridge. Every available moment therefore was spent in special training, equipment was inspected, gas-helmets tested, and all the preparation preliminary to an attack was in progress. The battalion moved nearer to the line to a place known as Dou-Dou Farm, and from there working parties went forward every night to unload ammunition at the many hidden ammunition dumps that were being formed over the area. At the end of the month an order was published that every unit taking part in the operation, should send back to a camp at the rear one-third of its personnel. This was to obviate the weakness of past methods, by which a battalion lost so many of its officers and specially trained men as to be seriously handicapped in training reinforcements. The practice of forming and saving a nucleus was a prudent one. This was the first time, however, that the unit had experience of it, and it caused much disappointment to many who were keen to participate in an operation which promised to be extensive and successful.
Only on June 6 was it known that the great advance in which many divisions were taking part was to be attempted on the following day, every precaution having been taken to make all details in connection with the operation a surprise to the enemy. The 48th Battalion was not to take part in the advance but was to remain in brigade reserve, the 45th and 47th being the units of the brigade directly employed. But the battalion was not destined to be long disengaged, for on the evening of the 7th two companies were ordered up to reinforce the 45th and 47th Battalions. These battalions had had a very strenuous time, and as yet the objective of the brigade had not been secured at all points. Two hours afterwards the remaining two companies of the 48th went to the front line to perform the same duty of reinforcing the other brigade units.
The four companies of the 48th were now in the line, and apparently they were to perform a big task in the advance in which, according to previous plan, they were to take no part. For the operation which had begun so well was in its final stages proving unsatisfactory enough. Indeed it was not until several days later that the brigade frontage was completely secured, as progress had to be adapted to the pace of troops on other parts of the wide front who were meeting with varying success. When the officer in charge of the 48th troops had got to the front line on the night of the 7th, he was ordered to advance with two companies on the line determined as the final objective of the brigade. This he did early on the morning of the 8th and succeeded in making secure the right wing of the brigade objective. On the left wing of the brigade front things were not so satisfactory, and a fresh attack made there was followed by a counter-attack of the enemy which practically left the position unchanged. But that part of the line taken by the 48th companies was consolidated by them, and securely held until they were relieved by troops of the 45th and 47th Battalions on the morning of the 10th.
The companies of the 48th were then withdrawn to the rear where they rested for the day. After re-organising they set out again for the front line the same evening and relieved the 45th Battalion. The situation was still very obscure, part of the brigade objective being held by our troops whilst a trench and several strong-points on the line were as securely held by the enemy. In these latter places everything was quiet during the day, but at night the enemy's activity was very evident. This fact suggested the supposition that they were occupied only during the night, and that their garrison retired to trenches further back before daylight. To act on such a supposition did in the circumstances involve a gamble, but the battalion commander decided to gamble and gambled successfully. On the morning of the 11th he sent a strong fighting patrol forward after dawn, and captured the trench and strong-points without resistance. At the same time two field-guns were captured and a large quantity of ammunition. This success was followed up by small local attacks during the day, and by the evening the front line was connected with the brigade front on the left.
The battalion had sustained but 61 casualties during five days' severe fighting in an awkward position. One officer and 19 of other ranks were killed, whilst three officers and 36 of other ranks had been wounded.
On the 12th the battalion was relieved and marched back to the village of La Creche. The weather was still beautiful and the men spent several pleasant days in the area. They were then taken still further back in buses, and finally on the 21st settled down near Doulieu. Here they were in the middle of a farming community who were rather prosperous, farm produce was plentiful, milk, and eggs and butter, and with those commodities the men supplemented their rations. It was also the strawberry season. In fact no place offered greater counter-attractions to the estaminets than did the district around Doulieu.
June 29 saw the battalion leave Doulieu and march to Ploegsteert, where with the other units of the brigade it remained in reserve. The area was very dirty, and working parties were constantly employed on it during the day. At times the shelling was severe and here it was that Major Howden was killed. Every night the wood in which the men were camped was shelled heavily, and although the casualties were not many, no day passed without its toll being exacted. They were the kind of casualties that Australians least relish, for they were sustained not in active warfare but whilst sitting back in a dirty area where one could only passively trust to chance. The little cemetery was gradually extending during those couple of weeks at Ploegsteert Wood. Just at this time General Holmes, commander of the 4th Division, was killed in the same area. Everyone felt very happy when the battalion marched away from the place in the middle of July.
The battalion now returned to Doulieu and to the usual routine of training and lectures, which was always resumed as soon as the unit got back to the rest area.
Towards the end of the first week in August it again left Doulieu, and marching north through Neuve Eglise and through Dranoutre came to Kemmel, a distance of about 14 miles. On the following day it took over the front line south-west of Wytschaete. There was indeed no front line here, but the position was held by a series of strong-posts manned by eight or 10 men with one Lewis gun. Patrols were constantly working during the night between these strong-posts. The ground was very low and marshy and the position was altogether a bad one to hold, as the enemy commanded a good view of its approaches. This made the work of relieving and the different changes between the companies a difficult and dangerous task. Nevertheless the casualties during this term in the line were very few, the men avoiding trouble by getting away to the flanks or pushing out to no-man's land when their positions were being bombarded.
The battalion remained in this area, being occupied in the front line or in brigade support until the last days of August. It then marched westward to rest at Zuytpeene, the last stage of the journey being over 16 miles long. This spell in the rest area lasted for three weeks.
Those weeks spent in the quiet villages and country districts of France might be considered to have been very dull. But anyone thinking so is unaware of the constant activity that prevails in a unit from which a high standard of efficiency is expected. It is interesting to note here a programme of lectures delivered during this period in the battalion:
July 23. - Discipline, Morale, Responsibility of Officers and Non-commissioned Officers for leadership.
July 24. - Drill, importance of it as a means to an end. Ceremonial, its value. Guards and sentries.
July 25. - Sanitation, in trenches, in billets, in bivouac, on the march. Life in billets.
July 26. - Fire Discipline, description of targets, judging distance, fire control, fire combined with movement.
July 27. - "Medical," care of feet, rendering of first aid, use of field dressing, evacuation of wounded.
July 30. - "Intelligence," patrols, messages, reports.
July 31. - "Administration," parade states, company officer's routine.
August 1. - "Protection," whilst on the move and at rest.
August 2. - "Organisation," the section, the platoon, the company.
August 3. - "The Spirit of the Battalion," its record as a fighting unit.
August 4. - "Co-operation of all arms," the platoon as a self-contained fighting unit.
These lectures were delivered, sometimes to all ranks, sometimes to officers and non-commissioned officers. Every day saw several hours spent in training in the fields or in route marching on the roads, and yet time was always found for this amount of theoretical training. When the soldier was not at drill or lectures, he was definitely at recreation. Work or play occupied almost every moment of his day; and in this manner was it made impossible for life to be ever very dull for him.
During those weeks of September the battalion had an opportunity of getting reinforcements, and by the middle of the month it was actually over strength. Very seldom, indeed, had this been the case with it. The men were in great health and spirits, and rather looked forward to playing a part in an operation that was then projected. They set out for Steenvoorde in buses on September 21, and two days later were conveyed in the same manner to a camp on the way to Ypres. Thence they proceeded on foot to the forward area round Ypres, their passage being very slow, as the roads were congested by an endless stream of guns and vehicles going up for the attack on the high ground that lay due west of the town.
That operation took place on the morning of the 26th, and none of the units of the 12th Brigade took part in the attack. But, after the advance, the brigade relieved some of the units which had made the attack, and during this term in the front area the 48th Battalion lay in support to the brigade at Polygon Wood. There its work was principally that of salvage. At the same time it buried many Australian and German dead lying over the area who had fallen in the recent engagement. The battalion suffered a considerable number of casualties, for the enemy was apparently searching for guns in the area occupied by the troops, so he subjected it to very heavy shelling.
October 1 saw the battalion released from this comparatively easy term of duty, when it went to Westhoek Ridge, and took up a position in old trenches and dugouts. On the following day it marched to a camp further back, whence it was again conveyed to Steenvoorde in buses.
Already there were signs that the summer was at an end. Since the battalion had come away from unlucky Bullecourt, in the middle of April, until its second sojourn at Steenvoorde, during the first week of October, the weather had been almost uniformly fine. Throughout that same period there were other features than the beauty of the French summer to make it a happy one. For the battalion had played a conspicuous part in the operation at Messines Ridge, an extensive one which was a definite departure from the finikin methods of previous warfare. Unfortunately, the hopes which the troops entertained that it should mark a permanent departure from those methods were not justified by following engagements. But the part which the battalion played in the latter was withal a pleasant one, weather conditions were of the finest, and casualties were comparatively few. Now, however, the summer was gone, and, after spending a week at Steenvoorde, the men of the 48th were again heading for the trenches to find out if their good fortune had gone with it.