*VIRTUAL TOUR - The Somme Offensive Continued*

Battle of Pozières Ridge 23rd July - 7th August 1916

Gibralter Blockhouse

The village of Pozières was a vital objective for the Allies; whichever side held this high ground had a magnificent view of the surrounding Countryside. The capture of Pozières had been one of the prime objectives of the British offensive launched on the 1st July 1916. However, the strong German defence and high Allied casualties on that day meant that this high ground, and Pozières were not reached and captured at that time. The village is situated on the Albert–Bapaume road, approximately in the centre of what was the British sector of the Somme Battlefield. Pozières was an important German defensive position; the fortified village was an outpost to the second defensive trench system, which had become known to the British as the OG Lines. This German second line extended from beyond Mouquet Farm in the North, running behind Pozières to the East, then South towards Bazentin Ridge and the villages of Bazentin le Petit and Longueval. On the 14th July, during the Battle of Bazentin Ridge, this Southern section of the German second line was captured by the British Fourth Army, commanded by Lieutenant General Sir Henry Rawlinson. The possibility of ‘rolling up’ the German second line by turning North, was now possible if Pozières could be captured.

The British Commander-in-Chief, General Sir Douglas Haig, lacked the ammunition to execute another broad front attack immediately. Believing that Pozières and Thiepval would become untenable for the Germans, as the British continued their Eastward momentum, Haig ordered Rawlinson to concentrate on the centre between High Wood and Delville Wood, as well as the villages of Guillemont and Ginchy. The plan was to maintain the pressure, and take Pozières by a steady, methodical, step-by-step advance. Between the 13th and 17th July, the Fourth Army made four small attacks against Pozières, with no success and high casualties. In this period, the village was subjected to a heavy bombardment and reduced to rubble. On two occasions, the attacking Infantry got into the trench that looped around the South and Western edges of the village, known as Pozières trench, but both times were driven out. Attempts to get East of the village, by advancing up the OG Lines also failed.

The 1st Australian New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC), consisting of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Australian Divisions, arrived in the area behind the British Front-Line on the Somme Battlefield from the 14th to 18th July, travelling from the Front-Line at Armentières, in French Flanders. Following on after four attacks made on the village by the British Fourth Army, the 1st Australian Division, commanded by Major General Harold Walker, launched into the attack on Pozières at 00:30hrs on the 23rd July. They were part of an attack initiated by the British Reserve Army under the command of Lieutenant General Hubert Gough. The Australian Division attacked Pozières village from the South, with the British 48th (Midland) Division attacking from the West on their left flank. At this time, the Pozières Front-Line area was held by the German 117th Division. After a very hard fight, the 1st Australian Division captured Pozières village by the end of the 23rd July 1916. For the next four days, the Division held its ground in the face of a constant Artillery bombardment, focused on the village from the German guns; the German bombardment continued in its intensity, reaching a peak on 26th July. The remnants of the Division were relieved by the 2nd Australian Division on the 27th July.

The casualties of the 1st Division numbered almost 5,300 in those few days; the survivors were said to be dazed and exhausted when they were relieved from the village.

A Lucky Escape