The bombardment included phosgene and tear gas. It was also intended that the O.G. Pozieres is a small village situated in the Somme valley in France. On a front of 400 yards (370 m) they overran the thinly occupied O.G. The clash was the first of numerous battles together known as The Battle of the Somme. The village was captured initially by … Attacking in the dark, only the Australian 5th Battalion found either of the O.G. From its twelve days in the line, the division had suffered 6,848 casualties. The Battle of Pozières (23 July – 3 September 1916) took place in northern France around the village of Pozières, during the Battle of the Somme. The bombardment continued through the day, by the end of which most of the 2nd Division had been relieved. This German second line extended from beyond Mouquet Farm in the north, ran behind Pozières to the east, then sou… Haig decided to transfer responsibility for Pozières to the Reserve Army of Lieutenant General Hubert Gough which had been holding the line north of the road since shortly after the opening of the offensive on 1 July. Curriculum Links:The film and materials in this guide will have interest and relevance for senior secondary students of Studies of Society and Environment, History, English, Drama and Media Studies. However, to attack at dusk meant assembling by day which was only possible to do in the protection of trenches. The German bombardment intensified on 25 July, in preparation for another counter-attack. [11] The main attack went ahead, scheduled to start at 12:15 a.m. on 29 July but the Australian 7th Brigade was late in reaching its start line and its movement was detected by the German defenders; when the attack commenced, the Australians were met by a hail of machine gun fire. Since taking over the Pozières sector, Gough had planned to drive a wedge behind (east of) the German fortress of Thiepval. This 1916 trench map shows the German front line positions from Ovillers-la-Boisselle to Thiepval at the start of the battle (on the left), and the two major second line trenches to the north and east of Pozières on the right, referred to by the British as OG (Old German) 1 & OG 2. The Battle in Brief. Three weeks after the battle was joined the Anzacs were committed to action before Pozieres, north of the Somme River. General Haig was disparaging of the division's failure, telling Lieutenant General William Birdwood, the I Anzac Corps commander, "You're not fighting Bashi-Bazouks now." No village in the Somme area was so completely erased as Pozieres. The costly fighting ended with the British in possession of the plateau north and east of the village, in a position to menace the German bastion of Thiepval from the rear. [13] Wilfrid Miles, the official historian, praised the initiative shown by small sub-units of men in clearing the Germans from positions in the village but at the same time attributed much of the severity of losses to Australian inexperience and their "reckless daring".[14]. To learn how we can support your institution below. The artillery of I Anzac Corps, II Corps and the guns of the two neighbouring British corps replied. 23rd - 3rd September, 1916. ", The village of Pozières, on the Albert–Bapaume road, lies atop a ridge approximately in the centre of what was the British sector of the Somme battlefield. The Australians had made up to 19 attacks against the German positions at a terrible cost of 23,000 casualties that included 6,900 killed in action or dying of their wounds. Lines, the Reserve Army attacked northwards along the ridge towards the German strong point of Mouquet Farm which protected the rear of Thiepval. Become a member by purchasing. Lines north and east of the village. Therefore, a system of approach and assembly trenches had to be dug at night. The Australian official historian Charles Bean wrote that Pozières ridge "is more densely sown with Australian sacrifice than any other place on earth." Cemeteries in Pozieres, Picardie, a Find A Grave. With your donations I can get more time to create and upload new videos.https://paypal.me/YTmustbefunnyPlease support my channel and subscribe. The Somme battle which had begun on 1 July 1916 was the bloodiest of the whole war, with the soldiers enduring unimaginable horrors. 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