Category: 22nd AIF

Despite being exhausted and expecting relief, orders were received to move forward and relieve the 18^th Battalion. The fighting strength of the Battalion at this stage was now little more than 100, and it was necessary to bring up the men that had formed the Battalion nucleus at Caestre. Once back in the front line trenches orders for the following days attack were communicated to all concerned and final preparations made. The main thrust of the attack by nine British, Anzac and French divisions would be towards the village of Poelcappelle. The 22nd Battalion would be on the far right flank, with the junction with the 8th Battalion on their right the southerly pivot point for the whole attack.

 

Having only just come out of battle, the tired and wet men, particularly of the 6^th Brigade, spent hours cable laying in atrocious conditions. Having no coats they carried their waterproof sheets as capes and returned to their shell holes to find them drenched. Over the next day hundreds were evacuated with exhaustion, and many with trench feet. By the time of the attack the 6^th Brigade would be down to just 600 available men, and the 7^th down to 800. The 5^th Brigade that had not been used in the previous attack still had 2,000 men.

The success of the previous day had brought high expectations that further attacks could lead to a decisive breakthrough, but while Field Marshall Haig was having good fortune on the battlefield he was now losing the one thing he could not control, the weather. Rain commenced on the previous day during the attack and within a very short period of time the logistics of getting materials (artillery, ammunition, equipment) to the front, and wounded to the rear began to break down. Recently captured pillboxes were now crammed with wounded men trying to shelter from the elements and enemy shells. The rain continued as drizzle through the 5^th, were constant showers on the 6^th and in bitter drenching squalls on the 7^th. Mules and pack-horses endlessly ploughing their way along the limited tracks quickly rendered them almost impassable. For the men of the 22nd Battalion having been relieved on the night of 5th October, the days in reserve were miserable with the regular downpours making the battle ground a quagmire. The only accommodation consisted of shell holes, half filled with mud and water, and all available men worked long hours burying cables and on fatigues.

The Battle of Broodseinde was the third blow struck by the British and Australians at Ypres in fifteen days with complete success, driving the Germans from one of the most important positions on the Western Front. What made Broodseinde unusual was that both sides attacked at the same zero hour of 6am, and it was the German Army that came off worse under the intense British artillery barrage and the on-rushing British and Anzac infantry, often catching German Staff officers unawares in their blockhouses. General Plumer indeed called this ‘the greatest victory since the Marne’, and at this point the British faced the possibility of decisive success. For the Germans their Official History referred to the 4^th October as a ‘black day’ as they had suffered a serious defeat and losses. However, losses for the Australians were heavy too with the three divisions sustaining 6,500 casualties plus a further 1,850 for the New Zealanders. Attacking just to the south of Zonnebeke Lake, Broodseinde was the third most costly attack in the War so far for the 22nd Battalion after Pozieres and Bullecourt, with 93 men being killed or died from wounds as a result of the battle.

Operation: On a day to be notified, 1^st Anzac, simultaneously with Corps on each flank will continue its advance. On the 2^nd Division front the 6^th Brigade attack on the right, 7^th Brigade on the left. Before midnight prior to the attack the 22^nd Battalion in support will change places with the 23^rd Battalion in the line. The 22^nd will carry and consolidate the Red Line. The Blue Line will be captured by the 24^th Battalion on the right and the 21^st Battalion on the left after passing through the 22^nd. The Battalion will attack on a 4 Company frontage, each Company on a Platoon frontage. The 3^rd Platoon of each Coy will be moppers up.

Artillery: At zero hour a barrage will be put down 150 yards in front of our front line. At plus 3 minutes it moves 200 yards at the rate of 100 yards every 4 minutes, thence to the Red Protective Barrage (200 yards beyond the Red Line), it moves 100 yards every 6 minutes. At plus 130 minutes it moves 100 yards every 8 minutes, finally resting on the Blue Protective Barrage (200 yards beyond the Blue Line). One smoke round per gun will be fired when the Barrage reaches each of the Protective Lines. A number of Batteries of FA, at the disposal of the Divisional Commander, can be switched on to any point holding up the attack, on particulars being furnished.

Consolidation: About 150 yards behind the Red Protective Barrage, shell holes are to be linked up. If sufficient men are not available to complete a continuous trench, sections of trench are to be dug so that a continuous line may be completed later.

On the night of the 16^th/17^th September the 22^nd Battalion entered the front-line in a sector on the Westhoek Ridge, taking over from the 17^th & 19^th London Regiments. The 6^th Brigade held a double frontage, for the 5^th & 7^th Brigades were preparing for the attack on the 20^th September. During the 48 hour short tour of the front-line valuable reconnaissance and preparatory work was undertaken, but heavy German shelling in response to the Menin Road preparatory bombardment took its toll with 33 men being killed or died of wounds, including Lieut. Greig (photographed 10 days earlier with his V Platoon) from the Gallipoli contingent.

After six weeks training in the Campagne region, the 22nd Battalion along with the infantry of I Anzac Corps began to move forward in preparation for their entry into the Third Ypres offensive, with the AIF 2^nd Division (photograph right) to Reninghelst  and the 1^st Division the following day to Ouderdom. During the moonlit nights and during the day the German air force harassed the troops in their camps or on the move by bombing or machine-gun attacks. At no time within the experience of the Australian infantry were the German airmen so active behind the lines. At night searchlights would pick out their prey before the anti-aircraft batteries would try and shower them with shrapnel.