Michael has sent in some more photos from his trip to the MZ Rally in Finland. These have been taken just outside of the town of Pozieres in France. A little bit of history about Pozieres. BATTLE OF POZIERES FRANCE 23 JULY - 5 AUGUST 1916 The battle of Pozieres was one of a large number of separate battles that together made up the battle of the Somme. The Somme operation remains one of the most controversial, and least understood, battles in the history of the British Empire. Day one of the battle still holds the distinction of being the bloodiest day for the British Army, with nearly 60,000 casualties, including 20,000 killed.
Costs and Rewards of this battle....The Windmill at Pozieres was the site to which Australia’s Official War Historian, Charles Bean, was referring when he said: “[this site] marks a ridge more densely sown with Australian sacrifice than any other place on earth.” Bean was correct, the battle cost the ANZAC Corps the following casualties:
1st Australian Division 5,285 officers and men
2nd Australian Division 6,846 officers and men
4th Australian Division* 4,649 officers and men
(*as at 16th August when relieved.)
The intensity of the fighting can be estimated from the number of Victoria Crosses awarded during the battle for Pozieres.
23 July Lieutenant A.S. Blackburn 10th Battalion
23 July Private J. Leak 9th Battalion
24/25 July Private T. Cooke 8th Battalion
28 July SGT C.C. Castleton 5th Machine Gun Coy
The outskirts of the town of Pozieres.
Looking in the opposite direction at the same spot, the Australian Cemetery and memorial in the distance, Australian & French flags flying high.
Comments
Post a Comment