"At a mile distant their thousand hooves were stuttering thunder, coming at a rate that frightened a man - they were an awe inspiring sight, galloping through the red haze - knee to knee and horse to horse - the dying sun glinting on bayonet points..." Trooper Ion Idriess
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Wednesday, 8 July 2009
The Volunteer Movement in Western Australia, Second Battalion, W.A. Infantry Brigade Topic: Militia - LHW - WA
Western Australian Militia
Second Battalion, W.A. Infantry Brigade
The following is an extract from the book written in 1962 by George F. Wieck called The Volunteer Movement in Western Australia 1861-1903, p. 64:
Second Battalion, W.A. Infantry Brigade
The Second Battalion was formed with the Fremantle personnel of the former 1st Infantry Regiment, that is, "C", "D", and "F" Companies, a Headquarters Band, and another Company being added later. It was a purely Fremantle corps.
On the dissolution of the W.A. Infantry Brigade on 1 July 1903 its 1st and Second Battalions, together with the Guildford portion of the 3rd Battalion, became the 11th Infantry Regiment, with Headquarters at Perth. The new Regiment was allotted to the Field Force as one of the Battalions of the 3rd Infantry Brigade, Queensland.
Hill 971, Turkey, August 8, 1915, Outline Topic: BatzG - Hill 971
Hill 971
Turkey, 8 August 1915
Outline
The summit of Hill 971 from Chunuk Bair looking north.
[From the CEW Bean Collection.]
Hill 971, known to the Turks as Koja Chemen Tepe, was the chief objective of a British offensive launched at Gallipoli in August 1915 in conjunction with a second landing of troops at Suvla Bay, six kilometres north of Anzac (q.v.). The aim of the offensive was to seize the three main heights of the ridgeline (wrongly called 'Sari Bair' by the British) running north-east from the hill known as Baby 700 (q.v.), which formed the apex of Anzac itself-these being Chunuk Bair, Hill Q and Hill 971. Once these dominating peaks of the main range of the Gallipoli Peninsula had been captured, the British expected to be able to march directly to the Narrows of the Dardanelles waterway and achieve a decisive breakthrough in the campaign.
The plan devised required that two columns of troops sally from the northern end of the Anzac beach-head on the night of 6 August and seize foothills which commanded routes to the summit of the range. Another two forces would then move through these and take the summits, before co-operating with attacks to be made from the old Anzac perimeter against Baby 700. A feint was ordered for 6 August at the southern end of the Anzac perimeter (see Lone Pine), to tie up Turkish reserves and keep them away from both the northern movements and the landing at Suvla. The British troops involved in the latter operation, undertaken primarily to secure a base at which stores could he laid down to provide for the Anzac positions needs during the coming winter, were also ordered to aid the main attack in any way possible.
Despite the high hopes held for this plan, its execution came apart in the incredibly rugged country to be traversed, due to inadequate maps and the confusion involved in moving at night through such terrain. While the covering force succeeded in clearing the foothills, delays put the march of the attacking columns behind schedule. The leading elements of the Australian 4th Brigade under Brigadier-General John Monash, which had furthest to go before getting into position to form the left attacking force to take Hill 971, were harried by constant contacts with small groups of the enemy. The arrival of dawn found Monash unsure of his position in a valley called Arghyl Dere, his men exhausted and the brigade still nowhere near its objective.
Hand drawn plan for the attack on Hill 971
The right column, comprising the 29th Indian Brigade and the New Zealand Infantry Brigade, had more luck and got almost to the top of Chunuk Bair. After both columns rested up on 7 August, a renewed push was made the next day. This saw the New Zealanders actually attain their objective, but Monash's troops-ordered to seize a northern spur line known as Adbel Rahman Bair then move south along it to Hill 971 - were caught in the open by well-sited Turkish machine-guns and driven back with great slaughter. On 9 August Ghurkhas from the 29th Brigade had seized Hill Q as well.
This was, however, as close as the plan came to success. The Ghurkhas were shelled off their position by British warships which accidentally dropped a salvo short, and soon after the New Zealanders were relieved by British troops on 10 August a massive Turkish counter-attack wrested back control of Chunuk Bair. This was, effectively, the climax of the Gallipoli campaign, since once this vital ground was retaken by the Turks the Allies' last and best chance of winning at Gallipoli was gone.
Ghurkha stretcher bearers during the action near Hill 971.
Extracted from the book produced by Chris Coulthard-Clark, Where Australians Fought - The Encyclopaedia of Australia's Battles, Allen and Unwin, Sydney, 1998, pp. 109-110.
Additional References cited by Chris Coulthard-Clark:
C.E.W. Bean, (1924), The Story of Anzac, Vol. 2 , Sydney: Angus & Robertson.
The Volunteer Movement in Western Australia, 3rd Battalion, W.A. Infantry Brigade Topic: Militia - LHW - WA
Western Australian Militia
3rd Battalion, W.A. Infantry Brigade
The following is an extract from the book written in 1962 by George F. Wieck called The Volunteer Movement in Western Australia 1861-1903, p. 64:
3rd Battalion, W.A. Infantry Brigade
"E" (Guildford) Company of the former 1st Infantry Regiment formed the nucleus of this Battalion. To it were added the formerly independent corps at Geraldton, Bunbury and York, each forming a Company of the new body. The York Company was disbanded in 1902.
Each centre dealt direct with the Ordnance Services and generally there was little administrative guidance except at camps of training when all were assembled.
At the dissolution of the W.A. Infantry Brigade on 1 July 1903, the Guildford Company of the Battalion was allotted to the 11th Infantry Regiment (See: 1st Battalion, W.A. Infantry Brigade) whilst the Geraldton and Bunbury Companies were amalgamated with the 4th Battalion to form the new 1st Battalion, W.A. Infantry Regiment (See also 4th Battalion, W.A. Infantry Brigade).
The Volunteer Movement in Western Australia, 4th Battalion, W.A. Infantry Brigade Topic: Militia - LHW - WA
Western Australian Militia
4th Battalion, W.A. Infantry Brigade
The following is an extract from the book written in 1962 by George F. Wieck called The Volunteer Movement in Western Australia 1861-1903, p. 65:
4th Battalion, W.A. Infantry Brigade
The 4th Battalion was actually the former Metropolitan Civil Service Rifles. The West Australian Highlanders Company was added at a later date.
When the Brigade was dissolved on 1 July 1903, the 4th Battalion was amalgamated with the 3rd Battalion (less Guildford portion) to form the new 1st Battalion, W.A. Infantry Regiment.
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