| The 39th Battalion AIF
The
Story of the 39th
Battalion AIF 1916-19
by
Lt Col A T Patterson
--o--
Facsimile
E-Book
Battle
of Messines (click to enlarge)
The 39th Battalion was formed
on 21 February 1916 at the Ballarat Showgrounds in Victoria and drew
most of its recruits from the state’s Western District. It became part
of the 10th Brigade of the 3rd Australian Division. Sailing from
Melbourne on 27 May, the battalion arrived in Britain on 18 July and
commenced four months of training. It crossed to France in late
November and moved into the trenches of the Western Front for the first
time on 9 December, just in time for the onset of the terrible winter
of 1916-17.
The 39th
fought in its first major battle at Messines, in Belgium, between 7-9
June 1917. During its march to the start-line for this operation the
battalion suffered heavily from a German gas bombardment and less than
a third of the troops earmarked to attack actually did so. The
battalion, however, captured all of its objectives. The 39th fought in
another two major attacks in this sector - the carefully planned and
executed battle of Broodseinde on 4 October, and the disastrous battle
of Passchendaele on 12 October.
Belgium
remained the focus of the 39th Battalion’s activities for the next five
months as it was rotated between service in the rear areas and the
front line. When the German Army launched its last great offensive in
the spring of 1918, the battalion was rushed south to France and played
a role in turning the German drive aimed at the vital railway junction
of Amiens.
The Allies
launched their own offensive on 8 August 1918, but the 10th Brigade was
the 3rd Division’s reserve on this day so the 39th did not play an
active role. It was involved, however, in an ill-conceived attack that
failed to capture the village of Proyart on 10 August. Not daunted by
this experience, the battalion continued to play an active role
throughout August and early September in the 3rd Division’s advance
along the Somme Valley.
The 39th
participated in its last major action of the war between 29 September
and 2 October 1918 as part of the Australian-American operation that
breached the formidable defences of the Hindenburg Line along the St
Quentin Canal. Along with much of the AIF, the 39th was resting out of
the line when the war ended in November. It was disbanded in March 1919.
36
illustrations and 11 maps
Illustrations
reduced in scale for web - not indicative of ebook quality
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