Once again, I have attended the annual commemoration service conducted by the Friends of the 15th Brigade Organisation at the Shrine of Remembrance to honour those who served and died in the Battle of Polygon Wood in 1916.
The ‘Battle of Polygon Wood’ during WW1 was a significant engagement in which Australian forces played a crucial role. It was part of the larger Third Battle of Ypres (also known as the Battle of Passchendaele) and took place in the area around Ypres, Belgium.
My grandfather, Sgt Walter Wilson, served in the 57th Batallion – one of the units within the 15th Brigade. The task of the Australians was to capture the area known as Polygon Wood, which was a dense forest before the war but had been reduced to little more than tree stumps and shell craters by relentless artillery bombardments.
57th Battalion Banner
Our speaker was author Scott Bennett who painted a vivid picture of this battle which was one of the main engagements fought by the 15th Brigade. The Australian troops moved forward behind a creeping artillery barrage. This tactic, where infantry advanced just behind a moving curtain of artillery fire, was designed to suppress enemy defenders and allow the attackers to overrun their positions. I read in one history book that some 2 milllion artillery shells were used in this engagement. Over 56,000 tons of ammunition was requisitioned for the battle.
The battlefield was a nightmare of mud, shell holes, and tangled barbed wire. Despite these conditions, the Australians advanced and captured their objectives, including the remnants of Polygon Wood and the Butte, a large artificial hill that was a key feature of the battlefield.
The Australians lost around 5,770 men in this battle. This was a heavy toll, but showed that the Australians could hold their ground against determined German resistance.
Today, the Buttes New British Cemetery in Polygon Wood contains memorials to many of the Australians who died in the battle. It includes a special memorial to the 5th Australian Division. I remember once standing on the Butte (the mound of an old rfle range) talking to a man who turned out to be a serving Belgian Army Officer. He told me about the devastation of the overall Battle of Passchendaele. When looking at war time photos, you can generally see ruined buildings on streets and roads. At Passchendaele, however, the shelling was so heavy that even the street pattern was obliterated.
5th Division amnd Buttes Memorial – Polygon Wood, Belgium
Bugler, Ian Douglas, in the uniform of a Victorian Colonial Regiment
The Shrine and flags of Australia, Belgium and the 57th Battalion
