17/04/2024
Part 8 – Polygon Wood
Polygon Wood as the name suggests is a forest with 5 sides like a polygon and is about 40 acres in size. It is located just off the Menin Road from Ypres or Leiper. See Map 1
and this video explains the system of trenches -
https://youtu.be/5fVMPkCYXgY?si=ZBjNFDiAe22aW5Zh
The battle was set to go at 5.30am on the 26th of September, the 31st Battalion had been brought in or “borrowed” ( they had never been in the area before, all their previous fighting had been further south in France.) See map 2
They were given time to assess the area and check out maps.
The Germans knew something was about to happen an launched a massive pre-emptive artillery operation – some said later the largest ever seen to that point.
The men had to move out of Ypres along the Menin Road to Hell Fire Corner where they were under constant enemy fire to assemble on a pre- taped line on the ground to move forward again at zero hour towards the first objective. See map 3
It was a dangerous exercise to get to this point. Many men were killed before they even got to the start tape, including all three of the Seabrook Brothers who died from artillery fire before the battle started- on there first ever trip to the front lines. See pic 3
See here –
https://www.facebook.com/profile/100071085540693/search/?q=seabrook
Another man John Hunter died in the arms of his brother James, at this point too, his body was rediscovered in 2006 by the local historian I mentioned in the last Part – Johan Vanderwalle.
I was lucky to meet Johan (who also runs the local café) in 2005 and again in 2012 where he took us for a private tour of the district. See pic 4
The incredible story of John Hunter is here, it’s worth a look, it inspired an ABC Documentary – Lost in Flanders and a new memorial Brothers in Arms – dedicated to brothers who died in battle –
https://kneedeepintohistory.com/private-j-hunter-and-the-brothers-in-arms-memorial-project-a-beautiful-story-of-closure/
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1461674764267884
Lost in Flanders-
https://shop.nfsa.gov.au/lost-in-flanders
The British Artillery was then to launch a creeping barrage at a rate of 100 yards per minute moving forward as protection for the troops. The troops would be required move forward at a rate of 100 yards per minute (over muddy, blown apart ground) behind the protective barrage of shells towards the opposition.
During the war the forest was blown to bits but you could still see the remains of the tree stumps. There was an old horse racing track on the middle and Polygon Beek or Creek runs through the centre. There is a road to the west of the forest – this was the first objective, there was a row of pill boxes to attack from here and this was the second objective maybe 500m to 1km away. See Map 3
Pill boxes or Fritz blockhouses as they were called were made up of concrete and railway iron placed sided by side and in some cases several layers of it to withstand the constant artillery shelling. They had a slit in the front where a machine gun shot out of and were a formidable defence. Attacks from head on always had high causality rates. See Pic 5
The 31st Battalion’s mission was
- a first wave of men were to creep forward at 5.30am behind the ‘protection’ of the British Artillery and claim the first objective, - which was the remains of a road at the western side of Polygon Wood. Most of these men were expected to be killed or wounded. A second wave behind them was to assemble on the first objective at 7.30am and move forward attack the line of pillboxes on the other side of the paddock from Polygon Wood further west. Fortunately Alex was in B Company which was in the second wave. See map 4
Next to the 31st Battalion on it’s right hand side- were the British 33rd Division. The Brits had been pounded all day and all night by the German Artillery and the Germans had counter attacked through the night and had pushed forward to almost the start off point for the battle.
Brigadier General Pompey Elliot who was overseeing the battle sent in the Australian 60th & 57th Battalions early.
Both were cut down but managed to push the German counter attack back so the Australian 59th Battalion (which too was brought in early, and with no warning) to replace the 60th and 57th -so there was someone who could then move up with the 31st Battalion together and not have an open or exposed right hand side.The idea is all the troops in all the Battalions move forward and attack in a line together - so there is no gaps - like in a game of football. See Map 4
The 31st made it to the first objective by 7.30.
Problem is the 59th to their right were struggling to push back the enemy, and the Australian 29th Battalion to their left and the 56th to further away the left of them as well were getting smashed by machine guns from the German pill boxes and they couldn’t move forward.
The Officers from the 29th and 59th were hit and the men thinking they were on the road on the side of Polygon Wood were actually digging in on the racetrack in the wrong position.
The 31st Battalion was out in front on it’s own with both of its sides open to attack. they were sitting ducks.
Pics 6 - 10 are communications from HQ to the officers at the front - there were no radios then - just men running notes back and forth.
The 31st actually got to the first objective at 6.45 they were waiting for the others to catch up before being told to dig in.
Here is a link to the actual battle notes for the 31st Battalion at Polygon Wood as preserved by the Australian War memorial, it even contains the battle messages to and from command written by officers in the field and sent back by runners from their note pads as below.
https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/awm-media/collection/RCDIG1004035/bundled/RCDIG1004035.pdf
(Alex owned a copy of Charles Beans history of the First World War. In it has every battle in it involving Australians and what happend down to officer level. Alex must have been reading about this battle as he marked in the book that section and the officer of his Company on pages 819. See Pic 11
From this we able to pin point where he was to about 100m on that fateful day.
A German commander in one of the Pill boxes saw the 31st Battalion out front and exposed and launched a counter attack.
Charles Bean writes
“Immediately after that phase there emerged from the pillboxes beside Polygonbeek, which should have been attacked by the 29th in the second phase a number of Germans advancing against the right flank and the rear of the 14th Brigade (rear of the 56th) Led by a Battalion Commander, the left of this counter attack approached the posts of Lieutenants McDonald from the 59th and Wilson from the 31st (– who was Alex’s officer) on the first objective”
The unsuspecting Australians waiting on the first objective ready to go were ambushed by a surprise attack to their left.
This is where Alex got hit. He was shot in the back on his left hand side.
Alex writes in his first letter home to his Mother on the 28th of October 1917 – a month later and explains what happens in his own words -
Dear Mother
I suppose you would be wondering what has become of me. I could not write very well before this, the first letter I wrote last week to Mrs Marshall? Since I was wounded. She said she just had a letter from you and she was going to answer it, the night before I got myne. So, I suppose she told you I was wounded.
I was wounded on the 26th of September. I had a letter from Sarah and one from Ruby with a picture of the plains honour board, (note- the Redbank Plains church put a photo board of Alex and others from the district up inside the church – see pic 12 this was still up in the church in the 1980’s when we went there as kids)
In your letter you said you had a dream that I had been wounded, I got the letters on the night of the 25th and I was wounded on the morning of the 26th of September. So dreams do come true. I was wounded at Ypres. We went over the top at about a quarter to six, we had reached our position and we were preparing for Fritz to counter attack us when I got hit. It was half past seven, then I crawled back to whear some engineers were digging a trench (the men digging in on the old racetrack). They took everything off me, bandaged me up and put a towl over my shoulders and carried me to an old Fritz’s blockhouse (see pic) There were about five of us in it, we stopped that day and the night. The stretcher bearer came back and got us in the morning. (note -there was a complaint about the lack of stretcher bearers in the officers notes) I got down to the E & S ? at 3 o’clock that evening (note -31.5 hours later) and went strait onto the operating table and had the bullet and two of my ribs taken out just over the heart. It was a ricker shaped bullet; it went in under my left arm through two ribs just missed my heart. The doctor said it was a very lucky hit. I was in France for 19 days before they would send me over here ( note -he was writing the letter from England). It will be a fortnight tomorrow since I landed here, it is a nice hospital. I am getting on nicely but am full up of bed. The wound is healing nicely but I am still very weak. I cannot turn on my sides yet or sit up that’s the worst of it. There are a good few of our boys in here with their legs and arm off. There are nearly all Australians in the ward I am in. I reckon I was stiff getting nocked, if I had come through the stunt all right I would have went on my 10 days leave four days after it. Just my luck I suppose. He later writes –
I don’t think I will see anymore fighting, the doctor says not anyhour.”
Pics 13 -16 is Polygon wood now
He writes again in the next letter to his mother on the 28th of November 1917
“ I was speaking to one of my mates who just come over from France on leave. He said after our Battalion came out of the line they had 70 men left out of 800 nearly all the officers were killed it was murder for us Fritz gave us all his shellfire wright and left”
We think the mate Alex was talking about was Tommy Smith, he was lucky enough to be one of the 70 left alive and standing and made it to England after Polygon Wood. He was with Alex when he got hit, we don’t know if he helped save him or not. Unfortunately, Tommy was killed about 2 months later on the 28th of November 1917 at Messines in Belguim. He was accidently shot by one of our own in a trench – a gun jammed – they were clearing it and the gun went off as he was walking past hitting him in the leg.
He died from blood loss about 30 min or so later later. There was an inquest into it. You can read his record and the inquest here, then click on digital copy when it opens up –
https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/DetailsReports/ItemDetail.aspx?Barcode=1789347&isAv=N
Alex writes in a letter to his mother on the 21 st of January 1918 to his mother –
“ Another poor mate of myne was killed on the 28th of November T Smith from Carrington, Joe knows him well. We were together right up till I got my wack. He was shot through the knees by one of our company machine guns and died an hour or so afterwards.”
During the research for the 2012 trip to Belguim, Dad (David) recalled as a kid in the 1950’s Alex would drive to Boonah sometimes on a Sunday morning to have morning tea with a very old man(as he sometimes went with him). He said he didn’t know what the connection was – turns out it was Tommy Smith’s Father.. he kept in contact..
We visited Tommy’s grave in Messines and placed some flowers for Alex. By chance he is only buried not even 2km from Richard Hobbs. See pics 18 - 25
Tommy’s name is in the war memorial in Goodna near the roundabout in the deceased section and Alex’s name is on the other side of the same memorial.
Johan in our local tour around Polygon Wood took us to a cellar underneath a farm house he said was used as a field hospital during the battle. See pics 26 & 27
He said Alex would have been initially operated on here before he was transferred further behind the lines to a hospital in France, where according to his records he was operated on again a few weeks later- to drain the pus out of the infected wound. He picked up after this, and was transferred to England to Harefiled Park hospital. See pics 1 & 2 It was here Alex had spent 18th Birthday; he was legally a soldier now….
The communication to home was poor. Alex’s mother Mary was notified by telegram on the 19th of October-
Reported Private James Yarrow wounded, will advised anything further received’
Then on the 8th of November 1917 –
‘Now reported Private James Yarrow admitted to Lakenham Military Hospital Norwich England 16.10.17 Gunshot wound chest side.
Poor Mary had to wait a month for some news that he was in hospital, she didn’t receive his first letter till after that telegram. See pics 28 & 29
Then to Weymouth to recover. He writes to his Mother on the 21 of January 1918 while waiting for the boat to go home –
“It is nearly 4 months since I was nocked and my chest is still painful. It has healed up but it is still tender. The bullet went through my left lung as well so I am minus a rib and a half and half a lung.
The doctor was telling me I was a lucky man to be alive another quarter of an inch and it would have went through my heart. In fact I thought I was finished when I was hit. My left arm went stiff, and I went pretty stiff too I can tell you but it is all over now thank goodness.
I got a surprise when you said Rhoda was married but it is nothing to get surprises these days. One day they will tell you are on a boat Rolland going to Aussie, the next day they will pull you off it and so you get some dinkum surprises over here I can tell you. I had a letter from mothers Willie he was advising me to fetch a girl back with me because they all were getting married out there, but I think I won’t bother somehow…… We are having a good time as far as work goes we only have one praid a day at nine in the morning till half past for the reading of orders. It is the best time I have ever had in since I joined the army, it is sort of a convalescent camp, beds and mattresses, plenty of blankets, plenty of sleep and plenty to eat.” See Pics 30-34
For Alex is, war in Europe was over, he managed to get a spot home on a boat to Australia on the 30 January 1918.
Anzac Day is next the 25th of April, please thank our brave men and women of the AIF, and share a thought for Richard, Tommy and Alex....
The next battle for him was recovery and to fit back into life in Australia..
Next - Part 9 Life back home in Australia post 1918
