Saturday 29th
July 1916 From our Correspondent in the
Field
In the ruins of Delville Wood there has been some smaller scale activity today than of late. We are given to understand that an advance of 500 yards has been made in the west of the wood and a smaller advance in the east. The 1st Bedfords have taken no part, their brigade having been withdrawn yesterday.
The main fighting
today has been taking place to the north-west on the high ground around
Pozières. An attack has been made by 2nd Australian Division and 23rd British
Division. The attack was due to start just after midnight but an incessant
German bombardment meant that the Australians were late in starting and when
they did attack they were met by a wall of machine-gun fire, 5th Australian
Brigade does not seem to have been able to leave its front line trenches whilst
7th Brigade found German barbed wire uncut. 6th Australian Brigade was able to
make some slight progress, we believe. 23rd Division got bogged down in a
bomb-lobbing contest with its German opponents.
A rumour is
doing the rounds that the Commander-in-Chief, Sir Douglas Haig, is not happy with
the performance of the Australians, telling their Corps commander, General
Birdwood: “You’re not fighting Bashi-Bazouks(1) now” or words to that effect.
Given that the Australians seem to resent any form of criticism at any time
from High Command, such a rumour, whether true or not, will not do the effort
in general any good.
(1) Turkish
soldiers – a reference to the fighting at Gallipoli the previous year.
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