Royal Australian Navy Bridging Train

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The Royal Australian Navy Bridging Train
Active 24 February 1915 - January 1917
Country Australia
Branch Navy
Type Bridging Train
Role Logistical Support
Combat Engineers
Harbourmasters
Size 9 Officers, 348 Other Ranks
(on embarkation at Melbourne)[1]
Part of Royal Australian Naval Brigade
British IX Corps
ANZAC Corps
Commanders
Notable
commanders		 Rear Admiral Sir Leighton Bracegirdle

The Royal Australian Navy Bridging Train was an Australian military unit of World War One, composed of Royal Australian Naval Reservists who served in the Gallipoli Campaign. Despite often serving in close proximity with ANZAC Forces, the RANBT seldom operated in conjunction with them, usually supporting the British IX Corps.

“ In Gallipoli, as we have seen, only four miles separated them from the Anzacs and yet,they are part of a world so separate that I do not think one Australian or New Zealander in a thousand knows that they are there, and they know practically nothing whatever of what happens at Anzac.[2] ”

The Train was the most decorated RAN Unit of World War One, with more than 20 decorations awarded to its sailors for their work in Gallipoli and Palestine.

Contents

[edit] Recruitment

After the outbreak of World War One, it became apparent to the Navy Board, that there would be very little for the Royal Australian Naval Brigade to do. They had also heard that there was a great demand for engineering units on the Western Front where trench warfare was just beginning. Hints had even come from the Imperial War Council that a navy unit would be acceptable, perhaps working with the Royal Naval Division.

On February 8th, the Navy Board sent a proposal to the Minister of Defence suggesting that they offer to the Imperial War Council the use of two Naval Bridging Teams from the ranks of the Navy Reserve. These units, the Board suggested, would keep their naval ranks, but be paid, trained, supervised, equipped and deployed by the Army. Four days later, the Commonwealth cabled this offer to the Imperial War Cabinet. The Council accepted this offer on February 18th.

Command of the Train was given to Lieutenant Commander, later Rear Admiral Sir, Leighton Bracegirdle KCVO DSO RAN who took up his commission on the 24th and immediately, with his 2/ic, Lieutenant, later Commander, Thomas Bond DSO VD RANR, began to enlist and train the Train. By March 12th, they had 115 men encamped at the Melbourne Domain, and had found out that no one in the Australian Army or Navy knew anything useful about Bridging Trains, they would have to build their equipment before training with it, and that almost all of their sailors had to learn to ride, with a very limited number of horses.

By June 3rd, the Train embarked upon HMAT Port McQuarie with seven officers, 348 Petty Officers and other ranks, 26 reinforcements, 412 horses fifty six-horse pontoons & tressle waggons and eight other vehicles. By the time they reached India, the train had new orders. The original plan of serving with the Royal Naval Division on the Western Front, like many in the First World War, was abandoned. Instead, they were go to the Dardanelles and were being transferred from the Admiralty to the British Army who were in turn attaching them to Lt. General Stopford's IX Army Corps who were to land at Suvla Bay on August 7th. The Sailors (and their Officers) still had not had any training in their primary purpose, building pontoons.

The Train began to disembark from Port Macquarie on July 27th, and with great difficulty transferred their stores and equipment to the smaller transport Itria and from there to land. By the 6th of August they had been given all the instruction they would receive, unpacked and repacked their supplies and were back on the Itria.

[edit] Suvla Bay

The Train's first job was to set up the pier at A Beach which had been landed by another ship, but no working party had been left to assemble it. These were the only orders that the train received on the first hectic day, but the sailors were happy for the break. The next day, they moved the pier twice to avoid enemy fire. The next two days were filled with similar construction tasks, landing troops and artillery, shifting their own camp to Kangeroo Beach, when the Train took on a new responsibility: the water supply. All water had to be brought in by ship, and in the hectic days since the landing, it had been a "common sight" to see whole platoons of soldiers clustered around small tins of water, providing easy targets for the Turkish gunners.

Of course, the RANBT still had to keep up all it's regular activities, as well. To accomplish this new task, the Train acquired three fire engines and some hose from the attending warships, which were now able to pump water straight into the tanks the Train had set up on the shore. Initally the hose had to be guarded from soldiers who would puncture it to get at the water, but it was soon replaced with an iron pipe.

Their next new job was to assist the Royal Engineer detachments with entrenching ground that was expected to be taken in an advance. Lt Bond and 34 sailors were sent, but the attack failed and they were not called in.

According to Commander Bracegirdle

“ The principal duties allotted to the unit by the Royal Navy were as follows : Water supply, care of landing-piers, discharging of stores from store-ships and transports, lighterage of same to the shore, salving of lighters and steamboats wrecked during gales, assisting in salving of T.B.D. Louis, disembarking of troops with their baggage on all beaches, and of munitions and stores. . . .

The duties allotted to the unit by the GOC the IX Army Corps were briefly as follows : Control and issue of all engineer and trench stores and materials, care and issue of trench bombs and demolition stores (for some weeks after landing, and until proper ordnance dumps were established), erection of high-explosive magazines, dug-outs, cookhouses, and galleys, assembly of hospital huttings, construction of iron frames for front-line wire entanglements; and the manning and control of the steam-tug Daphne.[3]

 ”

The Train also provided wireless operators for various forward wireless stations, and Lt. Commander Bracegirdle was the "Beachmaster" of Kangeroo Beach.

Occasionally the Train had to call in extra manpower from the British Troops they were supplying and due to the constant shelling encountered the soldiers all looked forward to returning to the trenches, where they could at least shoot back at their attackers.

[edit] Commendation

The little known unit won high praise from Offical War Correspondant Charles Bean

“ There they are to-day, in charge of the landing of a great part of the stores of a British army. They are quite cut off from their own force; they scarcely come into the category of the Australian Force, and scarcely into that of the British; they are scarcely army and scarcely navy. Who it is that looks after their special interests, and which is the authority that has the power of recognising any good work that they have done, I do not know. If you want to see the work, you have only to go to Kangaroo Beach, Suvla Bay, and look about you. They had made a harbour.[4] ”

And their Commander, General Bland of the Royal Engineers

“ From the time the 1st R.A.N.B.T. joined the IX Corps all ranks have worked hard, cheerfully, and well. They have rendered most valuable services iii connection with the construction and maintenance of landing-piers, beach water-supply, and the landing, charge of, and distribution of engineer material at Suvla, and have most willingly given their help in many other directions. Their work has been continuously heavy, and they have done it well.[5] ”

These men were convinced that the Royal Australian Navy won their share of honour at Galipoli with this unit.

[edit] Evacuation

In preparation for the evacuation, the Train worked day and night for weeks, setting up buildings while other detachments pulled other buildings down. Other sections built piers for the soldiers to depart from. They cleared out "Royal Engineers Park" and packed their own supplies for transport.

On December 18th, the 60 remaining sailors destroyed what they couldn't take with them and rowed out to HMT El Kahira on December 18th, the night before the final evaulation of Suvla by the British. The base was heavily shelled after their withdrawal. General Blan had this to say about their actions leading up to the evacuation.

“ Both these units set a fine example of endurance, good organisation, arid discipline. Their commanders were indefatigable in anticipating requirements, and assisting whenever and wherever required. I bring them to your notice as two specially valuable and well-commanded units, which can be relied on to do their best under difficult conditions.[6] ”

The RANBT was the last Australian unit to leave Gallipoli, a party of 50 men under Sub-Lieutenant Charles Hicks was left behind to oversee the evacuation of British Forces, leaving at 0430, 20 minutes after the last troops at ANZAC Cove.

[edit] Suez Canal

After recuperating at Mudros, the Train was transferred from the 11th Division to General Birdwood's ANZAC Corps, where they took charge of bridges, tugs and supplies at No. 2 section, Suez Canal. However no less than three other officers tried to take command of the Train. Admiral Wemyss wanted to take it to Mesopotania, to join his naval forces by working the rivers there and manning gunboats. General Sir Julian Byng, now in command of the IX Corps which had 'owned' the Train at Suvla, wanted to move south to his part of the Suez. General Birdwood wanted to keep them for himself. In the end the IX Corps won out and the RANBT moved south. At this time also, Lt Bond was transferred to Naval Intelligence in Cairo and Lt C.H. Read took his place as Second-in-Command.

Turkish POWs escorted over an RANBT Pontoon Bridge.
Turkish POWs escorted over an RANBT Pontoon Bridge.

The IX Corps really knew what the Train was capable of, and it was spread wide over seven posts and their responsibilities in No. 2 section were joined by construction of piers, warves, pumping machinery and bridges, manning several tugs and lightboats as well as the Quarantine Station outside the Canal, control of the machinery of the canal and of all military traffic in their sector. During this time they also were occasionally called upon to provide logistical assistance to Allied efforts in the Canal Zone.

They played a major part in the El Arish offensive, landing while under fire and then building two piers through a minefield. With the light railway the Royal Engineers were building still 25 miles short, it was up to the Train to fully supply the attackers. Little action was actually seen as the Turks slipped out of El Arish, apparently getting wind of the attack, a day before the Train landed. But it was one of the few times that the Train supported other Australian forces, in this case, the Imperial Camel Corps and Australian Light Horse.

This however was the last real action that the Train was involved with. As the Allied forces worked their way further into Palestine, the Canal defences were downgraded. In January 1917, it was decided that the Train would be incorporated into Archibald Murray's Egyptian Expeditionary Force, but the work was not enough to occupy the whole of the train. Through a series of miscommunications between the War Office, Department of Defence, Commonwealth Navy Board and the Train itself, it was disbanded in February 1917, and most of its members were discharged. Several months later, in July 1917, it was decided to reform the Train, but its members had dispersed to far to recall it.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ RANBT Nominal Roll at Embarkation Australian War Memorial, Accessed June 4 2008
  2. ^ CEW Bean, Vol. IX, The Official History of Australia in the War of 1914-1918, 1937 (9th Edition), Arthur Jose
  3. ^ p. 395, Vol IX The Offical History of Australia in the War of 1914-1918
  4. ^ C.E.W. BEAN, Official War Correspondent, AIF; 11/10/15
  5. ^ Brigadier-General E.H. Bland, CB, CMG, RE, Chief Engineer, IX Corps p.397 Vol IX Offical History of Australia in the War of 1914-1918
  6. ^ Brig-Gen E H. Bland, p. 398, Vol IX The Offical History of Australia in the War of 1914-1918