| Australian 11th Battalion | |
|---|---|
Soldiers of 11th Battalion posing on the Great Pyramid of Giza on 10 January 1915, prior to the landing at Gallipoli. |
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| Active | 1914–1919 |
| Country | Australia |
| Branch | Australian Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Role | Line Infantry |
| Part of | Australian 3rd Brigade, 1st Division |
| Colours | Brown over Blue |
| Engagements | World War I |
| Insignia | |
| Unit Colour Patch | |
The Australian 11th Battalion was a World War I Australian Army unit. It was among the first infantry units raised for the 1st AIF during the First World War. It was the first battalion recruited in Western Australia, and with the 9th, 10th and 12th Battalions it formed the 3rd Brigade.
Following a brief training period in Perth, the battalion sailed to Egypt where it undertook four months of intensive training. During the landing at Anzac Cove, the battalion landed on the left flank as part of the first wave and was heavily involved in defending the initial Australian positions on the cliffs above the Cove. Before the battle of Lone Pine, the battalion launched diversionary attacks on the southern end of the Australian positions. Following the withdrawal from Gallipoli, the battalion returned to Egypt where it was split to form the 51st Battalion.
In March 1916, the battalion was deployed to the Western Front where it took part in trench warfare until the end of the war in 1918.
By the end of the war, 11th Battalion suffered casualties of 1,115 killed and 2,249 wounded (including gassed). It was disbanded in 1919.
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The battalion began training in August 1914 at Bellvue, W.A and at the end of October sailed from Fremantle on the SS Ascanius and SS Medic. After stopovers in the Cocos Islands and Colombo it arrived at Mena Camp in Cairo, Egypt at the start of December. The battalion trained in Egypt until early March 1915 when it sailed on SS Suffolk and SS Nizam from Alexandria, its destination unknown. En route, the orders were opened and it was revealed that the battalion was heading to the island of Lemnos in the Aegean sea, in preparation for the Landing at Anzac Cove.[1]
On 24 April 1915, the battalion disembarked from SS Suffolk and boarded HMS London, which was bound for Gallipoli in the Dardanelles. At 4.30 on the morning of 25 April, 'A' and 'C' companies of the battalion landed at Anzac Cove around Ari Burnu Knoll, a mile south of Fisherman's Hut, on the left flank of the first wave. Under heavy machine gun and rifle fire, the battalion stormed the cliffs, driving the Turks back. However, the battalion became disorganised during the landing and became mixed with other units. Small sections of the battalion were engaged in firefights all along the Australian front. Major Brockman, one of the battalion's senior officers, tried to sort the scattered men into their battalions: 9th on the right, 10th in the middle and 11th on the left. Meanwhile, the second half of the battalion landed further north of the first wave, directly under heavy machine gun fire from Turks fully prepared and alerted by the first wave.[2]
Over the next few days, the battalion dug in on the first and second ridges under heavy fire from the Turks. Casualties were heavy, but a defensive line was established. On the 30th, the battalion was withdrawn and moved into reserve on the beach. The next day, it reoccupied its section of the front. At this stage, the battalion was 450-strong.[1] By 1 May, 30 officers and 940 other ranks from the battalion had landed.[3]
On 4 May 1915, a party of 100 men from the battalion, led by Captain Raymond Leane and a detail of engineers, launched an unsuccessful attack on a Turkish fort at Gaba Tepe which was being used to observe artillery fire onto Australian positions around Anzac Cove. The Turks opened heavy fire on the party which was forced to withdraw. The Australians lost 4 killed, including a 2nd Lieutenant, and 19 others were wounded. The raid was the AIF's first of the war.[4][5]
At this point, the battalion estimated that it had suffered 38 killed, 200 wounded and 197 missing. On 15 May, the battalion received 244 reinforcements, bringing its total strength to 23 officers and 723 other ranks.[4]
In the early morning on 19 May, Turkish forces launched an attack against the left flank of the Australian lines, which developed into a major battle along the whole Australian front. The attack was repulsed with heavy losses. The 11th battalion suffered nine killed and eight wounded, mainly from shrapnel. One Turkish officer and five soldiers surrendered. On 21 May, a truce was declared and a burial party from the 12th battalion was sent out. However it was fired at by the Turks and as a result burial parties were discontinued. A similar truce was declared on 24 May. A line was drawn halfway between the two lines and each side sent out parties to bury the dead and collect equipment.[4]
On 27 July 1915, after two weeks in reserve, the battalion relieved the 12th battalion at Tasmanian Post, on the right on the Australian front line. On 31 July, A party of around 200 men led by Captain Leane were ordered to capture a section of Turkish trenches in front of the battalion's position. After engineers detonated three mines prepared near Turkish communications trenches, the storming party captured the Turkish trench following a bayonet charge, with the loss of one officer and 36 other ranks killed. 70 other members of the battalion were wounded during the attack, including Captain Leane, who was mentioned in dispatches. Turkish casualties were estimated by the battalion to be 60 killed.[6]
On 6 August, the battalion held off a fierce Turkish counter-attack on the trench, which became known as "Leane's Trench". Heavy casualties were sustained on both sides. The battalion suffered 41 killed, 94 wounded and 19 missing.[7]
In November, the battalion supported the 5th Light Horse around Chatham Post until it was withdrawn, with the 9th battalion, from Anzac Cove. The withdrawal had been planned for the 14th, but due to bad weather this was delayed until on the night of the 16/17 November 1915.
From Anzac Cove, it sailed to Lemnos where it recuperated at Sampi Camp, following seven months in the trenches. The battalion's war diary records particularly bad weather on Lemnos during this period, noting "Mudros seems a most unsuitable place to send troops for a rest". During this rest period, the battalion reported its first and only case of diphtheria, following which the whole brigade was quarantined.[8] On 17 December, Private Hayes died from meningitis.[9]
In early 1916, the battalion sailed to Alexandria on the Empress of Britain. From Alexandria, it traveled by train to bivouac at Tall al Kabir.[10]
On 30 March 1916, the battalion sailed from Alexandria aboard the HMT Corsican.[11] It arrived 5 April at Marseilles, France and then moved by train to Flêtre where it billeted until the 19th when it moved to Sailly, where it commemorated Anzac Day on 25 April.[12]
On 15 April 1917, Lieutenant Charles Pope, of 'A' company was in command of an important picket post on the right of the battalion's positions outside Louverval, France, with orders to "hold the position at all costs". The Germans attacked the position with overwhelming numbers and surrounded the post. Having used up their ammunition, the remainder of the post charged with fixed bayonets into the surrounding German positions. Lieutenant Pope's body was later found with those of his men, having killed 80 Germans. Pope was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross, Australia's highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy.[13]