Gallipoli: Simpson and his donkey

Gallipoli: Sgt Simpson and his Donkey: 

Painting of a legend sells for $220 000

On Donkeys in WW1 and the truth behind the legend

The son of the medic (Erroneously named as Simpson in the above painting) depicted in an iconic Gallipoli painting was present when it sold at auction for $220,000. International Art Centre director Richard Thomson said it was a rare offering that represented the heart of the Anzac tradition.

"When you look at this painting, you really do get some understanding of the absolute hell the Anzac soldiers went through at Gallipoli," he said.

Ross Henderson, whose father Richard Henderson was depicted in Simpson and his Donkey, said it was his first time "coming to one of these events" and he was not placing a bid. The buyer's identity was not revealed.

In 1917, Horace Moore-Jones was thought to have painted six versions of Simpson and his Donkey and the one sold on Wednesday night was the last to be in private hands.

Although the painting is named after Simpson it actually depicts Henderson's father, a Waihi-born New Zealander who took over as a medic after Simpson was killed. The painting was based on a photograph of Henderson taken by another New Zealander at Gallipoli, James Jackson.

Ross Henderson said he preferred the daylight version of the painting. "This one is very sombre."
(see below)

The painting captures the bravery of Simpson who used donkeys to ferry wounded soldiers, under heavy fire, back to medical posts on the beach at Anzac Cove in 1915. It is rumoured that he saved between 150 to 300 wounded soldiers. This has been difficult to substantiate from contemporary records. Never the less, he showed incredible bravery under fire.
Source: Stuff.co.nz

Another version

From Wiki: The Real Simpson:

John "Jack" Simpson Kirkpatrick (6 July 1892 – 19 May 1915),

Served under the name John Simpson, a stretcher bearer with the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) during the Gallipoli Campaign in World War I. After landing at Anzac Cove on 25 April 1915, he obtained a donkey and began carrying wounded British Empire soldiers from the front line to the beach, for evacuation. He continued this work for three and a half weeks, often under fire, until he was killed, during the Third attack on Anzac Cove. Simpson and his Donkey are a part of the "Anzac legend".

Simpson was born on 6 July 1892 in South Shields, Tyneside, in the United Kingdom,] the son of Robert Kirkpatrick and Sarah Kirkpatrick (née Simpson). He was one of eight children, and worked with donkeys as a youth, during summer holidays.

At 16 he volunteered to train as a gunner in the Territorial Force, and in early 1909 he joined the British merchant navy. In May 1910 Simpson deserted at Newcastle, New South Wales, and then travelled widely in Australia, taking on various jobs, such as cane-cutting in Queensland and coalmining in the Illawarra district of New South Wales. In the three or so years leading up to the outbreak of World War I, he worked as a steward, stoker and greaser on Australian coastal ships.

Simpson enlisted in the Australian Army after the outbreak of war apparently as a means of returning to England, probably dropping "Kirkpatrick" from his name, and enlisting as "John Simpson", to avoid being identified as a deserter. He was accepted into the army as a field ambulance stretcher bearer on 23 August 1914 in Perth. This role was only given to physically strong men.

Simpson landed on the shores of the Gallipoli Peninsula on 25 April 1915 as part of the ANZAC forces. In the early hours of the following day, as he was bearing a wounded comrade on his shoulders, he spotted a donkey and quickly began making use of it to carry his fellow soldiers.He would sing and whistle, seeming to ignore the bullets flying through the air, while he tended to his comrades. The donkey is usually remembered as being called 'Duffy', although it has also been known as 'Abdul' or 'Murphy'.

Simpson and his donkey

Colonel (later General) John Monash wrote: "Private Simpson and his little beast earned the admiration of everyone at the upper end of the valley. They worked all day and night throughout the whole period since the landing, and the help rendered to the wounded was invaluable. Simpson knew no fear and moved unconcernedly amid shrapnel and rifle fire, steadily carrying out his self-imposed task day by day, and he frequently earned the applause of the personnel for his many fearless rescues of wounded men from areas subject to rifle and shrapnel fire."

One of the paintings by Horace Moore depicting a man and a donkey, formerly thought to be a portrait of Simpson, now known to portray Henderson.

On 19 May 1915, during the Third attack on Anzac Cove, Simpson was struck by machine gun fire and died. At the time of his death, Simpson's father was already dead, but his mother and sister Annie were still living in South Shields. He was buried at the Beach Cemetery.

The painting of Simpson and his donkey, sometimes titled The Man with the Donkey, has immortalised his deeds at Gallipoli and been widely reproduced as sculptures and memorials. It was painted from a photograph by Horace Jones, a New Zealand artist who took part in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force's Landing at Anzac Cove in Gallipoli. He made at least six versions of the painting.However, the photograph he worked from is not of Simpson but of a New Zealand school teacher, Dick Henderson, who was a stretcher bearer in the New Zealand Medical Corps at Gallipoli.

It is commonly reported that following the death of Simpson, Henderson took over his role and used the donkey Murphy to repeatedly rescue wounded soldiers from the battlefield (he was later awarded the Military Medal).The photograph that Moore used, of Henderson with the donkey wearing a Red Cross band around its muzzle, was taken by Sergeant James G. Jackson of the NZMC on 12 May 1915, a week before Simpson's death.

In descriptions of the paintings and derivatives over the years, there has been confusion over the name of the donkey which has been mainly called Murphy, but occasionally Duffy or Abdul as well. Even Simpson himself was sometimes called Murphy. Interviewed in 1950 by the Melbourne Argus, Dick Henderson said the legend that Simpson was called Murphy was incorrect and he wanted to clear up the matter. He said Simpson found the donkey wandering on a shell-torn beach and had named it Murphy.

Henderson and the donkey - the photograph used as source for the painting

The theme of the paintings has appeared widely down the years and a variation of it (drawn from a sculpture) was included on three postage stamps issued in Australia in 1965 to mark the 50th anniversary of Gallipoli – on the five penny, eight penny and two shillings and three pence stamps.

Murphy the donkey has been widely recognised also, and in 1977 a donkey joined the Royal Australian Army Medical Corps, being allocated the regimental number MA 0090 and assigned the name Private Jeremy Jeremiah Simpson. In 1986 the donkey was permanently adopted as the official mascot of the corps.

In May 1997 the Australian RSPCA posthumously awarded its Purple Cross to the donkey Murphy for performing outstanding acts of bravery towards humans.

The "Simpson" legend grew largely from an account of his actions published in a 1916 book, Glorious Deeds of Australasians in the Great War. This was a wartime propaganda effort, and many of its stories of Simpson, supposedly rescuing 300 men and making dashes into no man's land to carry wounded out on his back, are demonstrably untrue. In fact, transporting that many men down to the beach in the three weeks that he was at Gallipoli would have been a physical impossibility, given the time the journey took. However, the stories presented in the book were widely and uncritically accepted by many people, including the authors of some subsequent books on Simpson.

The few contemporary accounts of Simpson at Gallipoli speak of his bravery and invaluable service in bringing wounded down from the heights above Anzac Cove through Shrapnel and Monash Gullies. However, his donkey service spared him the even more dangerous and arduous work of hauling seriously wounded men back from the front lines on a stretcher.

A popular silent film was made of his exploits, Murphy of Anzac (1916). The story was also an episode of the anthology television show Michael Willessee's Australians (1988). There is a song about him, "John Simpson Kirkpatrick", on the album Legends and Lovers by Issy and David Emeney with Kate Riaz (Wild Goose Records WGS344). There is another song about him, called "Jackie and Murphy" on the album "Vagrant Stanzas" by Martin Simpson.

There have been several petitions over the decades to have Simpson awarded a Victoria Cross (VC) or a Victoria Cross for Australia. There is a persistent myth that he was recommended for a VC, but that this was either refused or mishandled by the military bureaucracy. However, there is no documentary evidence that such a recommendation was ever made. The case for Simpson being awarded a VC is based on diary entries by his Commanding Officer that express the hope he would receive either a Distinguished Conduct Medal or VC. However, the officer in question never made a formal recommendation for either of these medals. Simpson's Mention in Despatches was consistent with the recognition given to other men who performed the same role at Gallipoli.



In April 2011 the Australian Government announced that Simpson would be one of thirteen servicemen examined in an inquiry into "Unresolved Recognition for Past Acts of Naval and Military Gallantry and Valour".

 The tribunal for this inquiry was directed to make recommendations on the awarding of decorations, including the Victoria Cross. Concluding its investigations in February 2013, the tribunal recommended that no further award be made to Simpson, since his "initiative and bravery were representative of all other stretcher-bearers of 3rd Field Ambulance, and that bravery was appropriately recognised as such by the award of an MID

Mules and Donkeys in WW1:

Donkeys and Mules laden with water on a Gallipoli beach

The often overlooked but never forgotten story of the Donkey and Mule in the Great War. 

Information from Jill Mather Gallipoli’s War Horses, Waler Book Trust 2014

Stories about mules and donkeys are hard to come by.  They are the forgotten ones, simply a means to an end.  However without them a soldier’s life in the trenches, help for the injured, and travelling the desert and battlefield would have been impossible.

The Army Mule

Mules required less food than horses.  They were more tolerant of extreme heat and cold, and they could go for longer periods without water, critical in battle where clean water was so scarce.  Mules were proven to be more resistant to diseases and disease-bearing insects, very low maintenance and seldom needed shoes.  Less than half the mules died from infected bullet holes compared to the percentage of horses killed. 

 The first ship of animals departed in November 1914, and in the four half years of war 287,533 mules and 175 jacks were purchased.  Mules were branded on their near hindquarter with a 2 inch broad arrow and a letter or symbol denoting their origin.  13,000 Spanish mules were considered especially fine.

War Correspondent Charles Bean on a Mule, Gallipoli

An astounding mule story tells of the mule travelling down the soft steep hillside when the earth began to give way.  He tossed his handler to safety, freed his load of mail (a highly prized reminder of home), and was then swept away to his death.  Nobody knew how he managed to save the mail and his handler, but all agreed he deserved a medal.

Mule trains were hitched in threes, 15 to 20 long, always travelling at a trot and under fire.  When a mule was hit he was unhitched, the ammunition boxes rolled off him, and the mule train just carried on, often 14 to 16 hours a day.  The Missouri mule was recorded with 64 mules being loaded with 100 kilograms EACH in just 14 minutes!  Because of this very high prices were paid for quality mules. Mules died alongside the horses and soldiers.  There was no way of digging a hole for dead mules so many were thrown into the sea washing up like submarine periscopes and reportedly panicking the Navy. 56,000 surplus mules were sold after the war.

The Army Donkey

Moses, the donkey mascot of the New Zealand Army Service Company. (Royal New Zealand Returned and Services’ Association: New Zealand official negatives, World War 1914-1918. Ref: 1/2-013143-G. Alexander Turnbull Library

Gallipoli History: Donkeys were routinely loaded with at least 3 times their own body weight.  Pictures and stories show donkeys carried food supplies, clothing, pots and pans, and of course water while all around them guns still fired, usually under the cover of darkness.  Summer was harsh and hot.  Water, always rationed, came from Malta red with rust, tasted terrible, and was often laced with chemicals designed to kill the enemy.  Wells on Gallipoli were often polluted or dry, so any interruption of the donkeys was considered a crisis.  The Gallipoli winter climate was especially hard on donkeys that do not do well in wet muddy conditions.

Donkeys were used to convey the wounded, so large groups of donkeys sporting Red Cross headbands were held in readiness.   Grazing was poor and donkeys scavenged for whatever was available.  Plant poisoning was common.  Most donkeys were the large Egyptian breed, known for its gentle nature.  Donkey trains sometimes up to 200 animals, in lines of four, were led by an Egyptian handler.  

Donkeys were invaluable pulling the sick and injured up the steep hills and gullies, as an accidental slip by the heavy horse ambulances led to man and horse tumbling down the steep slopes.

 To escape the bitterness of slaughter donkeys were often used in games, races and wrestling matches for light relief.  Pets on the battlefield gave men a link with home.  They were something to care for and a welcome change from guns, bombs, lice and dirt.  Even officers were known to have them despite rules to the contrary.  

Donkey races on the Western Front

After Egypt donkeys and mules classified unfit or over 12 years old were destroyed and their manes and tails shaved and sold. Many were even skinned to produce more leather for supplies. Some numbers say of the 34,000 or so donkeys used only 1,042 survived.  This was greeted with disdain and sadness by the soldiers who had sought solace with their donkey friends.

Despite the burden placed on mules and donkeys their participation was taken for granted and sometimes even contempt. Many soldiers told tales of the donkey and mule having a “sixth sense”.  Whilst may lives and loads were saved stories abounded of how mule and donkey handlers became frustrated.  It was widely known that they simply do not respond to harsh treatment, and in fact file the grievance away for future reference.   

A kick by a donkey or mule was considered as deliberate as it was accurate. It is still known by some of the best horse people that you SHOULD train a horse the way you MUST train a mule or donkey.  The donkey and mule remain under appreciated beasts of burden in many parts of the world, but have been thankfully replaced by machinery in most war zones.  Their importance in the war was largely unsung, but certainly never unimportant.

Haka Farewell from the CO of the disbanded UK 3rd Mercier (Staffordshire) Sappers

Another Strange Turn: Kiwi Commander does Haka as UK Sapper Unit disbands

Just last night I was reading from D'Ami's World Uniforms, two volumes of colour plates of Military  ceremonial dress, written back  in the 1960s. Quite a bit dated now, but still a great reference work.

I was really looking for pictures of Napoleonic dress, as I'm plotting a Waterloo army for the bicentenary next year. Anyhow, to make a long story short, quite a lot was made in these two volumes of the value of the sapper, pioneer and farrier in the military of old, and how this is (was) recognised. Many of the plates depict the sappers, wearing ceremonial leather aprons, and carrying axes over their shoulders, as an important part of the ceremonial garb of many British Military Units at the time

Strangely enough, today there's an article and video on the British 32nd Engineer (Sapper) Unit being disbanded after returning from Afganistan in today's news! The troops were mainly Fijian, and felt compelled to farewell their commanding officer with their traditional Cibi war challenge, only to find their CO, a New Zealander, answer them with "Ka Mate", Te Rauparaha's Haka, which has become the All Black Rugby Team and NZ's national haka (War challenge); in suitable fashion.

The troops performed the Cibi, an old Fijian meke war dance. The Colonel responded with Ka Mate, the haka written by Te Rauparaha, which is quite appropriate for a Sapper as the Musket Wars saw the early development of Pa fortifications ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pā_(Māori) ) which caused the Brits no end of trouble during the Land Wars.

The Haka  continues to play an important role in military life in NZ as evident today, and in both world wars:

WW1: NZ Pioneer Battalion performing a haka on the Western Front

NZ 28th (Maori) Battalion  in Egypt WW2

The Māori Battalion performs a haka – a well-known Te Arawa peruperu (war dance with weapons) – for the exiled King of Greece in Helwan, Egypt, in June 1941. 

The battalion had recently been evacuated from Greece and Crete, following fierce battles against the invading Germans. The Māori Battalion went on to serve throughout the North African campaigns of 1941 to 1943. It suffered heavy casualties but its men gained an outstanding reputation as soldiers.

Afghanistan 2005

Distilled from Stuff today and the Net (Link to report and video below): 

A British Army warrior has fare-welled his soldiers with a striking solo haka.

Delivered in perfect Te Reo (Maori), Lieutenant Colonel Steven Davies' performance came as a big surprise to many who thought he was Australian. Davies had brought his 32nd Engineer Regiment home after a grueling and tragic Afghanistan tour.

The regiment, also historically known as 3rd Mercian or Staffords, were combat engineers (sappers) supporting the famed Desert Rats, the 7th Armoured Brigade. Davies was their last commander - the regiment is being broken-up. Many of its sappers are Fijian so when it came to saying goodbye to Davies, the whole regiment lined up behind them and performed a powerful cibi or war dance, advancing on him. When it was over, Davies performed the NZ Maori " Ka Mate" haka.

The Desert Rats posted it on their Facebook page, and the hundreds of comments point to Davies being a much admired commander.

Link to the video: NZ Officer does Haka in Response to Fijian Cibi

Some of the comments:

+ "A fitting tribute to an awesome commanding officer & a man that looked after his regiment."
+ "Goes to show how far and wide our Sapper family is. Never met a bad Kiwi."
+ "That was class and shows what respect he has for the ranks under his command."
+ "Absolutely brilliant. A sure sign of fond respect for a great leader and Steve is one great leader."
+ "Great job Steve but I always thought you were Australian!"
+ "Well done Steve a great bloke who no doubt put his soldiers first every time ... One of the few."

Davies' regiment is set to be disbanded as part of British Government plans to reduce the army by 20,000 troops by 2018. Davies has promised that the battalion's traditions - such as its battle honours, regimental silver and regimental drums - will be carried forward within the reorganised regiment.

And the famous Staffordshire Knot - the cap badge worn by soldiers for hundreds of years - could be retained in future Mercian uniforms.

"We will go forward together and take the golden threads of our antecedent battalions with us.

"The regiment had a final parade this week. Davies, who led the 3rd Battalion the Mercian Regiment on its nine month tour of duty on the front line in Afghanistan, confessed he was 'choked up' after final parades in Stafford, Wolverhampton, Walsall, Cannock, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Stoke-on-Trent, Tamworth, Burton-upon-Trent, and finally in Lichfield.

Mercian Regiment Cap badge 

"It is emotional for any CO to relinquish command. You invest so much of your hopes, fears and dreams with the battalion that it is always going to be difficult to let go. But it adds a certain poignancy to the situation to be the last Commanding Officer of 3rd Mercian. It has been an honour and a privilege although I understand why it has to go."

The Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales') (or simply "Staffords" for short) was originally an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division. The regiment was formed in 1959 by the amalgamation of The South Staffordshire Regiment and The North Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's).

In 1962 the regiment undertook a six month exercise in Kenya, followed by a year in Colchester and then a return to Kenya for a further two years. On the tour the regiment had to deal with a mutiny by the Ugandan Army. Returning home the regiment was the last unit of the British Army to serve in East Africa.

A home tour in Dover followed in 1964. Then came a two year posting to Berlin in 1968 followed by a tour in Sharjah in the Persian Gulf where the regiment again recorded a 'last unit' distinction being the last unit to serve in Sharjah.

The regiment undertook a tour in Northern Ireland during the Troubles in 1972 before moving to Quebec Barracks in Osnabruck in 1973. Further tours in Northern Ireland were undertaken in 1974 and 1976. The regiment moved to Hyderabad Barracks in Colchester later in 1976 before undertaking another tour in Northern Ireland in 1979.

The regiment moved to Gibraltar in 1981 and to Roman Barracks at Colchester in 1983 before undertaking another tour in Northern Ireland in 1984. It then moved to Fallingbostel in 1986.

In October 1990 The Staffordshire Regiment was deployed to Saudi Arabia as part of 7th Armoured Brigade (referred to as the 'Desert Rats'). The deployment was in response to the dictator Saddam Hussein's invasion of the sovereign territory of Kuwait, claiming it to rightfully belong to Iraq. The regiment moved to Dale Barracks in Chester in 1991, to Abercorn Barracks in Ballykinler in 1994 and Clive Barracks in Shropshire in 1996. The regiment moved to Mooltan Barracks in Tidworth in 2000. Following a deployment to Kosovo in 2002 and a first deployment to Iraq on Operation Telic 6 in 2005, the regiment undertook a second deployment to Iraq during Operation Telic 9 in 2006.

Past amalgamation
As part of the reorganisation of the infantry announced in 2004, it was announced that the Staffordshire Regiment would merge with the Cheshire Regiment and the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment into a new three-battalion regiment to be called the Mercian Regiment. On 1 September 2007 the Staffordshire Regiment became the 3rd Battalion, The Mercian Regiment. It seems amalgamation is on the doorstep again.

Battle honours:

Pre-WWI: Guadeloupe 1759, Martinique 1794, Hafir, South Africa 1878-79, Egypt 1882, Kirbekan, Nile 1884–85, South Africa 1900–02
World War I:
France and Flanders: Mons, Retreat from Mons, Marne 1914, Aisne 1914-18, Armentières 1914, Ypres 1914-17, Langemarck 1914-17, Gheluvelt, Nonne Bosschen, Neuve Chapelle, Aubers, Festubert 1915 Loos, Somme 1916-18, Albert 1916-18, Bazentin, Delville Wood, Pozières, Guillemont, Flers-Courcelette, Morval, Thiepval, Ancre Heights, Ancre 1916, Bapaume 1917-18, Arras 1917, Scarpe 1917, Arleux, Bullecourt, Hill 70, Messines 1917-18, Ypres1917-18, Pilckem, Langemarck 1917, Menin Road, Polygon Wood, Broodseinde, Poelcapelle, Passchendaele, Cambrai 1917-18, St. Quentin, Bapaume 1918, Rosières, Avre, Lys, Bailleul, Kemmel, Scherpenberg, Drocourt-Quéant, Hindenburg Line, Havrincourt, Canal du Nord, St. Quentin Canal, Beaurevoir, Kortrijk, Selle, Valenciennes, Sambre, France and Flanders 1914-18
Gallipoli: Suvla, Landing at Suvla, Scimitar Hill, Sari Bair, Gallipoli 1915–16
Mesopotamia: Egypt 1916, Tigris 1916, Kut al Amara 1917, Bagdhad, Mesopotamia 1916–18
Italy: Piave, Vittorio Veneto 1918
North West Frontier India: Baku, Persia 1918, North West Frontier India 1915
Inter-War: Afghanistan 1919
World War II:
North West Europe: Dyle, Defence of the Scheldt, Ypres-Comines Canal, Caen, Orne, Noyers, Mont Picton, Brieux Bridgehead, Falaise, Arnhem 1944, North-West Europe 1940 -1944
North Africa: Sidi Barrani, Djebel Kesskiss, Medjez Plain, Gueriat el Atch Ridge, Gab Gab Gap, North Africa 1943
Italy: Landing in Sicily, Sicily 1943 Anzio, Carroceto, Rome, Advance to Tiber, Gothic Line, Marradi, Italy 1943 and Italy 1944–45,
Burma: Chindits 1944, Burma 1943–44
Post-WWII: Gulf 1991, Wadi al Batin

Diversion from D-Day: ANZAC Day, Gallipolli and Delville Wood

ANZAC DAY: Remembering those who have fallen: 

WW1 and Delville Wood

ANZAC day is the marking of a Day of Remembrance in Australia and New Zealand.

2014 marks a century since the outbreak of hostilities that led to the Great War

ANZAC particularly remembers the fateful events of Gallipoli, and the fruitless waste of young lives.

I too have paused to reflect on WW1, and the waste of lives, with events that still touch us a century later.

In South Africa the equivalent of NZ/Au's Gallipoli is Delville Wood.

Delville Wood was SA's first taste of the horrors of modern warfare. The South African Brigade took part in the Somme Battle, and in a refrain that became too familiar in battles to follow (El Alamein, Sidi Regez, etc) colonial troops were thrown into the breach of the European powers' battles, in this case, suffering up to 80% casualties. Here is there story: 

The Battle of Delville Wood (14 July – 3 September 1916), was an engagement in the 1916 Battle of the Somme in the First World War. It took place between the armies of the German Empire and allied British and empire forces. Delville Wood is to the north east of the town of Longueval in the Somme in northern France. After the first two weeks of carnage caused by the commencement of the Somme Offensive, it became evident that breakthrough of neither Allied nor German line was likely.

The offensive had evolved to the capture of small prominent towns, woods or features which offered either side slim tactical advantage, observation for direct artillery fire or safety from which to launch further attacks.

Delville Wood was one such feature, making it strategically important to both German and Allied forces. As part of a large offensive starting on 14 July, General Douglas Haig, Commander of the British Expeditionary Force intended to secure the British right flank, while the centre advanced to capture the higher lying areas of High Wood in the centre of his line. Taking Delville Wood was an attempt to secure this right flank. 

The battle achieved this objective and is historically considered a tactical Allied victory. However, it was one of the bloodiest confrontations of the Somme, with both sides incurring large casualties. This tactical victory needs to be measured against the losses sustained,  as well as the fact that the British advance to the north had made only marginal gains by the end of the battle.

The battle is of particular importance to South Africa, as it was the first major engagement entered into on the Western Front by the South African 1st Infantry Brigade, which also contained a contingent of Southern Rhodesians.

Before deployment. Note that steel helmets had been issued. 

A practice that only started in 1916 during the Battle of the Somme.

The casualties sustained by this Brigade were of catastrophic proportions, comparable to those encountered by Allied battalions on the first day of the Somme. On the Western Front, units were normally considered to be incapable of combat if their casualties had reached 30% and they were withdrawn once this level had been attained. 

The South African Brigade suffered losses of as high as 80%, yet they managed to hold the Wood as ordered. This feat has been described as "...the bloodiest battle hell of 1916."

The South African Brigade

Background

The political situation in South Africa in 1914 was very different to the other nations of the British Empire.

Canada had been obtained from the French in 1763 and Australia and New Zealand had been colonised without any great interference from rival empires (Nobody was, of course was much interested in what the actual indigenous inhabitants thought about the process. The European powers were bringing them civilisation, after all;  whilst taking away anything of value  that their land had to offer...)

The Union of South Africa was only four years old, and had not long since finished a bitter war between the British and the Boers (1899-1902).

There was not a great deal of desire amongst either the Boer ( Dutch extraction) or the African population of SA to rush off and defend Great Britain which had, within living memory, been responsible for the deaths of thousands of people.

However, General Louis Botha,  a former commander of the Boers, led the Union Defence Forces on a campaign into German South West African in September 1914. This was rapidly brought to a successful conclusion. The South African forces were having a harder time in German East Africa, where they were confronted by General Paul Von Lettow-Vorbeck (Who was still leading the dance, when the war in Europe came to an end).

In theory, South Africans, though liable for military service as British subjects, were not required to serve overseas. This technicality was worked around in April 1915 by the simply asking for volunteers.

Enough men came forward to form the 1st South African Infantry Brigade under Brigadier General Tim Lukin. The Brigade, was made up of four regiments:

1st South African Infantry (Cape Province)
2nd South African Infantry (Natal and Orange Free State)
3rd South African Infantry (Transvaal and Rhodesia)
4th South African Infantry (South African Scottish)

Arrival in Marseilles, with the 4th SAI mascot in tow

It numbered 160 officers and 5,468 other ranks when it arrived in England in November 1915.

After spending some time in Egypt the Brigade returned to France on 20th April 1916, destined for the Western Front where it was attached to the 9th (Scottish) Division.

It would serve with distinction throughout the war and remained with the Scots until the summer of 1918 when it had been so depleted by fighting that it had to be recalled to England and re-formed. It was back in France in September 1918 but this time with the 66th (Lancashire) Division.

Delville Wood: The Great Slaughter of 1916

Troops on the Western front compromised Kitchener's 'New Army':  Territorial forces,  from all parts of the British Empire. While steel helmets were issued to most soldiers, a "luxury" first introduced at Loos, replacements had little training and were without any combat experience. Soldiers were "mostly civilians in khaki, hastily trained and thrown into battle" - lives wasted.The Battle of the Somme commenced on the 1st of July 1916.

It was a " fierce and complex Battle" involving many units and no small task. A "dreadful slogging match and conditions within the wood were appalling, with death and danger everywhere". The artillery had "reduced the trees to a morass of splintered wood making movement virtually impossible. It was fought at close hand with bombs and bayonets." Mud and water covered bodies; many still remain in the wood today.

"The wood had to be cleared of Germans before any attack could be launched on the formidable and notorious, German Switch Line." The orders - Take it "at all costs": It took over 6 days and 5 nights.
As with many other attacks, the wood was heavily shelled by Allied artillery before infantry troops went in.

The southern sector of the wood was quickly cleared of Germans. The officer overseeing the attack, Tanner, reported back to his headquarters in the evening of the 15th that all of the wood had been taken except the northwest near the town of Longueval.

In fact, the South Africans were in a very precarious position as they faced over 7,000 Germans. The artillery shelling had pushed over trees and exposed their roots. This made it very difficult to dig trenches. The South Africans were not only up against a larger force but had to survive in ‘trenches’ that had little depth and gave minimal protection especially against German artillery attacks.

The terrain all but dictated that most of the combat within the wood was hand-to-hand fighting and casualties were high. The terrain would have made it difficult to move the wounded back to a medical station. However, such was the ferocity of the fighting in this phase of the battle that for every one South African wounded, four were killed. The South Africans fought within the wood until July 19th when they were relieved. Their casualties were some of the worst seen on the Western Front.

(I intend to post a fuller description of the battle later this week.)

Captain S. J. Worsley, MC:

“Every semblance of a trench seemed full of dead-sodden, squelchy, swollen bodies.  Fortunately the blackening faces were invisible except when Verey lights lit up the indescribable scene.  Not a tree stood whole in that wood. Food and water were very short and we had not the faintest idea when any more would be obtainable.

We stood and lay on putrefying bodies and the wonder was that the disease (dysentery) did not finish off what the shells of the enemy had started. There was hand-to-hand fighting with knives, bombs (grenades) , and bayonets; cursing and brutality on both sides such as men can be responsible for when it is a question of "your life or mine"; mud and filthy stench; dysentery and unattended wounds; shortage of food and water and ammunition.”
  
A German officer who fought at Delville Wood described it as:

“Delville Wood had disintegrated into a shattered wasteland of shattered trees, charred and burning stumps, craters thick with mud and blood, and corpses, corpses everywhere. In places they were piled four deep.”

The Germans responded to the attack by shelling areas of the wood captured by the Allies. At its peak it is thought that 400 German shells landed in Delville Wood every minute. Combined with frequent raid rain, the wood was not only churned up with regards to trees but it also became a quagmire.

The Springbok mascot survived the carnage

The fighting for the wood continued into August. Skilfully placed German machine gun posts and well-hidden snipers greatly hindered any Allied advance through the wood. Once the South Africans had been relieved, men from the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, the Royal Berkshires and the 1st King’s Royal Rifle Corps tried to take the wood. However, like the South Africans, they faced a heavily fortified enemy that was supported by very accurate artillery fire. They in turn were relieved and replaced by the 17th Northern Division who were relived by the 14th and 20th Light Division.


It is thought that German casualties matched Allied casualties but loss of records makes this hard to verify. The South Africans had 3,155 men at the start of the attack and suffered 2,536 casualties by the time they were relieved. This represented a loss of 80% - killed, wounded and missing. 104 officers out of a total of 123 were killed, wounded or missing – nearly 85%.

The lucky few: Relieved survivors being withdrawn

Four Victoria Crosses were awarded for outstanding bravery:

Private William Faulds (SA)
Sergeant Albert Gill (UK)
Private Albert Hill (UK)
Corporal Joseph Davies (UK)

Delville Wood was only finally fully cleared of Germans on September 3rd 1916.

Because of German counter attacks, this whole area was an awful 'killing field' - "flies rose in dense black clouds round us… exhaustion did what shell-fire failed… we collapsed in our trenches, spent in body and worn out in spirit… the task set was too great for us".

The Germans recaptured Delville Wood in March 1918 as part of their Spring Offensive.

During the Allies advance after the Spring Offensive had failed, the 38th Welsh Infantry Division fought for it and captured the wood in August 1918.

Losses

South African:

• Strength at start of battle: Officers 123 Other ranks 3032
• Killed 457
• Wounded 1476
• Unaccounted (Missing) 483
• Total casualties: 2536
• Unit strength at close of battle: Officers 19 Other ranks 600

Both the Allies and German forces sustained extremely heavy losses, the 9th Division had lost 314 officers and 7,203 other ranks between 1 and 20 July. Details of the German losses are scarce, especially those of the Prussian divisions which played an important role in the battle, due to the loss of archive documents caused by the Allied strategic bombing campaign of World War II—particularly the raids on Potsdam in 1945. The German 26th Regiment (the equivalent of an Allied Brigade) which had been at a war establishment strength on 13 July had only 10 officers and 250 other ranks after the battle.

The question has frequently been asked as to why the South Africans remained in the wood only to be slaughtered by artillery fire. This was not the intention of the commanders: 

Henry Lukin

Brigadier-General Lukin’s post battle report stated that "My intention was to thin out the troops in the Wood as soon as the perimeter was seized, leaving the machine-guns with small detachments of infantry to hold it. The enemy, by launching counter-attacks at once, prevented this intention being carried out and Lieut-Col Tanner reported that he required all the men under his command to hold off the enemy."

Losses sustained by the South African Brigade may have frequently been over-stated. When considering the claimed South African total casualties, a number of factors need to be considered:

Casualties which had been sustained by the South African Brigade at Bernafay Wood and Maricourt before 14 July (the date of entering Delville Wood) are frequently, erroneously added to the Delville Wood casualties;

Casualties sustained by the 1st and 4th Battalions in Longueval on 14 July are also sometimes incorrectly added to the Delville Wood totals;

Of the three officers and 140 men who left Delville Wood on 20 July, less than half had entered the wood on 14 / 15 July, and were replacement troops which had been sent in between 16 and 20 July. According to Col. Thackeray, a total of 199 reinforcements had been received in the wood.

The Brigade headquarters and staff had not deployed into the wood, and as such the total brigade staff at the start of the battle were not necessarily all in the wood.

Additional troops (in addition to the 3 officers and 140 men who had withdrawn on 20 July) reported to Happy Valley for the muster parade of 21 July. So did the Brigade and Machine Gun Company staff.

Beguile: Lets baffle them with beauty while we steal Ukraine's Warships

Clever politics: The Honey Pot reinvented by Russia

How to distract the male population of the west from what we are really doing:
Let's put an attractive girl in a uniform, and make her the spokesperson for the new Republic of Crimea.

Natalia Poklonskaya, Crimea's new Attorney General

Distract the media with our honeypot, block the escape of any Ukranian warships, and while no-one's looking we'll quickly send some militia to take over these ships.

Masked gunmen take over Ukrainian ships in port

Trapped: The Ukrainian ship Ternopil is seen in the harbour in Sevastopol as a Russian ship blocks its exit

Call me cynical, but someone once wrote that Warfare is Man's second most favourite pastime. 

Clearly the thinking here is that the favourite pastime will divert attention from the second favourite. Clearly it has. Spawning Manga images by the dozens, her looks have diverted attention from the gravity of the situation. Devious.

   

Stuff NZ has showcased her looks, (Clicky) but all but ignored the first death by shooting and annexation of the Ukranian fleet in Sebastopol:



Ukranian ship blocked in: photo Reuters (Daily mail)

http://englishrussia.com/2014/03/19/meanwhile-in-sevastopol-ukraine/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk

Russia and the Crimea 12 Worrying facts

Russia in the Crimea: A keg of gunpowder waiting for a spark?

Is Russia Is Ready To Fight A War Over Crimea: 12 Signs That may suggest so
 Original article Michael Snyder

   
Russia will not give up the Crimea without a fight. The Russian Black Sea fleet's main base at Sevastopol is too strategically important.  In addition, ethnic Russians make up approximately 60  % of the population of Crimea, and most of the population is rabidly pro-Russian.  In fact, many prominent Crimean politicians are already calling for reunification with Russia.

If you have been thinking that Russia is just going to pack up shop and go home now that pro-European protesters have violently seized power in Kiev, you can quit holding your breath.  The truth is that Russia is more than willing to fight a war over Crimea.  And considering the fact that vitally important pipelines that pump natural gas from Russia to the rest of Europe go right through Ukraine, it is not likely that Russia will just willingly hand the rest of Ukraine over to the U.S. and the EU either.  If the U.S. and the EU push too hard in Ukraine, a major regional war may erupt which could ultimately lead to something much larger.

Russia and Ukraine have very deep historical ties.  Most Americans may not think that Ukraine is very important, but the Russians consider Ukraine to be of the utmost strategic importance.

As an American, how would you feel if another nation funded and organized the violent overthrow of the democratically-elected Canadian government and replaced it with a government that was virulently anti-American?

By doing this to Ukraine, the United States and the EU are essentially sticking a pin in Russia's eye.
Needless to say, Russia is extremely angry at this point and they are gearing up for war.

The following are 12 signs that Russia is ready to fight a war over Crimea...

#1 More Russian military vehicles continue to pour into Crimea.

#2 Russian military vehicles have been photographed in the main square of Sevastopol.

#3 Russian military jets near the border with Ukraine have been put on combat alert.

#4 Russia has ordered "surprise military exercises" along the Ukrainian border.

#5 In connection with those "exercises", it is being reported that Russia has deployed 150,000 troops along the border with Ukraine.

#6 Russia already has approximately 26,000 troops stationed at their naval base in Sevastopol.

#7 Russian ships carrying additional soldiers have been spotted off the coast of Crimea.

A large landing ship Nikolai Filchenkov has arrived near the Russia Black Sea Fleet’s base at Sevastopol, which Russia has leased from Ukraine since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

This ship is reported to be carrying as many as 200 soldiers and has joined four additional ships carrying an unknown amount of Special Forces troops. Flot.com also reported that personnel from the 45th Airborne Special Forces unit and additional divisions had been airlifted into Anapa, a city on Russia’s Black Sea coastline. According to the website of the Russian Black Sea fleet, the Filchenkov can carry 300 troops + 1,700 tons including about 20 tanks and various trucks or 40 AFV's.

#8 Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made the following statement to reporters on Wednesday...

"Measures are taken to guarantee the security of our facilities."

#9 An unidentified Russian official has told the Financial Times that Russia is willing to use military force to protect Crimea...

Moscow earlier revealed that it would be ready to go for war over the Crimea region in order to protect the large Russian population and army installations.

“If Ukraine breaks apart, it will trigger a war. They will lose Crimea first [because] we will go in and protect [it], just as we did in Georgia,” an unidentified Russian official told the Financial Times.

#10 Officials in Sevastopol have "installed" a Russian citizen as mayor of the city.

#11 Approximately 120 pro-Russian gunmen have seized the Crimean parliament building and have raised the Russian flag.

#12 There are rumors that Russian authorities have offered protection to ousted Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych...

Viktor F.Yanukovych, the ousted president of Ukraine, declared on Thursday that he remained the lawful president of the country and appealed to Russia to “secure my personal safety from the actions of extremists.” Russian news agencies reported that he had already arrived in Russia, but officials did not immediately confirm that.

No matter what the "new government" in Kiev says, and no matter how hard the U.S. and the EU push, Russia will not give up the Crimea.  The following is what a recent Debka article had to say about the matter...

" There is no way that President Vladimir Putin will relinquish Russian control of the Crimean peninsula and its military bases there - or more particularly the big Black Sea naval base at Sevastopol. This military stronghold is the key to Russia’s Middle East policy. If it is imperiled, so too are Russia’s military posture in Syria and its strategic understandings with Iran."

And you know what?
The people of the Crimea do not want Russia to leave either.  In fact, they overwhelmingly want Russia to help defend them against the "new government" in Kiev.

As you read this, militia groups are being formed in Crimea to fight back against the "nationalist invasion" that they are anticipating.  Just check out the following excerpt from a recent Time Magazine article...

Many of the people at the rally in Sevastopol were not just ready to believe. They were convinced of the imminent nationalist invasion. What scared them most were the right-wing political parties and militant groups that have played a role in Ukraine’s revolution. “What do you think they’re going to do with all those weapons they seized from police in Kiev? They’re going to come here and make war,” said Sergei Bochenko, who identified himself as the commander of a local militia group in Sevastopol called the Southern Russian Cossack Battalion.

In preparation, he said, his group of several hundred men had armed themselves with assault rifles and begun to train for battle. “There’s not a chance in hell we’re going to accept the rule of that fascist scum running around in Kiev with swastikas,” he said. That may be overstating the case. Nowhere in Ukraine has the uprising involved neo-Nazi groups, and no swastikas have appeared on the revolution’s insignia. But every one of the dozen or so people TIME spoke to in Sevastopol was certain that the revolt was run by fascists, most likely on the payroll of the U.S. State Department."

And just remember what happened back in 2008 in South Ossetia and Abkhazia.  The Russians have already shown that they are not afraid to militarily intervene in order to protect Russian citizens.

So what would the U.S. and the EU do if a war erupts between Russia and Ukraine ?
Do you think they would risk a direct military confrontation with Russia in order to help Ukraine?

US State Department's take on Russian Claims:

Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC March 5, 2014

"As Russia spins a false narrative to justify its illegal actions in Ukraine, the world has not seen such startling Russian fiction since Dostoyevsky wrote, “The formula ‘two plus two equals five’ is not without its attractions.”

Below are 10 of President Vladimir Putin’s recent claims justifying Russian aggression in the Ukraine, followed by the facts that his assertions ignore or distort.

1. Mr. Putin says:  Russian forces in Crimea are only acting to protect Russian military assets. It is “citizens’ defense groups,” not Russian forces, who have seized infrastructure and military facilities in Crimea.

The Facts:  Strong evidence suggests that members of Russian security services are at the heart of the highly organized anti-Ukraine forces in Crimea. While these units wear uniforms without insignia, they drive vehicles with Russian military license plates and freely identify themselves as Russian security forces when asked by the international media and the Ukrainian military. Moreover, these individuals are armed with weapons not generally available to civilians.

2. Mr. Putin says:  Russia’s actions fall within the scope of the 1997 Friendship Treaty between Ukraine and the Russian Federation.

The Facts:  The 1997 agreement requires Russia to respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity. Russia’s military actions in Ukraine, which have given them operational control of Crimea, are in clear violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

3. Mr. Putin says:  The opposition failed to implement the February 21 agreement with former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.

The Facts:  The February 21 agreement laid out a plan in which the Rada, or Parliament, would pass a bill to return Ukraine to its 2004 Constitution, thus returning the country to a constitutional system centered around its parliament. Under the terms of the agreement, Yanukovych was to sign the enacting legislation within 24 hours and bring the crisis to a peaceful conclusion. Yanukovych refused to keep his end of the bargain. Instead, he packed up his home and fled, leaving behind evidence of wide-scale corruption.

4. Mr. Putin says:  Ukraine’s government is illegitimate. Yanukovych is still the legitimate leader of Ukraine.

The Facts:  On March 4, President Putin himself acknowledged the reality that Yanukovych “has no political future.” After Yanukovych fled Ukraine, even his own Party of Regions turned against him, voting to confirm his withdrawal from office and to support the new government. Ukraine’s new government was approved by the democratically elected Ukrainian Parliament, with 371 votes – more than an 82% majority. The interim government of Ukraine is a government of the people, which will shepherd the country toward democratic elections on May 25th – elections that will allow all Ukrainians to have a voice in the future of their country.

5. Mr. Putin says:  There is a humanitarian crisis and hundreds of thousands are fleeing Ukraine to Russia and seeking asylum.

The Facts:  To date, there is absolutely no evidence of a humanitarian crisis. Nor is there evidence of a flood of asylum-seekers fleeing Ukraine for Russia. International organizations on the ground have investigated by talking with Ukrainian border guards, who also refuted these claims. Independent journalists observing the border have also reported no such flood of refugees.

6. Mr. Putin says:  Ethnic Russians are under threat.

The Facts:  Outside of Russian press and Russian state television, there are no credible reports of any ethnic Russians being under threat. The new Ukrainian government placed a priority on peace and reconciliation from the outset. President Oleksandr Turchynov refused to sign legislation limiting the use of the Russian language at regional level. Ethnic Russians and Russian speakers have filed petitions attesting that their communities have not experienced threats. Furthermore, since the new government was established, calm has returned to Kyiv. There has been no surge in crime, no looting, and no retribution against political opponents.

7. Mr. Putin says:  Russian bases are under threat.

The Facts:  Russian military facilities were and remain secure, and the new Ukrainian government has pledged to abide by all existing international agreements, including those covering Russian bases. It is Ukrainian bases in Crimea that are under threat from Russian military action.

8. Mr. Putin says:  There have been mass attacks on churches and synagogues in southern and eastern Ukraine.

The Facts:  Religious leaders in the country and international religious freedom advocates active in Ukraine have said there have been no incidents of attacks on churches. All of Ukraine’s church leaders, including representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate, have expressed support for the new political leadership, calling for national unity and a period of healing. Jewish groups in southern and eastern Ukraine report that they have not seen an increase in anti-Semitic incidents.

9. Mr. Putin says:  Kyiv is trying to destabilize Crimea.

The Facts:  Ukraine’s interim government has acted with restraint and sought dialogue. Russian troops, on the other hand, have moved beyond their bases to seize political objectives and infrastructure in Crimea. The government in Kyiv immediately sent the former Chief of Defense to defuse the situation. Petro Poroshenko, the latest government emissary to pursue dialogue in Crimea, was prevented from entering the Crimean Rada.

10. Mr. Putin says:  The Rada is under the influence of extremists or terrorists.

The Facts:  The Rada is the most representative institution in Ukraine. Recent legislation has passed with large majorities, including from representatives of eastern Ukraine. Far-right wing ultranationalist groups, some of which were involved in open clashes with security forces during the EuroMaidan protests, are not represented in the Rada. There is no indication that the Ukrainian government would pursue discriminatory policies; on the contrary, they have publicly stated exactly the opposite.