The First Battle of Bullecourt

Bullecourt

• Village in Northern France, 13km north-east of Bapaume
• Used defensively in the Hindenburg Line in WWI
• Became the site of two of the battles in the Arras campaign

Date and Duration

• First Battle of Bullecourt - April 11th, 1917
• Duration of about 10 hours, from 4.30am to around 2pm
• Second Battle of Bullecourt - May 3rd to May 17th, 1917

Who Was Involved?

• British 5th Army - 4th Australian Division and 62nd British Division
• Counterattacks launched by German 27th Württemberg Division
• British 5th Army under command of General Sir Hubert Gough (British)

Causes

• The British wanted to attack Arras early to lure the Germans out to support a major French offensive
• General Gough wanted to attack Bullecourt as a subsidiary to Arras to trap retreating Germans
• News of initial British successes at Arras spurred General Gough to bring forward the attack

What Happened?

• General Gough substituted artillery bombardment with tanks
• At this time, tanks were really unreliable and slow
• Bullecourt was one of the strongest points in the Hindenburg Line

Aim

• 4th Australian Division use tanks to breach Hindenburg Line east of Bullecourt
• Link up with the 62nd British Division and take Bullecourt
• Advance north-east together and capture Riencourt and Hendecourt

What Happened?

• The Australians approached at 4.45am with only three tanks supporting them
• The Germans detected the approach and opened fire with machine-guns and artillery
• Tanks broke down or were quickly destroyed

What Happened?

• Despite heavy causualties, some Australians reached the front line, but were caught on barbed wire
• A few Australians used hand grenades to gain a hold in the German front line
• The first two German trenches (OG1 and OG2) were captured by 5.16am

What Happened?

• The 4th Brigade caught up and nearly all of the assigned Hindenburg Line was captured by 7.00am
• Lack of men and ammunition prevented the Australians from advancing
• The 62nd British Division didn't come and communication for artillery support failed

What Happened?

• The Germans began a counterattack at 10.00am
• The Australians were forced back to their starting line at 10.20am
• The Germans opened fire again on the exposed Australians

Results

• 4th Brigade lost 2,339 out of 3,000 men
• 12th Brigade lost 950 out of 2,000 men
• 1,170 Australians were captured
• Overall 66 percent loss rate

Effects of the Campaign

• The 4th Australian Division withdrew as a fighting force for months
• Although the Australians eventually breached and captured parts of the Hindenburg Line, no strategic advantage was ever gained

Effects of the Campaign

• When the Arras offensive ended, the British had successfully advanced up to 10km eastward
• However, the larger French offensive it was supporting was a failure