At 1.00am on 20 July 1916, the battle between the Australians and the German armies intensified. Machine gun fire was constant and grenades were thrown around like confetti. One account estimated that up to 12 grenades were in the air at any one time (Corfield, 2000). With rifle and bayonet, Thomas and his ten mates from his section were engaged in this bloodbath, some of which was hand to hand combat. During this stage of the battle, Thomas' corporal, George Spooner (AKA 'Bubbles') was killed in action.
In the early hours on 20 July 1916, the Germans began to move stealthily along their old front line towards the Australians. Aside from the flash of artillery or the odd flare, the night was pitch black. Eerily, as the German's advanced along the line they sang their national anthem in assist with differentiating themselves from their enemy. The German's began to regain the ground they had lost only a few hours earlier.
At 3am the Germans army had begun attacking the Australians from both flanks as well as directly in front. Thomas heard the Commanding Officer of the 31st Battalion yell out: “well men, no one could ask you to do more - get back to our lines, but don’t bunch up”. Hearing this command, Thomas ran across no man's land and returned to the Australian front line. On this day he avoided becoming a casualty of war. However, many men from his battalion were injured or killed. According to Austin (1997), most of the men captured by the Germans and became prisoners of war were from Thomas' D company.
Despite the Australian retreat, the German artillery continued and many continued to be killed. At 7am on 20 July 1916, Private Cheshire was killed instantly in his trench when he was hit by a German artillery shell. Thomas' section mate, Will Miles, poignantly described what happened: "Poor Cheshire was killed instantly, just after reaching our own trench. He was sitting behind our parapet, when a small shell came through and seemed to catch him full in the chest. He never moved. I was within five feet of him and sent stretcher bearers to take his disc and belt off”. Private Torbitt's description of Private Cheshire's death was more to the point: “head blown to pieces". Thomas knew Private Cheshire and it is very likely that he was near him when he was killed.
In late 1916 and early 1917 an official red cross inquiry into Corporal Spooner's death was conducted. As part of the inquiry process, several soldiers from Thomas' D Company, 29th Battalion were interviewed. The following soldiers' account of the battle, and the circumstances in which Spooner was killed, enlightens us to the trench warfare that Thomas experienced:
Despite the Australian retreat, the German artillery continued and many continued to be killed. At 7am on 20 July 1916, Private Cheshire was killed instantly in his trench when he was hit by a German artillery shell. Thomas' section mate, Will Miles, poignantly described what happened: "Poor Cheshire was killed instantly, just after reaching our own trench. He was sitting behind our parapet, when a small shell came through and seemed to catch him full in the chest. He never moved. I was within five feet of him and sent stretcher bearers to take his disc and belt off”. Private Torbitt's description of Private Cheshire's death was more to the point: “head blown to pieces". Thomas knew Private Cheshire and it is very likely that he was near him when he was killed.
In late 1916 and early 1917 an official red cross inquiry into Corporal Spooner's death was conducted. As part of the inquiry process, several soldiers from Thomas' D Company, 29th Battalion were interviewed. The following soldiers' account of the battle, and the circumstances in which Spooner was killed, enlightens us to the trench warfare that Thomas experienced:
- Private A.D Cameron of the 29th Battalion was interviewed on the 5th December 1916 at Boulogne. Cameron said “He (Spooner) was in the first German Line... killed close to Captain Livingstone”
- Private Sydney Hall was interviewed on the 25 January 1917 and reported that "Spooner had been killed by a bomb in the German lines. We could not hold ground. Sgt Miller was wounded at the same time”
- Sgt Miller wrote on 26 February 1917 that "Cpl Spooner was killed probably by shell or machine gun fire, both of which were very intense on both 19th and 20th July".
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| Australian soldiers killed at the Battle of Fromelle |
