I have summarised the letters Arndell wrote as best I can for those who might be looking for specific information regarding WWI. This will be a work in progress and will be updated as I add the letters in small quick-read style sections. I chose not to post each letter in whole as they are a big read with a lot of information in each one! Please click on the link attached to each part number.
2nd Battle of Somme (approx 8th August – 8th October 1918) written from France on 14/10/1918.
part one –
5th August he detrained in Hangest-sur-Somme
Mentions Phil Archer, Irwin & Capt Dickie Rigg
Marching the 2nd Battery towards the front line and they got tangled up with 12th Army Brigade on the road
Arndell saw a whippet for the first time as a fleet of tanks rolled past them
part two –
Mentions map scales – 1/20,000 is used since 21/3/18 – double the size from 1/10,000 – they have the barrage lines for the whole corps on the map. (We have part of this map in our possession – to be added!)
Mentions Villers-Bretonneux & Gen. Glasgow from April 1918 – he mentions the guns left behind from April were used in the 7th/8th August attack
Arndell’s brigade was within 600 yards of the German trenches
Mentions the ammunition they used and how they laid it out
7th August – Arndell explored the area on horseback & explained in detail what he saw that day
part three –
8th August – ‘the battle”
Positioning of Australian & Canadians – numbers of frontline & backup & the tanks and artillery
Mentions the Hindenburg Line & how the men that fought there were tired and had managed to stop the Germans
Mentions the Aeroplanes & Tanks – makes and models
Mentions the guns and ammunition used & how they signal for more ammunition drops
part four –
Mentions Mena 1915 & Tel-el-Kebir 1916 (training in Egypt)
Orders for Battle – how they are set out (Corps Mobile Reserve Division Artillery)
Mentions the poor communication leading to tanks being in the wrong areas
Mentions 4.35am & the images of the whole countryside ablaze with gunfire.
Mentions the wagons & motor lorries carting ammunition
Description of the cavalry and how they were dressed
13th Australian Light Horsemen
Mentions the numbers of German prisoners
part five –
Description of Howitzers & Naval railway guns
Canadians overcoming the 2nd line of resistance
Arndell describes the noise & sight of one of the enemy’s shells coming close to them – lots of descriptions of the frontlines
Mentions the ambulances & wounded men – both Australian & German
Talks about ‘message drops’ from aeroplanes
Mentions the nickname ‘Pom’
part six –
9th August – the saddest day for the 1st Division Artillery
Mentions the old 1914-16 line
Mentions the Americans helping out
Support was not given to the troops
Mentions the messing up of times to begin due to messages not making it to the men in time
part seven –
Mentions Villers-Bretonneux
Ammunition storage examples
Caterpillar tank reference
Guns/ammunition wagon description
Mentions numerous anecdotes about Officers/Majors
part eight –
Descriptions of the landscape they were in
Mentions meeting two Airforce gentlemen who had been shot down
2nd Division artillery, 1st & 3rd Battalions mentioned
Mentions the Germans firing on them & Capt. Archer got his men out, but the 101st didn’t fare so well
part nine –
Mentions seeing the 12inch railway gun (VSM) that was undamaged in first battle but was recaptured by the British 4th Army and put on display in France
Mentions all the ‘souveniring’ that is going on (looting) of guns and also people
Explains some of his role in the war
Mentions going ‘exploring’ with Harry Purcell of the 3rd Battery
part ten –
Mentioned going up to the 1914-16 line – brief mention what went on there
More talk about the British
Mentions the German horse lines and how close it got to them
Wonderful explanation of a German bunker that they stumbled upon
Mentions the German wagon lines & stand and how they chased them out
Mentions laying phone lines along a train tack 1/2 a mile from gunfire
part eleven –
Mentions a German Casualty Clearing Station (could have been in Lihons)
Arndell talks about his adventures with Col. Mitchell and how they were shot at and hid in an empty grave & then crawled back through nettles and thistles to escape
Mentions checking the wounded & dead (Germans) for ‘souvenirs’
part twelve –
Talks about the bombs being dropped
Walking back through the German wounded
Longest barrage he has shot (range-wise)
Using an old German railhead ammunition dump as their dugout
Mentions how the railway is being built the further to the frontline they go (to take the guns and ammunition)
More mentions of ammunition trips to the front line using the mules & horses
First mention of the gas attacks – Blue Cross
part thirteen –
Mentions how close Lieutenant Zehnder got to a German occupied house before being called back
Mentions the balloons and friendly fire
Australian planes destroyed more than German ones
Describes the battle which was close by
part fourteen –
Arndell talked with German POWs
Mr Hughes gave a speech saying Germany wouldn’t get its Pacific Colonies back
Germans didn’t fear Australians – they were mad with them for volunteering for the War
The English didn’t respect Australians
part fifteen –
Mentions the rough crosses on graves, written in German
Mentions how to set up guns for action
Mentions the new muzzle velocity correctors that they had
Mentions the 77mm Yellow Cross shells – what they were and what they did to them
part sixteen –
Mentions using an old German bunker – two brigades sharing
Received a newspaper & the headlines applauded the British troops and that upset the men
Australian men were fighting only for the Australians & not the British – the diggers were hurt and angered by the British
Mentions the end of their first stunt of the big offensive
part seventeen –
1918 – Hindenburg Line at Bony-Bellecourt tunnel
part eighteen –
Mentions the Hindenburg Line
74th Division captured the whole of the German front line
Mentions firing at the Germans
Mentions the Americans
part nineteen –
Mentions getting gas bombs to use on the enemy – which historical documentation cannot corroborate!
part twenty –
Mentions maps used
Mentions using mustard gas – description of it
Arndell got shrapnel under his eye
Mentions new USA troops supplied and their position breakdown on the front
part twenty-one –
Mentions Hervilly Wood & Jeancourt
Descriptions of the American troops and his conversations with them
part twenty-two –
Description of the smoke clouds
Discussions with the wounded
Details on the Bellicourt tunnel attack from Sept 29th 1918 – the Americans helped with this
part twenty-three –
Mentions reporting of enemy artillery activity
Mentions locations of allies and officers in the area
Talks about his exploration to different areas/camps
Describes how he was shot at by the Germans at the ‘Sugar Factory”
This was his last bit of action – although he didn’t know it at the time
3rd Battle of Ypres/Passchendaele 1917 – part one –
1st ANZAC Corps (consisting of 1st, 2nd & 5th Australian Division) went out behind Amiens for a break
2nd ANZAC Corps went to Messines in June
Arndell believed that had the Australians attacked on the 31st July they would have had all channel ports secured by October & stopped the Submarine attacks
Talks about the 3rd Battle of Ypres – 31st July onwards
Explains the battle plans & weapons used
part two –
Mentions being stuck in a road block with the British & being bombed by the German planes
The infantry took great losses then – but the diggers kept going
Describes the fighting & the guns used
Describes the Allies’ losses past 11th August through to October and barely any German losses
Description of ‘humpies’ that they lived in
Australian Artillery got pulled out for a months’ rest & training
1st Division suffered the most losses
Ouderdom – September 1917 – part one
DAC & 2nd Division & the whole of 5th Division were on the move to the same place – billets were already full!
Mentions the German camp they were in – an oak forest – which was a nice change to the mud
Mentions the train that collects the wounded to take back to the hospital
Describes Cassel
Brief description of the positions’ locations
Ouderdom – October 1917 – part one –
Talks about a ‘Harvest Moon’ causing the men problems – reflecting off their guns & showing the Germans their positions
Mentions the Gothas (bomber bi-planes) and the damage the bombs did to the men and their horses
Mentions Hellfire Corner
The shelled roads made it difficult to get ammunition dumps
Ouderdom – October 1917 – part two –
Mentions getting the wagons stuck in holes & no one willing to help them
Moving tens of thousands of ammo to the front line
Ammunition going missing but supplied the 4th of October stunt
The Germans bombed the new rail line quickly, which meant ammunition was stored well back from the front
Battle of Broodsiende – 1917 – part one –
The night before the battle – the sky was lit up the whole night
Mentions the newspapers & how they were incorrect – we were actually losing
4th October was a great victory for Australia
Mentions the Prussian Guard Corps
Mentions joint attack from Australian planes & men with bayonets (this caused a lot of damage to Germany who didn’t counterattack)
Mentions Kit & Cat pill boxes
Light railway was being bombed regularly and due to this it was hard to get the ammunition to the front line
Mentions the motor cars made to fit the tram lines
Mentions the 3rd Division going over for Passchendaele (Arndell said this wasn’t common knowledge)
Battle of Broodsiende – 1917 – part two –
Mentions the Germans bombing London
Lots of lives lost – over 50 casualties in their battery
For the most part the men had to move the guns forward themselves
Mentions the 1st Australian Pioneer Battalion
Battle of Broodsiende – 1917 – part three (Anzac Ridge, November) –
15th November they moved from Dickiebusch – moving away from the front they saw the Belgiums working in their fields
Mentions having a deep buried phone cable
The final capture of Passchendaele morning was very foggy
Mentions that this was one of the few times he saw German shrapnel up close
The gunners were hungry, sick & three quarters were dead or wounded
Mentions 8 days there and he’d been gassed quite badly
Battle of Broodsiende – 1917 – part four (Anzac Ridge, November) –
Mentions the road littered with dead horses
Mentions the wagons & all the ammunition strewn everywhere
Mentions the Germans & English dead visible but no Australians as they took their own back to the makeshift cemeteries
ANZAC Ridge attacks were daily – from both sides
Lots of gassing by the Germans – mentions how close a 77mm gas shell came to them
Mentions that the mud saved them from shell attack (as it deadened the impact)
Battle of Broodsiende – 1917 – part five (Anzac Ridge, November) –
Mentions his praise for General Birdwood
Mentions the British ammunition wagons being raided as soon as they were dropped off
Mentions how many soldiers were lost in 3 months
The Australians suffered badly & the English not so much – due to their cowardice
Mentions just how many men died or made sick due to gas attacks and how the Australians were never allowed to use gas to retaliate