OXMAN, Alfred William
| Service Number: | 4684 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 12 November 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 48th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Perth, Western Australia, August 1891 |
| Home Town: | Narrogin, Narrogin, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 11 April 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Narrogin War Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 12 Nov 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 4684, 48th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 12 Feb 1916: | Involvement Private, 4684, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1), --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '12' embarkation_place: Fremantle embarkation_ship: HMAT Miltiades embarkation_ship_number: A28 public_note: '' | |
| 12 Feb 1916: | Embarked Private, 4684, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1), HMAT Miltiades, Fremantle | |
| 11 Apr 1917: | Involvement Private, 4684, 48th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 4684 awm_unit: 48 Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1917-04-11 |
Bullecourt I and Pte Oxman
From In Search of Charles Albert Stokes DCM
The 11th April marks the beginning of the first battle of Bullecourt. The Germans had been retreating from the old battlefields surrounding Bapaume in early 1917 to their newly constructed defensive position known as the Hindenburg Line. This line had wire entanglements in front of the trenches that where very wide, in double belts of barb wire patterned with angles intended to cause advancing troops to be divided, gathering into these spaces that where covered by German machine gunners.
On the 9th April 1917 the British 3rd Army at Arras had success against the Germans defensive line, of the Allies great offensive planned for 1917. It was with this success that General Gough’s army was facing the Hindenburg Line at its southern flank ready to attack near the villages of Bullecourt and Riencourt. His orders were to breach the Hindenburg Line east of Bullecourt with the Australians on the 10th April 1917.
It was on the 8th April 1917 that General Gough was informed the artillery had failed to cut the wire entanglements in front of the German defensive lines sufficiently to allow the Australians to pass through to attack the trenches. Gough was advised to pose pone the attack to at least the 12th April 1917.
However it was a tank officer in command of twelve tanks attached to Gough’s Army, who suggested the idea for his tanks to break down the wire entanglements, once done would signal the infantry to advance through, capturing the trenches where a barrage from the artillery on German positions would protect the attacking infantry.
A senior tank commander went to Gough with this plan, Gough asked how soon this could be carried out, with the tank commander saying at dawn the next morning, which was to be the 10th April 1917.
Gough went to his headquarters informing General Birdwood and White of the plan with the tanks to break down the wire entanglements. There was doubts with this plan but Gough argued that the tanks would break the wire before the infantry was asked to attack. This tactic had been urged by tank commanders for their machines to be used in this way.
With the hastily drawn up plans for the attack, two Australian brigades the 4th and 12th were march forward to lay in the dark on the snow-covered fields far out from the protection of the railway embankment where the Australians had protection from the German Hindenburg Line that ran a defensive line past villages of Bullecourt and Riencourt.
General Gough was under the impression that the Germans were retiring from the Hindenburg Line where he ordered patrols to be sent out to test the strength of the line. It was found by these patrols the German line to be strongly held with its wire very formidable. Birdwood became aware of this telephoning Gough saying the operation was very hazardous. It was Gough who said the attack must take place. Even General White protested against the attack but was informed that all the more need to attack with zero hour to be 4.30am 10th April 1917.
However, the tanks did not arrive at that time and where still stuck behind the lines unable to meet the deadline for the attack. The two infantry brigades were withdrawn to the safety of the railway embankment. The British 62nd Division was apart of the attack, attacking Bullecourt who were not informed of the delay, suffered heavily from a German artillery bombardment, as did the Australians.
Gough told his Corp Commanders an attempt to get the tanks through and therefore the attack was to be repeated at 4.30am on the 11th April 1917. Strong protests from Birdwood and White were made to Gough, but he stated that the attack was urgently required.
The two brigades were once again moved forward on the morning of the 11th April, but the tanks where nowhere to be seen by 3am. By the time of the attack at 4.30am only 3 tanks had arrived, taking up position in front of 4th brigade on the right with 12th brigade on the left with no support from the tanks. The 12th brigade was attacking the wire entanglements head on. The infantry was now facing the situation of being without artillery to break the barb wire entanglement, as Birdwood and White had feared.
The infantry soon reached, passing the tanks who were still some distance from the wire, with the infantry getting through the wire into OG1 and OG2 trenches. By 7am of the attack, the tanks where destroyed on the battlefield, short of the barbwire entanglements. With the Australian infantry in the trenches the artillery was not allowed to fire. The Germans where on all sides of the Australians and by 8am the Australians where unable to receive supplies, reinforcements or messages. By 11.30am the Australians were beginning to fall back to their lines.
The 12th brigade on the left was been attacked by the Germans from Bullecourt in the trenches. The German defenders were bought to a standstill by the Australian 48th and 47th battalions in OG2. With continued fierce fighting the 48th retook the trench behind them, OG1 holding both trenches. It was at this time the artillery was allowed to fire under the impression that sections of the German lines had fallen. The artillery barrage was bought to bare upon the Australians who were in the German trenches.
By 12.30, the 47th and 48th battalion under heavy fire began picking up their wounded and coming back out through the wire retreating back to their lines.
It was in the 48th battalion ranks that Second Lieutenant Herbert James Hammond from South Australia, who had joined the A.I.F. in September 1915 at the age of 38 years. He had embarked from Adelaide in July 1916, arriving in France joining the 48th battalion in March 1917.
In was in the attack on the 11th April 1917 that Hammond was seen laying seriously wounded in a shell hole close to the first line of the barb wire entanglements. Witness account states they saw him laying in a shell hole, pressing on with the attack beyond where he was laying. Initially Lieutenant Hammond was report as missing, suspected a prisoner of war, but was later recorded as ‘killed in action”.
Sergeant William George Blaskett of Bowden, South Australia was promoted on 23rd February 1917 to the rank of Second Lieutenant with 48th battalion. He was killed in action at Bullecourt, aged 21. Witness accounts states he was killed by machine gun fire in the German trenches during the attack on 11th April 1917. He has no known grave.
Private Alfred William Oxman of Narrogin, Western Australia. A labourer prior to enlistment in November 1915 embarked from Fremantle in February 1916. Private Oxman was killed in action at Bullecourt, France on 11 April 1917. He was 24 years of age, with no known grave
From the first battle of Bullecourt in April 1917, the Australians had 3000 casualties killed or wounded.
With the first battle of Bullecourt the Australian Infantry had little faith in the capabilities of the slow-moving tanks that were hit or broke down leaving the Australians vulnerable. This mistrust of tanks was not finally overcome until their success in the Battle of Hamel more than a year later.
Charles Bean, Official Historian wrote;
'Bullecourt, more than any other battle, shook the confidence of Australian soldiers in the capacity of the British command; the errors, especially on April 10th and 11th, were obvious to almost everyone'.
I have walked the battlefield of Bullecourt on several occasions, it is not until you walk the fields locating the German positions near Bullecourt and Riencourt that you fully understand the magnitude of losses to the Australians.
Lieutenant Herbert Hammond, Blaskett and Private Oxman you have not been forgotten, along with all those other Australians who were lost at Bullecourt.
Lieutenant Herbert Hammond remains where later located near OG1 trenches. He is now buried in Queant Road Cemetery. The cemetery has a total of 2377 Commonwealth men buried, with 1441 unidentified.
Submitted 12 April 2020 by Evan Evans
Biography contributed by Evan Evans
From François Berthout
Pte 4684 Alfred William Oxman
48th Australian Infantry Battalion, A Company,
12th Brigade, 4th Australian Division
In the fields of northern France, silent and serene, millions of poppies sway under the spring breeze, growing tirelessly between the white graves of thousands of young men who here, for peace and freedom, for Australia and France gave their today alongside their friends but by their side still stand proudly 11,000 of their comrades who have no known graves and who, patient and solemn, are waiting to be found to rest in peace with their brothers in arms. Missing but not forgotten, the names of these heroes are today remembered and honored on the sacred walls of the Australian memorial at Villers-Bretonneux which is the eternal symbol of the memory, courage and sacrifices of so many young Diggers over whom I will always watch with care and respect to put a face and a story to their names to bring them back to life so that their memory never fades, so that they live forever.
Today, it is with the utmost respect and with the deepest gratitude that I would like to honor the memory of one of these young men, one of my boys of the Somme who gave his today for our tomorrow.I would like to pay a very respectful tribute to Private number 4684 Alfred William Oxman who fought in the 48th Australian Infantry Battalion, A Company, 12th Brigade, 4th Australian Division, and who was killed in action 105 years ago, on April 11, 1917 at the age of 26 in the Pas-De-Calais but whose name is remembered in the Somme.
Alfred William Oxman was born in 1891 in Perth, Western Australia, and was the son of Amelia Elizabeth Oxman (née Webb) and Alfred James "Alf" Oxman, of Narrogin, Western Australia, who worked as a railway ganger, gas Lamp Lighter and council worker.he built the stone cottage at 23 Falcon Street in Narrogin, where he and Amelia raised nine children. He was caretaker/gardener for the Memorial Park from 1930-1938 and helped construct the War Memorial where the name of his eldest son is listed.Before the outbreak of the war, his son Alfred worked as a labourer.
Alfred enlisted on November 20, 1915 at Blackboy Hill, Western Australia, in the 16th Australian Infantry Battalion, 14th Reinforcement, and after a training period of just over two months, he embarked with his unit from Fremantle, Western Australia, on board HMAT A28 Miltiades on February 12, 1916 and sailed for Egypt.
On March 11, 1916, Alfred arrived in Egypt and was disembarked at Port Suez and the following month, on April 2, he was transferred and taken on strength in the 48th Australian Infantry Battalion whose nickname was "Joan of Arc Battalion", under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Raymond Leane.Throughout April 1916, the battalion undertook training in the desert before being moved to Habieta in early May where they briefly manned defensive positions as a precaution against a possible Ottoman attack on the Suez Canal.The following month, on June 2, 1916, the battalion joined the BEF (British Expeditionary Force) in Alexandria from where it embarked on board HMT Caledonia and proceeded overseas for France.
On June 9, 1916, after a calm journey on the Mediterranean Sea, Alfred arrived in France and was disembarked at Marseilles and shortly after, the 48th Battalion was sent by train to Bailleul which they reached on June 12 and marched into billets at Merris on June 14 under rainy weather. The following month, on July 3, the men left Merris and headed for Fleurbaix where they arrived the next day and from where they were relieved on the night of July 11 by the 54th Australian Infantry Battalion then moved back to Merris on July 13 from where they proceeded to the Somme front the same day.
On July 14, 1916, Alfred and the 48th Battalion arrived in the Somme, more precisely in the village of Berteaucourt where they remained until July 27 then the next day, marched for Toutencourt and moved to Harponville on July 29. A few days later, on August 1, the battalion left Harponville and marched for the town of Albert then were led towards Tara Hill on August 4, moved to the Sausage Valley and the hell of Pozieres on August 8, four days after the capture of Windmill, the positions OG1 and OG2 by the 2nd Australian Division. The 48th Battalion fought bravely at Pozieres and it is said that from August 5 to 7 and then from August 12 to 15 the battalion endured the heaviest artillery barrage ever experienced by Australian troops and suffered 598 casualties out of its complement of just over 1,000 men.
On August 16, 1916, completely exhausted and almost annihilated, the 48th Battalion moved back to Albert then to Warloy-Baillon where they remained until August 20 and the next day were sent to Billets at Berteaucourt where the battalion reorganized and received reinforcements. A few days later, on August 25, the battalion marched for Rubempre, joined Vadencourt on August 26 and then returned to Albert on August 28, La Boisselle on August 29 and August 31, entered the trenches of Mouquet Farm where the Australians fought bravely in what was yet another carnage through which 11,000 young diggers fell.at Mouquet Farm, the 48th Battalion had the objective of defending the ground which had been conquered during previous attacks.
On the 1st September 1916 the 48th Battalion was relieved by the 49th Australian Infantry Battalion and the following day marched into Billets at Albert.two days later on the 4th September the battalion marched to Herrissart and then to Beauval on the 7th September and embarked by train at Doullens on the 9th September for Poperinghe, Flanders.
On September 10, 1916, the battalion arrived at Poperinge and marched to Connaught Camp in very comfortable conditions.No major attacks occurred in their sector during this time, and although there were a few casualties, the battalion was able to replace some of its losses, reaching a strength of around 700 men.
On September 18, 1916, the battalion marched to Quebec Camp, near Reninghelst and then to Wurrumbidgee Camp near La Clytte where the men were employed in working parties in the construction and improvement of a line called "Poppy Lane".More than ten days later, on September 29, they were sent to Vierstraat where the battalion was involved in a raid on enemy lines the following day.
On October 3, 1916, the battalion entered support lines at Ridgewood in heavy rain and remained in this area until October 14, then moved back to Vierstraat alongside the Canadians where they relieved the 46th Australian Infantry Battalion under German artillery fire and remained in this sector until October 23 then marched to Boeschepe from where they embarked by train on October 26 and were once again sent to the Somme front.
On October 28, 1916, the 48th Battalion arrived at Longpre and marched for Villers-Sous-Ailly then for Berthencourt and Vaux on November 2. On November 7 they headed for Dernancourt and on November 11 joined the front line at Flers and occupied the "Switch Trench". By this time the Somme battlefield had been deluged with rain and the attacks were made in atrocious conditions. On November 17, the 48th Battalion, alongside the 5th and 7th Brigades launched a courageous attack on the "Maze", a complex of enemy trenches which was first attacked on November 5 by the 1st Brigade but the attack had been repulsed by German counterattacks. Initially, the attack of November 17 was a success and the Australians managed to capture a portion of enemy trenches but a surprise attack forced the 48th Battalion to withdraw to its original trenches two days later. On November 21, the battalion moved slightly to "Bulls Road" in Flers and a week later, on November 28, marched to Mametz and Mametz Camp where they remained until December 2.
On December 4, 1916, Alfred and the 48th Battalion marched into Billets at Dernancourt where the men underwent a period of training which ended on December 21 and joined Flesselles two days later and where they remained until January 1, 1917.
On January 2, 1917, the battalion marched for Franvillers, near Amiens, moved back to Dernancourt on January 3, went to Fricourt on January 5, Bazentin on January 7 then moved back into the trenches of Flers on January 8, more precisely in a sector called "Fritz Folly" and occupied several trenches including the "Fatigue Trench", "Frost Trench", "Bulls Trench" and "Grease Trench" then were relieved on January 17 and marched for Brisbane Camp then for Bazentin Camp A where they were mainly employed in road works until the end of the month.
On February 2, 1917, the 48th Battalion marched to Albury Camp, near Bazentin, and the men were once again employed in road works. On February 15, they joined Townsville Camp and then moved back to the "Bulls Trench" at Flers where they fought until February 24 and marched to Mametz where they occupied the Pork Trench. On February 27 they moved to Becourt then marched to Henencourt and occupied Henencourt Wood until March 23.
On March 23, 1917, the 48th Battalion moved to Shelter Wood in Fricourt and marched to Eaucourt l'Abbaye on March 28. A few weeks later, on April 8, they were sent to Noreuil and then to Bullecourt on April 11 where unfortunately Alfred met his fate and was killed in action during an attack supported by tanks,An attack known as the "First battle of Bullecourt".
General Gough planned to use the 4th Australian Division and the 62nd British Division to attack the Hindenburg Line near the village of Bullecourt. Rather than wait until he had sufficient artillery resources he decided to employ a dozen tanks to lead the troops through the enemy’s barbed-wire. An attack set for 10 April was suddenly abandoned when the tanks did not arrive. It went ahead the next morning with disastrous results. Exposed to murderous machine-gun and artillery fire the Australians were forced back to their own lines while tanks stood burning on the battlefield. The Australians had 3,000 men killed or wounded; many survivors remained bitter about such a futile waste.
Australian war correspondent Charles Bean wrote:
"Bullecourt, more than any other battle, shook the confidence of Australian soldiers in the capacity of the British command; the errors, especially on April 10th and 11th, were obvious to almost everyone."
The circumstances of Alfred's death were written by one of his comrades, Private Number 2304 Eric Gordon Kelly, 48th Australian Infantry Battalion, as follows:
"Private Oxman and myself were members of a carrying party in front of Bullecourt.As we were making our way towards the trench front line trench I was hit in the arm by a bullet, I looked round and saw private Oxman who was immediately behind me lying on the ground apparently badly hit. Twelve hours later I saw him in the same place dead."
Private Eric Gordon Kelly said in a second testimony:
"We were in a carrying party taking ammunition to a trench that we had recently occupied.The machine guns were firing at us all the way across when I was hit on the arm and looking round to tell Oxman.I saw him lying on the ground.He took two deep breaths and then never moved again. The Germans were all around us by this time, so I took cover in a shell hole and hat to remain there from 7:00am until it was dark when I crawled out and Oxman was still there as he had been in the morning. Ground was lost, retaken a month later. The casualty happened near Bullecourt. Cannot say if he was buried.No other of same name. Description of him, short, dark curly hair, not more than 25. Came from West Australia."
Sadly, the body of Alfred William Oxman was never found and his name is now remembered and commemorated with respect on the walls of the Australian National Memorial in Villers-Bretonneux, Somme, alongside the names of 10,885 Australian soldiers who fell in France and who have no known graves.
Alfred, it is with the greatest bravery and in the prime of your life that you answered the call of duty alongside your comrades in the name of democracy under the colors of Australia, to do your bit for what was right, to stand by your friends, all united in the camaraderie and brotherhood that moved them to walk together overseas with confidence and faith in their deeds behind the bugles and drums whose echoes made heard on the roads of Belgium and France through the footsteps of millions of men who moved forward with their heads held high, convinced and proud to fight in the name of peace and freedom, the highest values which brought them together and united them in an unbreakable bond and in the trenches of the Somme, on the battlefields of Pozieres, Flers and Bullecourt, they became a family, brothers in arms who served and suffered together through the darkest hours of history in what were real slaughterhouses, a hell on earth which was the only life and the only youth of so many innocent souls who left behind their childhood that they sacrificed under the shells and the bullets of a world gone mad.Through the sufferings of a world on the brink of destruction, their faces blackened with the filth and blood of their friends they faced the darkness of despair and stood in the face of adversity, they faced their fears and showed the determination of a whole generation of men, of a whole young and strong nation which did so much for France which will never forget what so many young boys did and gave for us who have the honor to stand in front of them for to honor their memory and to honor the friendship that unites Australia and France in the remembrance.They were brave, they were young, and for four years of endless war, they lived, fought and fell side by side in the mud, among the poppies, they shed their blood on sacred grounds which bear the scars of a war that was to end all wars and that drowned so many young lives in shell holes, in tears and blood and who, more than a hundred years later, are patiently waiting to be found to join their friends and their comrades who still stand proudly behind the shadows of their white graves but the stories and names of these missing heroes will never be forgotten, we will keep their memory strong and alive which one day we will pass on to our children, to the next generations for may the world never forget what so many men sacrificed so that we could live in a peaceful world without fearing tomorrow while so many young boys prayed every day in the trenches to survive, to see the sun rise on a better tomorrow and to see their loved ones again and it was with this strong and solemn hope that they went over the top and charged under the dark clouds, bayonets forward through deluges of bullets and shrapnel, in fury and chaos, through the howls of cannons and men who lay wounded, amputated and who, in a last breath expressed their love to their mothers, to their loved ones who received the terrible telegrams saying that their sons, their husbands were killed in action for the king and the empire but who, in reality, gave their lives for each of us.Gone but not forgotten, I would always watch over them to bring them back to life so that they could be remembered and for them, I would give my today, every second of my life so that theirs would always be in the light. There is no greater honor or greater privilege for me than to live to honor these heroes whom I carry in my heart with an infinite tenderness that I also feel for their families and for whom I will always do my best so that the memory of their relatives who fought and fell here never fades.Thank you so much Alfred, for everything. Long live Australia, our friends and brothers forever.
At the going down of the sun,we will remember him, we will remember them.
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