Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Edward Albert Masters (1884-1918)
_{27th Battalion, 7th Infantry Brigade, 2nd Division}

Edward Albert Masters was born on 2 May 1884 at Red Hill, a small farming community 176 km north of Adelaide established in the late nineteenth century, with a hotel, blacksmith, general store and other businesses built within the township. Edward’s parents were George and Edith Masters and he was one of 12 children.

After his school years Bert made his way to Western Australia where he worked as a farm labourer near Esperance. Bert married Esther Doust at Phillips River, Western Australia, and they made their home in Esperance. Their first child was born in Albany on 3 April 1908 and shortly after this the family moved back to Red Hill where their two youngest sons were born, Albert Henry in 1909 and John Lindsay in 1913.

After the news of the ANZAC landing at Gallipoli reached Australia there was a rush by Australians to enlist in the AIF. Bert enlisted on 21 June 1915 with the 4th Reinforcement contingent of the 27th Battalion, leaving Esther in the care of his own family.

On 21 September 1915 Bert embarked from Adelaide on board the troopship Star of England (A15) bound for Egypt. It must have been disappointing to learn of the withdrawal from Gallipoli while the ship was still en route but he finally joined with his battalion on 12 January 1916.

On 15 August 1916 the Battalion left Alexandria to cross the Mediterranean arriving in Marseilles on 21 August as part of the 2nd Australian Division. The 27th Battalion entered the front-line trenches for the first time on 7 April 1916 and took part in its first major battle at Pozières between 28 July and 5 August.

After a spell in a quieter sector of the front in Belgium, the 2nd Division returned to the south in October. The 27th Battalion took part in two attacks to the east of Flers in the Somme Valley, both of which floundered in the mud.

Although it participated in minor attacks during the German withdrawal to the Hindenburg Line in early 1917, the 27th Battalion did not carry out a major attack again until 20 September 1917. On this occasion, it was part of the 2nd Division’s first wave at the battle of Menin Road. Victory here was followed up with the capture of Broodseinde Ridge on 4 October, in which the 27th Battalion also played a role.

After the March offensive was launched, German forces continued to push on to Villers-Bretonneux. Instructed to halt this advance, and to replace the badly divided and depleted British forces, Australian troops were commanded to take position and to protect the vital areas of Dernancourt and Villers-Bretonneux from German capture.

On 4 April, the Germans struck with 15 divisions and captured Hamel, which gave them a footing on the strategically vital "Hill 104", close to the eastern outskirts of Villers-Bretonneux. They then attempted to capture Villers-Bretonneux, which was defended by both British and Australian troops, especially the 4th Division in the Dernancourt sector. They endeavoured to push on to the city of Amiens through an area north of the Somme, but were held back by the Australian brigades. German attempts to break through the lines of protection continued until the night of the 5th, but they never succeeded in penetrating the defences. However, it was to be another three months before Australian troops would recapture Hamel.

By 9 April, the situation was becoming critical as German troops continued to advance closer to the channel ports linking France and Britain, which were now vulnerable to direct attack. Only two Portuguese divisions were holding Lys River fronts (and they eventually fled), and General Ludendorff hastened to exploit this weakness. Some British troops managed to head off the advance, but the Germans pressed on through Armentires to Hazebrouck.

By 18 April, it was clear that the Germans would attempt to push on to Amiens again. On 24 April, the Germans captured Villers-Bretonneux- which just a few weeks earlier the Australians had fought so hard to defend. The town's defence had been given over to British troops while the Australian divisions regrouped. The enemy attack was spearheaded by tanks, which pushed through the British defences. This battle was unique in that it was the first involving tank-against-tank fighting, demonstrating the significance that tanks had increasingly come to assume in 1918.

Orders for the immediate recapture of Villers-Bretonneux were met with a plan to launch an attack by two brigades, the 13th and the 15th. The unconventional night attack began on the 24th. One brigade approached from the north and one from the south, meeting at the village's eastern edge, thereby surrounding the Germans and driving them from Villers-Bretonneux and the adjacent woods.

On the night of 10 June the 27th Battalion attacked near Morlancourt and then acted in a supporting role during the battle of Hamel on 4 July. The unit then moved into Villers-Bretonneux to relieve the forces there.

In the afternoon of 7 August 1918 the 27th Battalion was in vicinity of WHITE CHATEAU near Villers-Bretonneux preparing for an attack towards Harbonnières, a village to the east of the town. The men were marched to concentration area allotted to the battalion. The tracks and roads were sticky but had dried up after sunshine.

At about 4 pm the battalion was ready to move to the Jumping-off Line and after an early dinner had been served the Intelligence Officer, track and company guides, the liaison officer and runners moved out to their respective tasks.

Zero Hour had been given for 4:20 am on the following morning and the battalion had t] be in position ready to attack 1 hour before Zero, which meant marching up in the dark. The men were all cheerful and hopeful of the forthcoming events.

A memorandum had been received from the Corps Commander, General John Monash, giving particulars of the Australians’ glorious past and wishing the troops the best of good fortune in their venture. Weather conditions were very fine all day and quiet at night.

The battalion moved out from the concentration area at 12:30 am. Darkness made progress cautious and slow. The battalion arrived and moved into position at about 3:30 am, only just in time. A very dense ground mist had risen preventing anybody seeing more than five yards ahead. The men’s experience was rather cold lying out on the tape waiting for Zero.

Gunner J.R. Armitage lay in readiness for the attack the next day. In his diary, he wrote:

"It was utterly still. Vehicles made no sound on the marshy ground ... The silence played on our nerves a bit. As we got our guns into position you could hear drivers whispering to their horses and men muttering curses under their breath, and still the silence persisted, broken only by the whine of a stray rifle bullet or a long range shell passing high overhead ... we could feel that hundreds of groups of men were doing the same thing - preparing for the heaviest barrage ever launched."

At 4.20 am the next day:

"all hell broke loose and we heard nothing more. The world was enveloped in sound and flame, and our ears just couldn't cope. The ground shook."

Four minutes later the barrage lifted as the infantry followed in attack, advancing in conjunction with tanks. The mist still being very much in prominence necessitated cautious and slow going. Even though great care had been taken, some units lost their direction but this did not hamper or cause confusion among the staunch and war-tried troops who carried on taking and capturing positions until the objective, the Green Line, had been captured. The time of capture was recorded as 6:30 am.

The mass of assembled Allied forces, including the 1st French and 4th British armies led by combined Australian and Canadian forces, had launched an offensive to push through the German front lines to victory. The mist helped the element of surprise, and through it moved the joint forces of a line of tanks and infantry. The crucial work of the heavy artillery held off fire from German guns, so that troops could get across the land.

Setting out from the positions of Villers-Bretonneux and Hamel, the Australian troops in two hours had accomplished all their objectives, and the Canadian troops that had begun the attack alongside them had advanced several kilometres. In just over 3 hours, the enemy's front line had been overrun. In total, the Allied forces captured 29,144 prisoners, 338 guns, and liberated 116 towns and villages. Ludendorff called 8 August "the black day of the German army".

The success of this attack was largely attributed to the rapid advance of the troops and the complete surprise to the enemy. Australian casualties were exceptionally light in this operation and the ground mist commenced to lift at about 7 am. The 27th Battalion captured a large number of prisoners and nine 77 cm field guns that the Germans had fired point blank until overwhelmed by the advancing troops. The captures also include a vast quantity of machine guns and other rich booty and war material.

Great admiration had been paid to the tanks and personnel throughout the operation. The battalion’s troops showed great eagerness to proceed with the work they had started early in the morning, but they were compelled to stop. According to plan the 5th Australian Division passed through their ranks at 8:20 am, pursuing the enemy who had fallen back before the first of the victorious troops.

The battalion then proceeded to convert the captured positions into a defensive line and the companies were reorganised. After that had been done the battalion settled down to a well-earned respite. All the while troops and other units of the army were passing by the position on the way to follow the troops who had passed over on the way to the second objective, the Red Line. At about 5 pm the battalion’s company travelling kitchens hove in sight and were parked in the centre of the battalion and provided the men with a hot meal.

The battalion passed the night undisturbed by any eventuality. The weather during the day had been fine and the night, mild. Sky clear and starlight.

The morning of 9 August found the 27th Battalion at rest and standing by for fresh orders. Weather conditions were fine. At 11 am orders were received for a fresh advance in which the battalion was detailed as the left battalion of the brigade. Lunch was given early since the battalion had to march a fair distance and be ready to attack at 4:30 pm. The advance was to be about 3,500 yards in depth.

The march took about 1½ hours to accomplish and the battalion had for their direction of the Jumping-off Line the village of Harbonnières of their right and their approximate position was a line drawn due north.

At Zero hour the battalion left the Jumping-off Line with the tanks ahead. No artillery barrage could be obtained so the advance was very rapid. Progress was rather good owing to daylight but the tanks fared worse than was expected. Direct fire was placed by enemy batteries causing several of the tanks to be put out of action. The shelling of the tanks by the enemy caused numerous casualties amongst the advancing troops but very little resistance was met with as the enemy bolted from his positions.

The 27th battalion passed over the objective and consolidated. Casualties were more severe than for the previous operation. A 4.2 Howitzer was captured along with a quantity of prisoners, numerous machine guns and a vast quantity of rich booty including motor lorries, transport wagons etc.

Enemy aircraft were active before the operation commenced but British planes held the air afterwards. The objective was gained by 5:20 pm when consolidation and reorganisation was carried out.

Many German weapons were captured in the advance. A particular trophy was the capture of the Amiens gun by the Australian 31st Battalion, 5th Division. The capture of the Amiens Gun at Harbonnières was a significant achievement. During the summer of 1918, it had been used by the Germans to fire on the city of Amiens, about 25 kilometres away, from a railway carriage. Attempts had been made by the Allies to destroy this powerful weapon, but to no avail. During the August 8 advance, the train was bombed by a British Sopwith Camel, causing the German soldiers on board to evacuate. Although RAF aircraft and British cavalry were the first to engage the gun, it was then quickly claimed by the advancing Australian infantry.

"We had been sent with a quantity of Amatol to blow up the large gun … however Les Strahan one of our sappers in the party had been a driver in the Western Australian railways, and he found there was still a head of steam, he asked for a fair go, instead of blowing the gun up he got the engine going, we were told then to try to get it back if possible into a cutting so it could be camouflaged." (Corporal John Palmer, 8th Field Company)

The Amiens gun barrel weighed 45 tons (40,824 kilograms) and had a calibre measurement of 28 centimetres (11.15 inches). Built in 1904 by Friedrick Krupp, it was originally a German naval gun, until it was modified to be used as a railway gun during the war. The "Amiens gun" was later exhibited in Paris before it was sent to England for transport to Australia as a war trophy. While the gun's carriage was eventually destroyed, the barrel remains intact, and is on display outdoors at the Australian War Memorial.

The importance of the offensive in tactical terms was that it provided a further example of the effectiveness of shifting from stagnant trench warfare to mobile multi-faceted warfare. Not surprisingly, it was said that the Australian troops much preferred and felt they were better suited to this more mobile, above-ground form of fighting.

Despite the achievements made in this campaign, in the following days it proved a struggle to consolidate this success. Although the Allies continued to advance with Australians maintaining the lead, there were heavier losses for fewer gains in ground, there were fewer tanks to use as protection, and German forces regrouped and began to advance into other areas. Even then, it was expected by many of the Allied commanders that war would push on into 1919.

The advance on Harbonnières was achieved at a high cost, with 21,243 Allied casualties, one-quarter of who were killed.

Private Edward Albert Masters was one of those killed in this final push towards the ending of the war. He was buried in the field. The image below is one of a set of photographs of the original graves of some members of the 27th Battalion. The battalion funded the purchase of the camera through its adjutant, Captain Southon, for Private G R Barrington to photograph the graves. The camera and negatives were then acquired by Major John L Treloar on behalf of the Australian War Museum, reimbursing costs for the camera to Capt Southon.

Son of Edith and George MASTERS

Nephews Frederick George William Osborn and Arnold Leland Siviour both killed in action. Brother-in-law Clarence John Doust killed in action.