Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Harold Gustava Ritter

46th Infantry Battalion, AIF

Harold Gustava Ritter was born in Yandoit, Victoria in August 1891, the son of Wilhelm Arnold Ritter (www.wikitree.com) and Elizabeth Jane Higgins. His father was the son of German immigrants to Australia, Johan Ritter and Amelia Liebig. [1]

Harold was working as a labourer at Clydesdale in July 1915 when the State Government conducted a recruiting campaign in the Castlemaine and Campbell’s Creek area for men to volunteer for service with the AIF. He was among 14 men who enlisted from the district on 12 July and went into recruit camp the following week. [2]

Harold was allocated to the 12th Reinforcement Group for the 14th Infantry Battalion, at the time fighting at Gallipoli. After initial training at Broadmeadows, he embarked for the Middle East on 23 November 1915 from Port Melbourne aboard the troopship Ceramic arriving in Egypt after the withdrawal from Gallipoli. He underwent further training at the 4th Training Battalion at Zeitoun and on 6 March 1916, he was reallocated to the 46th Infantry Battalion at Tel el Kabir. [3] The 46th Battalion was raised in Egypt on 24 February 1916 as part of the "doubling" of the AIF. The battalion formed part of the 12th Brigade of the 4th Division. Approximately half of its new recruits were Gallipoli veterans from the 14th Battalion, and the other half were fresh reinforcements from Australia. Reflecting the composition of the 14th, the new battalion was composed mostly of men from Victoria. [4]

Harold left for France with his battalion from Alexandria on 2 June 1916 aboard the troopship Kinfauns Castle arriving in Marseilles on 8 June. After serving a short stint in the front in the area known as the nursery sector, the battalion participated in its first major battle at Pozieres. Initially, the battalion provided carrying parties for supplies and ammunition during the 2nd Division's attack on 4 August, and then, with its own division, defended the ground that had been captured. The 46th Battalion endured two stints in the heavily contested trenches of Pozieres, as well as a period in reserve.

After Pozieres Harold was promoted in the field to the rank of corporal on 14 August.  The battalion then spent the period up until March 1917 alternating between duty in the trenches and training and rest behind the lines. The winter of 1916-17 was notoriously one of the coldest recorded in France for decades. With little in the way of action, the AIF adopted the tactic of carrying out small raids aimed at harassing the Germans. One such raid was undertaken on the night of 11-12 February by the 46th Battalion.

The object of the raid was to extend the position already held by the Australians in the German trench known as Cloudy Trench to the northeast of Guedecourt. Two bombing parties were to push the Germans back along the trench while working parties would build barricades to prevent the Germans from returning. Harrold Ritter was in charge of one of the bombing parties. The raid went according to plan until around 1:00 am when the Germans made a counterattack, but this was driven off successfully. A second counterattack was more determined and its severity caused Harold’s party to fall back to the safety of a second barricade. Harold and Lance Corporal Samuel Browse covered the withdrawal by remaining at the first barricade. So effective was the barrage of grenades hurled by these two that after a time the Germans retired in confusion and the advanced barricade remained in Australian hands. “Unaided, they held off the counterattack and finally drove off the enemy and saved the position entirely”. [5] Harold and Lance Corporal Browse were both awarded the Military Medal for bravery in the field. [6]

On 11 April the battalion took part in the attack mounted against the heavily defended village of Bullecourt - part of the formidable Hindenburg Line to which the Germans had retreated during February and March. Devoid of surprise, and dependent upon the support of unreliable tanks, the attack had little chance of success; after managing to fight through to its objectives, the 46th was forced to withdraw with heavy casualties. Later in the year, the focus of the AIF's operations switched to the Ypres sector in Belgium. [7]

From 7 to 14 June the battalion was involved in the Battle of Messines, a successful British assault on the Messines-Wytschaete Ridge. The strongly held strategic position on the Western Front had been held by the Germans since late 1914. [8]

On 6 August 1917 Harold was promoted to the rank of sergeant and on 1 September was sent on detachment to the 12th Training Battalion at Jellabad Barracks in Tidworth, England as a member of its permanent cadre. During his absence, the battalion took part in several costly actions including Menin Road, Polygon Wood, Passchendaele, and Dernancourt during the German Spring Offensive. On 1 April 1918, Harold left England for France and rejoined his unit on 10 April following the unit’s involvement in the confused fighting along the line of the River Ancre, which helped slow the German advance on Amiens. [9]

The battalion next went into action on 4 July 1918 with the attack mounted around the village of Hamel as part of operations to straighten the Allied line. [10] During the Allied offensive that commenced in August, the 46th also played an active part, fighting in the Battle of Amiens on 8 August.

Its final attack of the war was made on 11 September 1918 against the outposts of the Hindenburg Line in the Epéhy area after which the battalion was withdrawn from the front for reorganisation and training. It was joined by the rest of the Australian Corps in early October. They remained out of the line until the armistice came into effect on 11 November 1918.

Harold Ritter wasn’t with his unit for the armistice though. On 22 October 1918 he returned to England on detachment to the Officer’s Cadet Battalion and on 1 February 1919 he returned to the 46th Battalion as a Second Lieutenant.  The battalion was disbanded in April 1919 and Harold was transferred to Hurdcott Camp in England where he was promoted to Lieutenant. He embarked to return to Australia on 2 June 1919 from Devonport aboard the troopship Beltana as the ship’s subaltern disembarking in Melbourne on 19 July.  

After the war, Harold returned to his occupation as a labourer. He married Sarah Dudgeon (Sadie) Dewar on 10 December 1923 and the couple lived at 31 Blackwood Street, Yarraville. [11] [12]Harold passed away on 12 January 1962 and was buried in the Footscray General Cemetery. [13] [14]

[1] Victoria, Australia, Birth Index, 1837-1917. 1895 Reference Number: 8277
[2] 1915 'RECRUITING.', Mount Alexander Mail (Vic. : 1854 - 1917), 13 July, p. 3. , viewed 12 Nov 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article119642103  
[3] Australia, WWI Service Records, 1914-1920. National Archives of Australia; Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia; B2455, First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1914-1920. Service Number: 3891
[4] Australian War Memorial. 46th Australian Infantry Battalion. https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/U51486
[5] Australian War Memorial WM28 1/194 - [Recommendation file for honours and awards, AIF, 1914-18 War] 4th Australian Division, 3.2.1917 to 22.2.1917 https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/awm-media/collection/RCDIG1068797/document/5517307.PDF   
[6] Commonwealth of Australia Gazette 21 August 1917 on page 1786 at position 62. https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1522385
[7] Australian War Memorial. 46th Australian Infantry Battalion. https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/U51486
[8] Australian War Memorial. Battle of Messines. https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/E84332
[9] Australian War Memorial. Ancre 1918. https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/E84381
[10] Australian War Memorial. Hamel. https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/E84483
[11] Victoria, Australia, Marriage Index, 1837-1950. 1923. Reference Number: 2430
[12] Australia, Electoral Rolls, 1903-1980 for Harold Gustava Ritter. Victoria. 1924. Maribyrnong. Yarraville
[13] Australia Death Index, 1787-1985. Victoria. 1962. Registration Number 1428
[14] Australia and New Zealand, Find a Grave Index, 1800s-Current. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/200243426/harold-gustava-ritter