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War Memorial
Australia

Colin Hope BUTLER Military Cross and Bar 41st Battalion

Colin Butler was born on 7th February 1892 at Kilcoy. After being educated to primary standard, Colin enrolled as a week day boarder at Brisbane Grammar School between 1906 and 1909. After leaving school, Colin would appear to have worked on the family grazing properties. When he enlisted in the AIF on 2nd December 1915 in Brisbane at the age of 23, he stated his occupation as grazier. He also advised that he was married to wife Alice. Colin gave his address as Kilcoy but stated Alice’s address as Saltern Creek, Barcaldine.

At Enoggera Camp, Colin was originally allocated to the 42nd Battalion, but was ultimately added to the 41st Battalion as a private. Both the 41st and 42nd Battalions were Queensland regiments which together with a battalions from South Australia (43rd) and Western Australia (44th) would comprise the 11th Brigade of the 3rd Division of the AIF. The 3rd Division from early in 1916 was being assembled at Larkhill, a military camp on Salisbury Plain near Stonehenge under the command of a newly appointed divisional commander, Major General John Monash. Unlike the other four divisions of the AIF, the 3rd Division would not be involved in any of the actions on the Somme in 1916.

The 41st Battalion continued to train at Bell’s Paddock, Enoggera for the first half of 1916. After a period of home leave, Colin embarked on the “Clan MacGillivray” in Brisbane on 7th September 1916. The embarkation roll shows Colin as an acting sergeant of the 3rd reinforcements for the 41st Battalion. The reinforcements landed at Plymouth on 2nd November and within three weeks had been taken on strength by the 41st, before crossing the English Channel to take up positions in the rear areas on the French Belgian Border.

On 4th December, Colin was appointed permanently to the rank of sergeant. Six days later, he was in hospital in Rouen with bronchitis and then mumps. By the time he returned to his unit on 12th January 1917, Colin had been promoted to the rank of 2nd Lieutenant.

The focus of the British, and therefore by default the Australian command shifted from the Somme to the Ypres salient in 1917. 1916 had taught the planners that sheer numbers of men charging machine guns and wire was unsustainable. A new tactic which required concentrated forces on a narrow front supported by large amounts of artillery could, it was hoped, achieve a breakthrough in the enemy’s defences through which cavalry could advance. All five divisions of the AIF had been shifted to the rear areas behind Ypres to train and prepare for the coming offensive. Colin was sent to the divisional gas school as part of this preparation.

The opening of the campaign in Flanders was planned for the 7th June 1917. The 41st Battalion was holding the front line at Ploegsteert Wood (soldiers called it Plugstreet) in the week before the beginning of the offensive. The enemy were sure that an attack was coming and had increased their artillery barrages on the front line. During one such barrage, Colin was wounded in the right shoulder on 3rd June according to the battalion war diary. Colin’s file indicated that the wound was a gun shot wound but later documents suggest that it was a shrapnel wound. Regardless, Colin was transported to the 7th Stationary Hospital where his wound was treated. He soon returned to his unit where he was wounded a second time; this time caused by a bayonet. His file makes it clear that this incident was an accident; to allay suggestion that the wound was deliberately self-inflicted.

When the 41t was taken out of the line at Ploegsteert Wood, Colin was granted a period of leave in England. While on leave, he learned that he had been promoted to the rank of first lieutenant. He rejoined his unit in the rear training areas west of Ypres on 11th August as the 11th Brigade prepared to re-enter the battle front. After the capture of Messines Ridge in June, the British offensive moved steadily east along the Menin Road, with the ultimate objective, the village of Passchendaele. The 11th Brigade was tasked with capturing the Broodseinde Ridge and the village of Zonnebeke on 4th October 1917.

The platoons of the 41st set off from the start tapes at 5:30am. Colin, as a platoon commander would have been out in front of his men as they followed the creeping artillery barrage being laid down to cover their advance. Once the battalion had reached its objective, forward posts for machine guns and snipers were established. Later in the day, the enemy attempted to retake the ridge line through counterattacks. The war diary records that while repulsing a counterattack with the bayonet, Lieutenant Skews was killed and Lieutenant Butler was wounded. In fact casualties for the battalion were quite heavy that day with 36 men killed and 210 wounded.

Colin’s wound was to his right shoulder, the same shoulder that had been damaged by shrapnel four months previously. Colin was originally treated at a casualty clearing station at Poperinghe for a through and through bullet wound, but once the injury was assessed he was transported by ambulance train to the 14th General Hospital in Boulogne before being loaded onto a hospital ship for the journey across the channel to London. Six days after being wounded Colin was admitted to the 3rd London General Hospital at Wandsworth. His father in Kilcoy was advised that his wound was severe.

Two months after being shot, Colin went before a medical board in London to determine his fitness for further service. The comments of the board indicate that his wound had healed well and there appeared to be no restriction of movement. Nevertheless, Colin did not rejoin his battalion until the beginning of February 1918.

While Colin had been in hospital, the 41st Battalion had been in the rest areas around Poperinghe with some tours of duty in the front line. When the Bolsheviks took power in Russia in 1917, a cease fire was quickly established on the eastern front which when formalised allowed the German High Command to re-deploy a large number of divisions from Prussia and Pomerania to the Western Front, creating a superiority in numbers. This superiority however would be only short lived as the forces of the Entente Cordiale would be boosted in the latter half of 1918 as the huge US conscript army was sufficiently trained to be posted to the western front. The ideal time for the Germans to take advantage of their extra forces was in the spring of 1918.

The entire Australian force of five divisions was being held in Flanders to counter any offensive in that area in March. Ludendorff ordered Operation Michael begin on 21st March, not in Flanders but along the axis of the battles of 1916 on the Somme. The British 5th Army that was manning the line there was completely overwhelmed and withdrew in disarray. In an effort to stem the advance, Haig ordered units of the 3rd and 4th Australian Divisions to be rushed south from Belgium to establish a defensive line in front of the vital communication hub of Amiens.

The 41st Battalion which had been in the rear areas near Hazebrouck boarded buses and trains to relocate to the town of Doullens on 25th March. The next day the battalion took up positions across the triangle formed by the junction of the Ancre and Somme Rivers, east of Amiens. The battalion was spread thinly with only the other three battalions of the Brigade on either side. This was virgin country that the war had not touched. There were no trenches and the men had to quickly establish outposts in front of their shallow rifle pits.

Maps contained in the battalion war diary for late March and early April depict the scattered Australian battalions facing up to five divisions in the triangle of the rivers. The enemy were being held but only just. On 30th March in the vicinity of the village of Sailly-le-Sec, Colin Butler had positioned his platoon in two forward posts forming a picquet line. An attack by German infantry against the position was met by sustained and controlled rifle and machine gun fire directed by Colin which resulted in severe casualties being inflicted on the enemy. Lieutenant Colin Butler was recommended for the Military Cross for his actions on the night of 30th March. The citation read in part he “displayed conspicuous gallantry and personal courage”. The recommendation was sent to the 3rd Brigade Commander Cannan on 10th April and was approved by the Divisional Commander Monash on 16th April. Such speed in approving an award was most unusual but it highlights how desperate the situation was and how important that any setback suffered by the enemy should be applauded.

Just 10 kilometres north west of the 41st Battalion’s position, two brigades of Australian Infantry were facing two and a half German divisions at Dernacourt. The ensuing battle which occurred on 5th April was a close run thing. The situation across the Somme was very serious and there was a real possibility if the enemy could break through and split the British and French forces, then the war would be lost.

On 11th April, Field Marshall Sir Douglas Haig, commander of all British ( and dominion) forces in France and Belgium issued his famous Special Order of the Day which is usually referred to as his “backs to the wall” speech.
“Every position must be held to the last man, there will be no withdrawal. With our backs to the wall we must fight to the end.”

Monash, as 3rd Division Commander interpreted Haig’s words somewhat differently. He planned to deny the enemy no man’s land by actively patrolling at night and taking prisoners – what he called peaceful penetration. The 11th Brigade, following Monash’s directive began putting out patrols every night into the disputed territory. The intelligence that resulted informed the next day’s artillery targets. On the evening of the 16/17th April, Lieutenant Butler accompanied a patrol to reconnoitre possible targets for a patrol the following evening. On the evening of the 17th, Colin accompanied by two NCO’s and 16 other ranks moved out through the wire to engage a number of forward posts that he had observed the previous evening.

After encountering no enemy at all in the first two posts, Colin led his patrol towards the third target when they were spotted. Colin ordered his men to charge the position where they engaged in hand to hand fighting. Nine enemy combatants were killed and two slightly wounded prisoners were captured and returned to Battalion HQ for interrogation. Colin’s patrol suffered no casualties.

The Battalion received a telegram from Monash: “Please convey to the 41st Battalion my congratulations upon the bold and successful enterprise last night which has secured an identification of utmost value.”
In recognition of Colin Butlers leadership and dash, he was recommended for a Bar to the Military Cross which as far as the Battalion was aware had not even been awarded. The approval for the award, given Monash’s telegram was a foregone conclusion.

April was the most perilous month as far as the situation on the Somme was concerned. The Australians had blunted the German offensive but strategic towns such as Villers Bretonneux were in danger of being taken. Towards the end of April, there were four full divisions of the AIF on the Somme. When British troops were driven out of Villers Bretonneux, two brigades of Australians surrounded the village and retook it, fittingly, on 25th April. This marked the end of the German advance, they would go no further.

During May and June, the policy of peaceful penetration continued, unsettling the enemy.
Monash was planning a small operation to take the high ground above the village of Hamel just north of Villers Bretonneux. The plan called for coordinated activity by artillery, tanks, aircraft and infantry as well as a degree of deception. On 4th July 1918, two divisions of AIF which included the 41st battalion, accompanied by a company of American infantry followed the creeping artillery barrage and tanks and took the objective in 93 minutes; Monash had planned for 90 minutes. Hamel, which was the first offensive action by the Entente Cordiale (the allies) since Passchendaele, was an outstanding success. It appeared that a new style of warfare, championed by John Monash might lead to victory.

After Hamel, the 3rd Division was again included in Monash’s plan for an even bigger offensive involving all five Australian Divisions, three Canadian Divisions and two British Divisions. Employing the tactics of coordinated action which were so successful at Hamel, the Battle of Amiens began on 8th August. The enemy were completely routed, tons of weapons and material was captured along with thousands of prisoners. Amiens began a period of constant warfare as the British and Dominion forces pushed the beleaguered Germans back to the Hindenburg Line, which had been their starting point in March.

By early September, the Australian Corps under Monash had reached the fortress town of Peronne and the hill which dominated, Mont St Quentin. The 3rd Division was given the task of pushing forward to the St Quentin Canal and the Hindenburg Line which lay beyond. Supported by American Infantry and tanks, the canal was crossed. On 12th September 1918, Colin was granted 17 days leave in England. It is possible that he was formally presented with his MC and Bar at this time, perhaps by the Commander of the AIF Birdwood or a member of the Royal Family. There is a formal studio portrait in the Australian War Memorial collection of Colin in the uniform of a lieutenant which may have been taken during this period of leave. He is wearing the ribbon of the Military Cross and Bar as well as two wound stipes on his sleeve (although wounded three times only two of these were due to enemy action). Colin returned to his unit on 29th September.

From the time of the AIF’s arrival on the Western Front in April 1916, sufficient reinforcements were never available to make good the losses sustained. The Hughes’ government had attempted to introduce conscription in an effort to keep up with demand but the defeat of the two plebiscites in 1916 and 1917 locked the AIF into dealing with ever diminishing numbers of front line troops. On the eve of the Battle of Amiens in August 1918, the 41st Battalion War Diary recorded a battalion strength of 480 (the embarkation roll compiled two years before showed a strength of 980). By the time the 41st came out of the line at St Quentin Canal, it was finished as a fighting force.

In October 1918, Monash had pushed his corps to the brink of exhaustion, but in doing so had achieved a series of remarkable victories which paved the way for the capitulation of the German armies in France. All five divisions of the AIF were sent to rest camps around Amiens where they enjoyed sports, hot baths, clean underwear and local leave. On 23rd October, following orders from Birdwood and Monash, the remnants of the 42nd battalion were absorbed by the 41st Battalion in order to make up one full strength unit. Right across the AIF, brigades were being reduced from four battalions to three. The move was very unpopular for the men whose battalions ceased to exist. The 41st was in comfortable billets at Warlus during most of October and into November. The battalion war diary records that on the 11th November, the big news was that the battalion was marching to the divisional baths where uniforms would be cleaned and underwear replaced. The diary entry for the next day records that there were rumours among the civilian population that an armistice had been signed. There was no further reference to the cessation of hostilities.

In December 1918, the 41st moved to billets at St Maxent where the usual round of sports, route marches and training continued. Christmas Day was marked with a church parade followed by full Christmas dinner and the distribution of comfort fund parcels. On new year’s eve, contrary to regulations, men on leave in the town fired hundreds of flares into the night sky.

The abdication of the Kaiser and collapse of the German government ruled out any likelihood that hostilities might recommence. It was time for the Australians to go home. Unfortunately, the shortage of suitable transport ships and the sheer number of men involved meant that some would have to remain in either France of England for some time. In March of 1919, Colin took up the opportunity to engage in NME (Non Military Employment) whereby he worked at Shaw and Kilburn Engineering Works for two months. The skills that he learnt there would prove useful when he returned to the land.

On 4th June 1919, Colin boarded the “Bremen” for a return to Australia. He landed in Melbourne and travelled to Brisbane where he no doubt was reunited with his wife who had spent the war with her family at Barcaldine. Colin was discharged on 12th September 1919. He and Alice moved to Western Queensland where Colin resumed his grazing interests.

Colin answered his country’s call to arms again in 1942, just after the fall of Singapore and the bombing of Darwin. He enlisted in Quilpie at the age of 50 and gave his address as Tallyabra Station, Quilpie. Colin was re-enlisted with his old rank of Lieutenant and he served in a part time capacity until July 1944 when he retired.

The details provided are taken from the book "Stealth Raiders - a few daring men in 1918" written by Lucas Jordan, published in 2017 - refer to pages 30-33, 37-40, 43, 221, 227 and 263. Prior to the war he was a station overseer of Kilcoy Qld. He enlisted 2 Dec 1915 aged 24 years. He served with the 41st Infantry Battalion and during that service he was awarded the Military Medal plus a Bar to the MM. He survived the war, and left the UK for home 4 June 1919.