Show Notes
On September 26th, 1917, at Polygon Wood, three cousins from the same Australian pioneering family waited in the pre-dawn darkness. Raymond Single would soon be shot by a sniper who saw his luminous watch glow. Within hours, Hubert Thompson and Wilfred Single would also be dead.
At 5:50 AM, a thousand guns opened simultaneously in what Frank Hurley called "a blinding sheet of flame." The Battle of Polygon Wood had begun.
Six days after the success at Menin Road, General Plumer launched his second "bite and hold" attack. In this episode, Mat McLachlan reveals how Polygon Wood became both a perfect victory and a terrible revelation: the British Empire had finally learned how to win battles, but winning provided no relief from the slaughter.
From Pompey Elliott holding the line while his brother died, to Patrick Bugden's five rescue missions into no-man's land, we follow the 4th and 5th Australian Divisions through what Charles Bean called possibly Elliott's greatest achievement—and one of the bloodiest days in Australian military history.
Why did German commanders admit they had "no idea what to do"? How did 21,000 men become casualties in a victorious battle? What made the 5th Division choose this costly triumph for their memorial?
"We are living through truly abominable days." - Colonel von Thaer, German High Command
Episode Length: 45 minutes
Features: The Single family tragedy, German crisis conference at Roulers, Company Sergeant Major Dewey's eyewitness account, and the moment when even perfect tactics couldn't change the arithmetic of death.
Next Episode: Broodseinde—the black day that ended in rain.
Presenter: Mat McLachlan Producer: Jess Stebnicki
Ready to walk the battlefields? Join Mat's exclusive European tours: https://battlefields.com.au/
Find everything Mat is doing at https://linktr.ee/matmclachlan For more history: https://www.LivingHistoryTV.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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