Battle Scarred, by Craig Deayton

Battle Scarred, by Craig Deayton

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Battle Scarred, by Craig Deayton

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"Australias own Band of Brothers" One of the shortest lived and most battle hardened of the 1st Australian Imperial Force’s battalions, the 47th was formed in Egypt in 1916 and disbanded two years later having suffered one of the highest casualty rates of any Australian unit. Their story is remarkable for many reasons. Dogged by command and discipline troubles and bled white by the desperate attrition battles of 1916 and 1917, they fought on against a determined and skilful enemy in battles where the fortunes of war seemed stacked against them at every turn. Not only did they have the misfortune to be called into some of the A.I.F.’s most costly campaigns, chance often found them in the worst places within those battles. Though their story is one of almost unrelieved tragedy, it is also story of remarkable courage, endurance and heroism. It is the story of the 1st A.I.F. itself – punished, beaten, sometimes reviled for their indiscipline, they fought on - fewer, leaner and harder - until final victory was won. And at its end, in an extraordinary gesture of mateship, the remnants of the 47th Battalion reunited. Having been scattered to other units after their disbandment, the survivors gathered in Belgium for one last photo together. Only 73 remained.

Battle Scarred, by Craig Deayton

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5907220 in Books
• Published on: 2015-09-19
• Released on: 2015-09-19
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 9.13" h x .0" w x 6.10" l, .0 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 432 pages

Battle Scarred, by Craig Deayton

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Most helpful customer reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. 47th Battalion By Mick Maye Excellent book which is an independent research which does not solely rely on Bean. he has obviously fully researched this book and also writes in an easy to read style. I rarely give books 5 stars but this went close. He shows the 47th warts and all and while he has a love of the subject he also slates the battalion when he fills they deserve it. Excellent read.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Battalion of Brothers By John E. Larsen This is the latest addition to the long list of Australian regimental histories. It is also the first attempt to write the story of the 47th Battalion in WW1. In doing this, Deayton has made a refreshing shift in focus from the Bean dominated, often insider directed histories common to the genre. The author has purposely approached his task with Bean as an aid and tried to tell the story of the 47th principally through the other resources available. He was helped in this by two remarkable primary sources but his thorough investigation has revealed some controversies and even a question or two about Bean's history as well. On this score, this is a battalion history that is far more than a list of battles and a recounting of the deeds of medal winners.The 47th Battalion was formed after the Gallipoli campaign, when the AIF was being doubled in size to continue the war on the Western Front in France. Its nucleus was supplied by the hard fighting 15th Battalion and it shared its disposition of Tasmanians and Queenslanders. It became part of the 12th Brigade, of the 4th Australian Infantry Division. Deayton does an insightful job of pointing out how its formation was compromised at the outset. The new 47th appeared to receive less than its due of capable leaders. This had the effect of causing excessive casualties, which had a rolling effect on the battalion's ability to gain proficiency.The battalion's baptism of fire was at Poziers in August 1916. Its role was essentially to occupy ground that was under horrific shellfire. It cost the battalion 367 men. In the ensuing attack on Mouquet Farm, rain and mud and an incompetent battle plan saw even more disaster. Bean rated only Fromelles (5,533 casualties to the 5th Division in one night) as worse. Bullecourt followed in April 1917. Here the 12th Brigade gained the German trenches but was isolated and grievously counter-attacked. Over a thousand Australians were taken prisoner. There was then costly success at Messines and near obliteration at Passchendaele. The bookend to the 47th's story was the defence of Amiens at Dernacourt. It was a victory but again the 47th suffered huge casualties. It also suffered recriminations and disbandment.Through its 2 years of service the 47th experienced the whole gamut of the horror of trench warfare. Mud and horrific shelling, poor plans and command failures. The chaos of the trench-line often was matched by the chaos in the rear. While the British command is appropriately criticized, Deayton has revealed an astonishing number of failures by Australian commanders. There was poor staff work at division level, poor communication between brigades and battalions but also egos and recalcitrance that beggars belief. Too often attempts were made to hide these under overarching criticism of the British. It was uncomfortable but necessary myth busting.Deayton has done an excellent job here. It is remarkable achievement given the general dearth of sources. The battalion's war diary for instance was either barely touched or used for misdirection and propaganda. Even the two main collections (Imlay's and Gallaways) raise questions. Even so, meticulous research has allowed Deayton to give a very thorough account of some very confusing battles. This leads him to be critical of some and that is fair enough. It also leads him to be full of praise for the bulk of the men who endured and persevered in extraordinary deadly circumstances. How the survivors of each bloodbath could go back again, I have no idea. Finally, Deayton reveals the face of these incredible men. Sure, some through the court-martials and Inquiries but many more through their valorous deeds. Sadly, some also through the pained letters written by mourning parents and wives.When I first picked this book up I noted the blurb `Australia's own Band of Brothers'. I expected I would dispute this but given the bad luck and bad leadership at various levels, the men of this battalion still performed commendably and with great pride in their unit. It comes through in the sources and in their dogged willingness to return to the fray. Peter Stanley calls the book `enjoyable', which also raised my eye-brow. Yet it is. It is an often painful story but the research and the analysis and particularly the stories of those remarkable men, is absolutely fascinating. A superb effort!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Excellent Unit History By Aussie Reader "Battle Scarred The 47th Battalion in the First World War" is a new book by Australian author Craig Deayton. This is his first book and what a great achievement it is as well. I really loved this book, it’s a great story of ordinary men thrust into one of the worst wars known to man.The author presents the good and the bad about the men who served in the 47th Battalion, 1st Australian Imperial Force. We read about those ordinary men who carried out great acts of bravery and were never recognised for their efforts but we also read about the cowards, maligerers and deserters.This is the story of ordinary men thrown into the malestroem of the Western Front and who fought in some of the hardest and toughest battles along that line including; Pozieres, Mouquet Farm, Bullecourt, Messines, Passchendaele and Dernancourt. At the end of the war the remaining soldiers of the 47th gathered for one final photograph, only 73 men were left. (a battalion of that period was normally around 1000 men).This is a great unit history and anyone who enjoys reading about the Great War should enjoy this book. In closing I’d like to add the review below from a well-respected Australian historian:“Battle Scarred is surely the finest battalion history I have ever read… Craig Deayton has written a superb evocation and analysis of the life of one of the less celebrated of the AIF’s infantry battalions. This is no flattering hagiography full of derring-do, but an honest, critical, but still sympathetic, portrait of a run-of-the mill AIF battalion. Highly readable and richly descriptive both of the 47th’s men and their actions, it helps to explain not just what the AIF did on the Western Front, but what it was like for those involved, and why the AIF’s part in that terrible war remains such a profound part of Australian memory so long after.” - Dr. Peter Stanley Australia’s leading military historian

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