The battle of messines fought on 7 june 1917 was the first large scale action involving australian troops in belgium and it also marked the entry of the 3rd division into a major battle. In 1941 the australian official historian recorded ii anzac corps losses from 1 to 14 june as 4 978 casualties in the new zealand division 3 379 casualties in the 3rd australian division and 2 677 casualties in the 4th australian division.

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By the evening of 14 june all original objectives were in british hands and the battle of messines officially ceased.

Battle of messines australian casualties. Gas masks at the second battle of ypres australian soldiers wearing gas masks during the second battle of ypres 1915. The battle of messines was fought in october 1914 between the armies of the german and british empires. Two of his men private john carroll and captain robert grieve won the victoria cross during the fighting.

Which held its position on messines ridge despite substantial casualties. 3700 casualties including 700 dead. Casualties of the battle of messines.

Despite considerable allied losses the battle was one of the most complete successes of the war. From 9 18 october the cavalry corps had c. Image asset managemen world history archive age fotostock the british attack at messines on 7 june opened with the explosion of the mines causing a virtual earthquake that immediately killed as many as 10 000 german soldiers.

Regarded a triumph messines also marked the first major battle for the 3rd australian division under major general john monash. Messines was an important success for the british army leading up to the beginning of the third battle of ypres several weeks later. British empire forces suffered around 25 000 casualties.

Australia and new zealand only even though the battle of the messines is regarded as officially beginning on june 7 1917 and ceasing on june 14 1917 there was still action involving australian and new zealand troops just prior to these dates. Despite the success the battle cost 6 000 australian casualties. Although the attacking forces were composed of men from different parts of the british empire the succeeding generations have associated the battle of messines particularly with the irish and new zealand participation.

The battle of messines was a prelude to the much larger third battle of ypres better known as passchendaele. It was the first time whereby defensive casualties exceeded attacking losses. German losses were more than 26 000.

New zealanders played a prominent role in this successful action but paid a heavy price.

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