Robert Smith was a miner from Roxburgh, working for the Ladysmith Gold Mining Company, when he joined the NZ Rifle Brigade in 1916. He was a member of the Roxburgh Defence Rifle Club so had some experience in military matters.
He was wounded in action on April 21st, 1918, a shrapnel wound to his right hand. The Brigade's Official History reports heavy shelling on their sector for that day. Robert spent a week in hospital then returned to the war.
At the beginning of October, the Brigade was with the Allied armies up agains the Hindenburg Line. The German army knew that, if they could hold their well-prepared defences, they might still win the war - or at least not lose it. The "Great War" had long since become one of attrition - each side doing its best to bleed the other dry of men and resources. If the cost of breaking the Hindenburg Line could be made high enough, the allies might offer armistice terms acceptable to Germany.
The Brigade's Official History describes the actions around October 5th: "On October 1st a great advance was made in the St. Quentin sector, many villages as well as the town of St. Quentin being taken by the French and Australians. In the Cambrai sector, our 1st Brigade took Crevecoeur after forcing the passage of the Escaut Canal, while the 3rd Division captured Rumilly. North of Cambrai the Canadians exploited their successes of the previous day, cleared the high ground west of Ramillies, and entered Blecourt.
"By a series of minor operations the battle was completed on October 5th, by which date the right of the Third Army was able to cross the canal and occupy the Hindenburg Line to the east of it, thus greatly simplifying arrangements for the next great attack."
Robert Marshall Smith's death in action was, it would seem, part of a "minor operation." For sure his wife, Lucy, and his father who had already lost a son, it was anything but minor.
 |
| Roxburgh Cemetery. |
No comments:
Post a Comment