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Private (Acting Corporal) Leo Clarke
2nd Battalion, CEF
For the action at Pozieres on 9 September 1916.
"For most conspicuous bravery. He was detailed with his
section of bombers to clear the continuation of a newly captured trench
and cover the construction of a "block". After most of his
party had become casualties, he was building a "block" when
about twenty of the enemy with two officers counter-attacked. He boldly
advanced against them, emptied his revolver into them and afterwards two
enemy rifles which he picked up in the trench."
The attack, on 9 September 1916, was preceded by a three minute
artillery bombardment to cover the approach of No. 1, 2 and 3 companies
with No. 4 company to be held in reserve. At 16:45, four brigades of
artillery began to shell the German positions. Despite numerous short
rounds that took a terrible toll of the attacking companies, the 2nd
continued to advance. Unfortunately, the bombardment was not as
effective as hoped and, when the shelling ended, the Germans,
unaffected, quickly manned their positions and engaged the advancing
Canadians. No. 2 company attained its objective and fired into the left
and the centre, where 1 and 3 companies were pinned down under heavy
small arms fire and increasing German artillery.
In the centre, his company commander dying, Lt J.P. Pringle, a former
private in the Second, charged an enemy machine gun that was setting up
to sweep his stalled soldiers. Inspired by his example, his company rose
and made a headlong charge for the enemy trenches. Fighting was fierce,
mostly with bomb and bayonet.
However, Sgt W.H. Nicholls and his section of bombers were not about
to give in when their objective was so close. They moved forward into
the German trench system and set up a blocking party to keep the enemy's
heads down. Once established, the little group moved down the trench
clearing it of Germans. They worked quickly and had satisfying
destruction before being counter attacked by twenty Germans commanded by
two officers.
Corporal Leo Clarke and Private Soppitt moved to face this threat and
while holding the enemy at bay Clarke began to build a temporary
barricade. Seeing this, the Germans made a determined rush. Clarke
emptied his pistol twice, reloading in the face of the attackers.
Seizing an abandoned rifle he fired it into the oncoming enemy. The
first of the Germans reached Clarke and bayoneted him in the leg. Clarke
promptly shot him dead. Though wounded, Corporal Clarke took the fight
to the enemy, as they turned and fled. Clarke pursued and killed all but
the one he brought back as a prisoner. Clarke had to be ordered to leave
the battle to have his wounds cared for. Sadly his wounds and his
courage did not save him from further action, and two weeks later he was
killed in a communications trench between Pys and Courcelette. Corporal
Leo Clarke was awarded the Victoria Cross posthumously. Pozieres was
most of the more savage battles of the Great War. Prior to the
Canadians moving in to join the fight, the Australian 1st ANZAC Corp had
been fighting for over two weeks. The Australians had loss and
wounded totally 23,000 or half of their numbers. It was said by
Alec Raws of the Victorian 23rd Battalion that: "One feels on a
battlefield like this that one can never survive, or that if the body
holds, the brain must go forever. For the horrors that one sees and the
never-ending shock of the shells is more than can be borne. Hell must be
a home to it". In the end the town of Pozieres was razed to the
ground by artillery from the Australians and the Canadians but the
battle was won in hand-to-hand fighting. The images below show the
town before and after the battle. (click on them to enlarge)
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