On this Day - 20 Aug 1915 - First half-flight, Australian Flying Corps, sailed for the Baghdad expedition 1941 - ANZAC Corps withdraw to Thermopylae Line, Greece 1915 - Australian Flying Corps, Warfare in a new dimension In 1914 Australias only military aviation base, the Central Flying School, newly established at Point Cook, was equipped with two flying instructors and five flimsy training aircraft. From this modest beginning Australia became the only British dominion to set up a flying corps for service during the First World War. Known as the Australian Flying Corps (AFC) and organised as a corps of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF), its four-line squadrons usually served separately under the orders of Britains Royal Flying Corps. The AFCs first complete flying unit, No. 1 Squadron, left Australia for the Middle East in March 1916. By late 1917 three more squadrons, Nos 2, 3, and 4, had been formed to fight in France. A further four training squadrons based in England formed an Australian Training Wing to provide pilots for the Western Front. Before No. 1 Squadron made its journey to the Middle East, Australian airmen had been in action in Mesopotamia. A Turkish threat to the Anglo-Persian oil pipeline and the strategically important area at the head of the Persian Gulf (the Shatt-el-Arab) convinced British strategists of the need to open a second front against the Turks. The Australian Government was asked to provide aircraft, airmen, and transport to support the Anglo-Indian forces assigned to the campaign. It responded by dispatching four officers, 41 men, and transport – called the Mesopotamian Half Flight – in April 1915. Arriving too late to help secure the Shatt-el-Arab and the oil pipeline, the Half Flight joined the British advance on Baghdad, an operation intended to exert additional pressure on the Turks in the east. The attempt to reach Baghdad failed, and some 13,000 British and Indian troops found themselves besieged by superior Turkish forces in the city of Kut, about eighty miles south of their objective. Attempts to relieve the siege failed; in April 1916 the garrison at Kut, including members of the Half Flight, surrendered. Taken prisoner by the Turks, few survived captivity. The defeat on the Tigris marked the end of Australias first experience of military aviation. The Mesopotamian Half Flight and No. 1 Squadron were both formed early in the war, when military aviation was in its experimental stages, and both contained some of Australias aviation pioneers. Throughout 1916 and much of 1917 No. 1 Squadron flew inferior aircraft, such as BE2cs, against German opponents who, supporting the Turkish armies in the Middle East, were equipped with more advanced Fokkers and Aviatiks. However, newly equipped with Bristol Fighters, the allied airmen began to gain the ascendancy by the end of 1917. 1941 - ANZAC Corps withdraw to Thermopylae Line, Greece The Battle of Thermopylae during the Second World War on 24 and 25 April 1941 began after the Allied retreat from northern Greece. Forces of the British Commonwealth established defensive positions on the bottleneck of Thermopylae. The Allied General Bernard Freyberg was entrusted with the task of defending the pass, while the defense of the nearby village of Brallos Major Giffard Mackay had been taken. In the New Zealand sector was the 5th Situated along the coastal road and Brigade defended the hills south of the city of Lamia and positions on the river Sperchios. The 4th Brigade turned on patrols to monitor the coastline against German Anlandeversuche. The 6th Brigade was held in reserve. In the Australian sector defended the 19 Brigade along with the 4th Australian Infantry Battalion and the 8th Australian Infantry Battalion Brallos the place. When on the morning of 23 the order to retreat came, it was decided that two brigades should keep the pass as long as possible to secure the Allied retreat. In the following German attack on 24 April 1941, the Germans had heavy losses and lost 15 tanks including the Allied defensive fire. The Australians and New Zealanders were about a day’s position. After delaying tactics they retreated in the direction of the evacuation beaches. The battle ended with a breakthrough of German troops to southern Greece. The defense of Thermopylae had delaying However, it allows many Allied soldiers to be evacuated from Greece.
Posted on: Tue, 19 Aug 2014 21:28:32 +0000
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