1st Australian Wireless Signal Squadron
Encyclopedia
The 1st Australian Wireless Signal Squadron was a unit of the Australian Imperial Force
(AIF) which served in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq
) during World War I
. It took part in the Mesopotamian Campaign
, providing communications to British forces. In total, 558 Australian signallers were sent to Mesopotamia, however only a small fraction of that number were ever in country at one time. Although the squadron did not suffer any deaths from enemy fire, disease was responsible for the deaths of 20 soldiers from the wireless squadrons.
The unit was also known as the 1st Wireless Signal Squadron and 1st Australian and New Zealand Signal Squadron.
had a severe shortage of wireless equipment and trained operators. On 27 December 1915, the Australian government received a request for a troop
of wireless signallers (approximately 50 soldiers) to be sent to Mesopotamia. The operators were raised from the Marconi school of wireless in Sydney and the Broadmeadows
depot in Victoria, while the drivers, who made up half of the unit, were raised from the Army Service Corps
at Moore Park
in Sydney. The troop, which became known as the 1st Australian Pack Wireless Signal Troop, sailed from Melbourne on 5 February 1916 and after stops at Bombay and Columbo, arrived in Basra
on 19 March 1916. The New Zealand government sent an equivalent unit which, together with the Australians, formed "C" Troop of the 1st Wireless Squadron.
), the first of the Australian wireless stations set off from Basra on a 140 miles (225.3 km) march north with the British 15th Indian Division. A month later the second station was sent by boat across Lake Hammar
to Nasiriyah.The boat was piloted by Gertrude Bell
, a British archaeologist who mapped and identified Mesopotamian ruins. She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1917. She later helped create the modern state of Iraq Two New Zealand stations were sent to important locations on the Tigris.
In March 1916, the Indian government requested that a third troop and headquarters unit be sent to reinforce these two Anzac troops to form a squadron. This squadron became known as the 1st (Anzac) Wireless Signal Squadron and consisted of two Australian troops and one New Zealand troop. Each troop consisted of four stations. About half of these stations were more powerful transmitters carried on six-horse limbered wagons, while the other half remained pack stations.
Two of the Australian stations were charged with intercepting all enemy wireless communications, while a cipher expert, Captain Clauson of the Somerset Light Infantry decoded the messages and passed them onto Intelligence Branch.
, direct control over columns of cavalry out on operations. The column commanders were required to report via the wireless stations, to Maude every hour. The stations achieved reliable communications by using a series of relays, in which the rear most station would dismantle the moment the foremost station began to transmit. Although the rear station usually had a cavalry escort while it caught up with the main column, sometimes it had to depend on itself for protection. Stations "A" and "F" were on interception duties, while stations "B" and "E" were at the headquarters of the two British corps.
The British offensive began on the night of 13 December with a short thrust across the desert to the Shatt al-Hayy
, a channel connecting the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The cavalry reached the channel by dawn and began advancing towards the Tigris. During this advance 'G' station came under fire from a Turkish monitor
on the river and it and the cavalry were forced to withdraw back to the channel.
Between January and February, a series of infantry attacks cleared the Turks from the right bank of the Tigris river. During this period, the wireless stations supported the cavalry, who conducted raids, screened artillery movements and tried to outflank the Suwaikiya marshes, a wide flanking maneuver which failed due to torrential rains.
Kut fell
on 23 February and the cavalry was ordered to cross the Tigris and cut off the retreating Turks. The Turkish rear-guard managed to check the pursuit of the cavalry, who were now too tired to cut off the Turks. However, British gunboats on the Tigris caught up with the retreat on the 26th and forced the Turks to abandon many gunboats, barges, land transport, ammunition and money. The cavalry entered Aziziyeh, 100 kilometres (62.1 mi) north of Kut on 29 February, where it was forced to break off the pursuit for a week while it waited for supplies.
. Maude shifted a column to try to turn the Turkish left. The commander of the Turkish forces, Khalil Pasha, shifted his forces away from Diyala to mirror this move, allowing the 13th Division to cross the Diyala river on 10 March. Following his defeat, Khalil Pasha abandoned Baghdad the next day, destroying the German wireless station. The Anzac signallers were amongst the first Allied troops to enter the city and were able to establish communications with Basra. In the afternoon of the 11th they were able to relay the King's congratulations on Maude's success.
Australian Imperial Force
The Australian Imperial Force was the name given to all-volunteer Australian Army forces dispatched to fight overseas during World War I and World War II.* First Australian Imperial Force * Second Australian Imperial Force...
(AIF) which served in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
) during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. It took part in the Mesopotamian Campaign
Mesopotamian Campaign
The Mesopotamian campaign was a campaign in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I fought between the Allies represented by the British Empire, mostly troops from the Indian Empire, and the Central Powers, mostly of the Ottoman Empire.- Background :...
, providing communications to British forces. In total, 558 Australian signallers were sent to Mesopotamia, however only a small fraction of that number were ever in country at one time. Although the squadron did not suffer any deaths from enemy fire, disease was responsible for the deaths of 20 soldiers from the wireless squadrons.
The unit was also known as the 1st Wireless Signal Squadron and 1st Australian and New Zealand Signal Squadron.
Formation
At the outbreak of World War I, the British Indian ArmyBritish Indian Army
The British Indian Army, officially simply the Indian Army, was the principal army of the British Raj in India before the partition of India in 1947...
had a severe shortage of wireless equipment and trained operators. On 27 December 1915, the Australian government received a request for a troop
Troop
A troop is a military unit, originally a small force of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron and headed by the troop leader. In many armies a troop is the equivalent unit to the infantry section or platoon...
of wireless signallers (approximately 50 soldiers) to be sent to Mesopotamia. The operators were raised from the Marconi school of wireless in Sydney and the Broadmeadows
Broadmeadows, Victoria
Broadmeadows is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 16 km north from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Hume...
depot in Victoria, while the drivers, who made up half of the unit, were raised from the Army Service Corps
Royal Australian Army Service Corps
The Royal Australian Army Service Corps was an Australian army unit. Formed shortly after the Federation of Australia on 1 January 1901, it was known as the Australian Army Service Corps . The MSC/AASC/RAASC served in World War I, World War II, as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force...
at Moore Park
Moore Park, New South Wales
Moore Park is a large area of parkland in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is part of Centennial Parklands, a collective of three parks being Moore Park, Centennial Park and Queens Park. Centennial Parklands is administered by the Centennial Park &...
in Sydney. The troop, which became known as the 1st Australian Pack Wireless Signal Troop, sailed from Melbourne on 5 February 1916 and after stops at Bombay and Columbo, arrived in Basra
Basra
Basra is the capital of Basra Governorate, in southern Iraq near Kuwait and Iran. It had an estimated population of two million as of 2009...
on 19 March 1916. The New Zealand government sent an equivalent unit which, together with the Australians, formed "C" Troop of the 1st Wireless Squadron.
Mesopotamian Campaign
On 25 April 1916 (the second Anzac DayANZAC Day
Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand, commemorated by both countries on 25 April every year to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who fought at Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. It now more broadly commemorates all...
), the first of the Australian wireless stations set off from Basra on a 140 miles (225.3 km) march north with the British 15th Indian Division. A month later the second station was sent by boat across Lake Hammar
Lake Hammar
Lake Hammar is a saline lake in southeastern part of Iraq within the Hammar Marshes. It has an area of 600-1,350 km². Water level in the lake fluctuates, with maximum depths varying from 1.8 metres to 3.0 metres . The lake is an important wetland site for birds...
to Nasiriyah.The boat was piloted by Gertrude Bell
Gertrude Bell
Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell, CBE was an English writer, traveller, political officer, administrator, and archaeologist who explored, mapped, and became highly influential to British imperial policy-making due to her extensive travels in Greater Syria, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, and Arabia. Along...
, a British archaeologist who mapped and identified Mesopotamian ruins. She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1917. She later helped create the modern state of Iraq Two New Zealand stations were sent to important locations on the Tigris.
In March 1916, the Indian government requested that a third troop and headquarters unit be sent to reinforce these two Anzac troops to form a squadron. This squadron became known as the 1st (Anzac) Wireless Signal Squadron and consisted of two Australian troops and one New Zealand troop. Each troop consisted of four stations. About half of these stations were more powerful transmitters carried on six-horse limbered wagons, while the other half remained pack stations.
Two of the Australian stations were charged with intercepting all enemy wireless communications, while a cipher expert, Captain Clauson of the Somerset Light Infantry decoded the messages and passed them onto Intelligence Branch.
Maude's offensive
In October 1916, the squadron was moved to the front in preparation for the British advance. Stations "A" through to "H" were Australian, while Stations "I" to "L" were New Zealand. The mobile Anzac stations allowed the commander of the British forces, General Frederick Stanley MaudeFrederick Stanley Maude
Lieutenant General Sir Frederick Stanley Maude KCB, CMG, DSO was a British commander, most famous for his efforts in Mesopotamia during World War I and for conquering Baghdad in 1917.-Family:...
, direct control over columns of cavalry out on operations. The column commanders were required to report via the wireless stations, to Maude every hour. The stations achieved reliable communications by using a series of relays, in which the rear most station would dismantle the moment the foremost station began to transmit. Although the rear station usually had a cavalry escort while it caught up with the main column, sometimes it had to depend on itself for protection. Stations "A" and "F" were on interception duties, while stations "B" and "E" were at the headquarters of the two British corps.
The British offensive began on the night of 13 December with a short thrust across the desert to the Shatt al-Hayy
Shatt al-Hayy
The Gharraf Canal, Shaṭṭ al-Ḥayy , also known as Shaṭṭ al-Gharrāf or the Hai river, is an ancient canal that connects Tigris with Euphrates in Iraq. As an Ottoman defensive line lay along the canal, it was a theater to intense military action during First World War; e.g. the siege of Kut...
, a channel connecting the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The cavalry reached the channel by dawn and began advancing towards the Tigris. During this advance 'G' station came under fire from a Turkish monitor
Monitor (warship)
A monitor was a class of relatively small warship which was neither fast nor strongly armoured but carried disproportionately large guns. They were used by some navies from the 1860s until the end of World War II, and saw their final use by the United States Navy during the Vietnam War.The monitors...
on the river and it and the cavalry were forced to withdraw back to the channel.
Between January and February, a series of infantry attacks cleared the Turks from the right bank of the Tigris river. During this period, the wireless stations supported the cavalry, who conducted raids, screened artillery movements and tried to outflank the Suwaikiya marshes, a wide flanking maneuver which failed due to torrential rains.
Kut fell
Second Battle of Kut
The Second Battle of Kut was fought on February 23, 1917, between British and Ottoman forces at Kut, Mesopotamia .The battle was part of the British advance to Baghdad begun in December 1916 by a 50,000-man British force organized in two army corps.The British, led by Frederick Stanley Maude,...
on 23 February and the cavalry was ordered to cross the Tigris and cut off the retreating Turks. The Turkish rear-guard managed to check the pursuit of the cavalry, who were now too tired to cut off the Turks. However, British gunboats on the Tigris caught up with the retreat on the 26th and forced the Turks to abandon many gunboats, barges, land transport, ammunition and money. The cavalry entered Aziziyeh, 100 kilometres (62.1 mi) north of Kut on 29 February, where it was forced to break off the pursuit for a week while it waited for supplies.
Fall of Baghdad
On 5 March, Maude moved on Baghdad, but was checked on the Diyala RiverDiyala River
The Diyala River after Darban-e Khan Dam:Kurdish: Sirwan, سيروان, , Persian: سیروان دیاله, is a river and tributary of the Tigris that runs mainly through Eastern Iraq but also Western Iran. It covers a total distance of ....
. Maude shifted a column to try to turn the Turkish left. The commander of the Turkish forces, Khalil Pasha, shifted his forces away from Diyala to mirror this move, allowing the 13th Division to cross the Diyala river on 10 March. Following his defeat, Khalil Pasha abandoned Baghdad the next day, destroying the German wireless station. The Anzac signallers were amongst the first Allied troops to enter the city and were able to establish communications with Basra. In the afternoon of the 11th they were able to relay the King's congratulations on Maude's success.
See also
- Mesopotamian Half FlightMesopotamian Half FlightThe Mesopotamian Half-Flight, or Australian Half-Flight was the first Australian Flying Corps unit to see active service.At the start of World War I, the air forces of the Allied forces were small and primitive. Most of the available aircraft and pilots were assigned to the Western Front...
: a small unit of the Australian Flying Corps (AFC) which also served in Mesopotamia - Royal Australian Corps of SignalsRoyal Australian Corps of SignalsThe Royal Australian Corps of Signals is one of the 'arms' of the Australian Army. It is responsible for installing, maintaining and operating all types of telecommunications equipment and information systems...