During an ANZAC offensive at Ypres, this New Zealander single-handedly took down a German strongpoint, earning a Victoria Cross.
Featured image by Te Rua Mahara o Te Kāwanatanga, Archives New Zealand.
Over 120,000 New Zealanders enlisted during the Great War, of which 100,00 served overseas, roughly 10% of the total population or 40% of the men of military age. Eleven of these men earned Victoria Crosses for their service. Henry James Nicholas was the second-to-last to be given the award during the First World War. He won the British Empire’s highest military honour for his gallantry during the attack on Polderhoek Chateau (Battle of Passchendaele). The following is an extract from our VC Heroes feature on Nicholas, originally published in issue 139 of History of War.
The young private shivered, hunched against the cold, wearing only his leather jerkin and thin waterproof. He and the rest of the 2nd Infantry Brigade had been ordered to pack light, so he had left his warm greatcoat behind. The New Zealanders had been through four days of intense rehearsals for the coming action on the Polderhoek Spur, in the Ypres salient. Their officers had reassured them that, although the attack would be at noon rather than daybreak, the enemy machine guns would be silenced and blinded by a heavy bombardment and thick smoke screen. Climbing out of his trench with the order to advance, the Kiwis immediately saw that their officers’ promises had not materialised. A strong wind was already removing the smokescreen, while even more worryingly, the creeping barrage in support of the advance had lacked accuracy as the gunners struggled to stabilise their weapons in the mud. Screams cut across the crisp air when a few shells fell among the New Zealand ranks.
(Image by Sepia Times/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Pushing forward regardless, the private dropped to his stomach upon reaching the first small crest in the advance. The air filled with the whistle of dozens of machine gun bullets over his head, punctuated by the crack of rifle fire as his comrades returned fire. Looking up, he saw pillboxes in the Polderhoek Château to his front and Gheluvelt to his right, which were laying down a ruthless hail of bullets. A heroic advance from Captain G H Greay and Lance-Corporal Minnis captured one of the pillboxes, allowing the advance to press on again. It wasn’t long before Nicholas was on his stomach again. Another German strongpoint was in the New Zealanders’ way and it was his turn to prove his mettle.
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While his comrades hugged the ground and machine gun bullets flew overhead, Nicholas leapt to his feet and charged across the Ypres mud until he was within a grenade throw of the German strongpoint. Nicholas’ uninjured streak continued in the face of the greatest danger he had seen. With a pugilist’s controlled aggression, Nicholas shot and killed the commanding officer before dropping into the German trench. He threw grenades and stabbed with his bayonet at anybody that moved. Nicholas finally stopped when the remaining four Germans surrendered to him, their comrades lying dead around them or running for their lives.
(Image by A. R. Coster/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)
To read our full Victoria Cross Heroes feature on Henry James Nicholas, pick up issue 139 of History of War.