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The Mystery of Celtic Wood refers to the disappearance without trace of 71 men of the 10th Battalion of the 1st Australian Division during a diversionary attack on German positions in Celtic Wood, Flanders during the First World War Battle of Poelcappelle. Official Army reports of the action state that investigations have failed to account for the fate of 37 of the 10th Battalion. Official German records contain no mention of the attack, which led to speculation that the men were massacred and buried in a mass grave. Visitors to the site today are still given this explanation by guides. Rumours still persist that the men had simply walked into a mist and disappeared. Some investigators attribute the lack of record of the missing to confusion, mis-reporting and clerical error. ==Background== The 10th Battalion of the 1st Australian Division were known as the "terrible 10th", a name given for the fighting spirit displayed in the trenches of France and Belgium where two of its members earned Victoria Crosses and during the Gallipoli Campaign, where they led the Australian forces in the initial landing and later defense of ANZAC Cove. Following the success of the Battle of Broodseinde on 4 October 1917, Field Marshal Douglas Haig believed that the opposing German forces were close to collapse. He decided on an offensive to capture part of the Passchendaele Ridge (the Battle of Poelcappelle) with a subsequent attack to capture the rest of the Passchendaele Ridge, which would become known as the "First Battle of Passchendaele".〔''Bean'', Vol IV Pg. 878〕 The 10th Battalion of the 1st Australian Division was tasked with making a diversionary attack on Celtic Wood. The plan was for the 10th to charge the woods, blow up German dugouts and pull back on a flare signal. On the 10th's northern flank, the 2nd Division would mount a large attack to protect the flanks of the main British advance on its own northern flank. To make the Germans think the attack was part of the main advance, instead of the normal night attack the troops attacked at dawn while the normal "box barrage" used to protect infantry raids was replaced with the "rolling barrage" used for full-scale advances. At 5:20am on 9 October, the barrage began and seven officers and 78 men of the 10th under the command of 22-year-old Lieutenant Frank Scott charged the woods. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mystery of Celtic Wood」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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