After This Soldier Put Up Such A Fight During WWI, Enemy Troops Made Sure He Got Special Treatment

Do you know the story of every battle that has been fought during the World War I? There are several heroic stories from the war. There are some unsung heroes too who survived the war to tell the stories. During the World War I, Australia decided to back the British in their quest against Germany. It was during this time that Dominic McCarthy joined the Australian Army. McCarthy wasn’t part of the army from the beginning of his career. Instead, he had done some odd jobs before he decided to fight for the right cause. Dominic was born in York, Western Australia, on January 21, 1982. His father, Florence, and mother, Anne, were from Ireland. Dominic lost his mother at the age of three and soon after his father abandoned him. He mostly grew up in Catholic orphanages. When he was 13, he first came across the Australian Army Reserve. He met with an accident around that time in the timber mill where he was working. He lost three fingers of his left hands. He had to convince the authorities about his shooting skills by producing some proofs from the contests he won. Once he was selected, he made sure that the military authorities don’t get a chance to complain about his abilities. In October 1914, 16th Battalion was formed and McCarthy was part of it. His first outing was in Egypt, where they were planning an invasion of the Gallipoli Peninsula. The army comprising McCarthy was trying to take over Constantine, but they failed and the soldiers returned to Egypt. During September 1915, McCarthy was promoted to the rank of sergeant and once he recovered from his illness, he returned to Gallipoli. He was part of the ferocious battle of Somme where 22,900 casualties were recorded. McCarthy was then commissioned as a second lieutenant in April 1917. Right after being commissioned, he was hit badly and it took him almost three months to recover from his wounds. He was back to his battalion by July 1917 and was made a full lieutenant along with the honor of French Croix de Guerre. Then towards the beginning of 1918, he started his journey as an instructor at the military base in Tidworth, but he could not hold himself back from joining his battalion in France. McCarthy was part of the major Allied attack on August 23. It was here where he found his battalion running out of strength due to accurate firing from the German machine gun posts. He dashed across with his two comrades towards the machine guns. He overcame the gunners, using the hand grenades cleared his path, killing 20 German soldiers, and the other 50 soldiers surrendered in front of his valor. This is how McCarthy fought his battle and rose above all to set an example.