Battle of the Yser
Villers-Bretonneux
April 1918
View of the ruined Church of Villers–Bretonneux, France, May 1918. [AWM E02157]
By late March 1918 the great German offensive, launched on 21 March, had faltered north of the Somme. The Germans now concentrated south of the river and drove harder towards Amiens from the east and north-east. The Germans’ initial stunning success had brought them new problems. Their supplies now had to come a great distance across the ruined countryside of the 1916 Somme battlefield and because they had failed to break through the British and French lines, they were now confronted with having to defend a large, semi-circular salient, or bulge, into the Allied lines. But the Germans still had the initiative and by 4 April 1918 German engineers had extended rail communications towards Villers-Bretonneux, close to the key city of Amiens.
The Germans now aimed to capture Villers-Bretonneux and reach the edge of a plateau which would bring Amiens within range of their artillery. Australian units were helping to defend the town. There were tired British divisions to the north and south and other Australians were behind Villers-Bretonneux in reserve. A German attack forced the British north of the town out of the village of Hamel and an Australian battalion had to swing back to avoid being enveloped. The German advance was stopped by British cavalry working with Australian infantry.
To the south, the British stood fast against the German attack in the morning but in the afternoon they were driven back. This required the Australians to withdraw to the outskirts of Villers-Bretonneux. The Germans were threatening to enter the town when, at the crucial moment, the 36th Australian Battalion (New South Wales) dashed forward in a spectacular charge. Supported by other British and Australian infantry, and later by British cavalry, the 36th threw the Germans back to old trenches nearly two kilometres from the town. The line was stabilised with more Australians moving across the Somme to hold, together with the cavalry, the vital heights of Hill 104 north of the town.
On 7 April 1918, small groups of Australians seized parts of Hangard Wood, south of Villers-Bretonneux that had been lost on 4 April. The Victoria Cross was awarded to Lieutenant Percy Valentine Storkey, who together with another officer and ten other ranks, charged an enemy position containing 80 to 100 men and drove them out, killing and wounding about 30 and capturing three officers and 50 men. The objective was taken but with no tenable position to create a defence line the Australians had to withdraw.
By 24 April British troops were defending Villers-Bretonneux. The Germans attacked at dawn that day. With the aid of 13 tanks, which they were using for the first time, the Germans captured the town.
A British counter-attack commenced at 10 pm the same day and was supported by Australians north and south of the town. The plan was for the Australian units, attacking by night, to envelop Villers-Bretoneux and join forces to the east of the town. The Australian attack in the south was held up by a strong enemy machine-gun post until it was eliminated by a party led by Lieutenant Clifford William King Sadlier, 51st Battalion (Western Australia). Sadlier had been wounded, but he immediately collected his bombing section and led them against the machine-guns, killing the crews and capturing two of the guns. By that stage his men were all casualties and alone he attacked a third enemy machine-gun with his revolver, killing the crew and taking the gun. In doing this, he was wounded again. For his outstanding bravery, and for keeping the impetus of the attack going, Sadlier was awarded the Victoria Cross.
- First and Second Villers-Bretonneux
- historyofwar.org article
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- Villers-Bretonneux website
To the north of Villers-Bretonneux the Australians attacked across Hill 104 with great success. However, the northern and southern arm of the attack were unable to join up in the dark leaving a gap through which many Germans managed to escape. After dawn, the gap was gradually closed and Australians entered the town from the east and British from the north and west. Villers-Bretonneux was cleared of enemy troops on 25 April 1918, the third anniversary of the Anzac landing at Gallipoli. This action marked the effective end of the German drive towards Amiens although the enemy offensive rolled on against French and American forces further south towards Paris. Villers-Bretonneux never forgot the Australian driving out of the Germans from their town and the Australian Corps also sought to build their memorial on the Western Front on Hill 104 north of the town. This plan never eventuated but in the 1930s the Australian Government built the Australian National Memorial on that site, which is also a memorial to those Australians who lost their lives in France between 1916 and 1918 and have ‘no known grave’.
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© 2008 Department of Veterans' Affairs and Board of Studies NSW :: Last update - November 2008