The Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux

Detailed map description

• The British and German lines are shown running from Vaire Wood, three kilometres north-east of Villers-Bretonneux, towards the south-west, passing Villers-Bretonneux at Monument Wood, within a few hundred metres of the town's eastern side.
• The Australian 14th Brigade held Vaire Wood, shown in the north-east corner of the map, to their south was 8th British Division and beyond Villers-Bretonneux the line was held by 58th British Division, in the south-west corner of the map.
• The trench lines continued to the south-west passing to the west of Hangard and Lancer Woods. D'Arquenne Wood, which the Germans held briefly, is two kilometres west of Villers-Bretonneux.
• The German advance also came close to Cachy, a village to the south of D'Arquenne Wood.
• The site of the first ever tank versus tank battle is marked, two kilometres south-west of Villers-Bretonneux.
• Behind the German lines were a cemetery and the town of Marcelcave.
• In the British and Australian counter-attack on Villers-Bretonneaux, 13th Australian Brigade is shown attacking at 10pm from the south-west while 15th Brigade is shown attacking at 11.45pm from the north.
• As the Allies close the gap east of the town and capture it, the position of part of the 58th British Division is shown to the south-west of the 13th Australian Brigade, and the position of elements of the 8th and 58th British Division are marked immediately north of the town, adjacent to the 15th Australian Brigade.

The German attack

The First and Second Battles of Villers-Bretonneux were a part of the Kaiserschlacht (Kaiser's battle), a series of German attacks along the Western Front. The German aim was to win the war before the enormous material and manpower resources of the United States, which had declared war on Germany in April 1917, could be brought to bear. The Germans also had a short-term advantage in numbers as Russia had made peace in 1917, allowing 48 German divisions to be moved to the western front. Beginning on 21 March 1918, the German offensive was the most successful one on the western front to date by either side. In April the Germans planned to take Amiens, 15 kilometres west of Villers-Bretonneux. Through Amiens ran the main north-south rail line in northern France. Cutting the line would seriously limit the British ability to move troops and supplies.

On 4 April, in the First Battle of Villers-Bretonneux, the Germans had narrowly failed to capture the town, but in the second battle on 24 April they succeeded. Breaking through the British 8th and 58th Divisions, with the assistance of 15 tanks they drove the British back three kilometres. Australian involvement on the first day of the battle was limited: The 14th Brigade, near Vaire wood, bent the southern end of its line back to keep in contact with the British as they retreated, while a troop of the Australian's Corps cavalry, the 13th Light Horse, scouted to determine the extent of the German advance.

The German attack also resulted in the first tank versus tank battle in history. Three British tanks took on three German ones in the fields south of Villers-Bretonneux. One German tank was knocked out and the others retreated.

Australian and British counterattack

While still some distance from Amiens, the Germans posed a clear threat to the city. If, in the next step of their advance they could capture Hill 104, on which the Australian National Memorial now stands, their artillery observers could overlook Amiens and bring down accurate fire on it. It was vital for the Allies that Villers-Bretonneux be quickly retaken. Within hours of the German success two Australian brigades were rushed forward to retake the town. Two composite British brigades, assembled from the survivors of the previous days fighting, were to assist. Starting at 10 pm, hoping for surprise by attacking at night and not using a preliminary bombardment, the 15th Brigade, from 5th Australian Division, swept around the north side of the town, while 14th Brigade from the same division, still holding the line near Vaire wood, swung forward like a gate to cover the left flank of the advance.

South of Villers-Bretonneux 13th Brigade, from 4th Australian Division, attacked near Cachy. Held up for a time by German machine guns in D'Arquenne Wood, they fought their way close to Monument wood. By dawn the Australians had nearly surrounded Villers-Bretonneux. Some of the German garrison managed to escape via the narrow neck east of the town that the Australians had not managed to capture.

By dawn on 25 April, realising their predicament, the Germans began evacuating D'Arquenne Wood as the Australians closed their last avenue of escape east of Villers-Bretonneux. By late morning the Germans who had not escaped were trapped in Villers-Bretonneux when the British/Australian attack on the town commenced. The last Germans in the town had been killed or captured by early morning 26 April and almost all the ground lost in the German attack of 24 April was retaken. The German threat to Amiens was over. Australian casualties were more than 2400. The British lost 9500 men, mostly captured during the 24 April German advance. The German loss, including prisoners taken when Villers-Bretonneux was surrounded, was about 10 000.