VILLERS−BRETONNEUX
http://www.britainatwar.com^29SSS
“I have never known such a barrage of shell fire –
it was like walking through Dante’s Inferno.”
DECISIVE ACTION, NO. 4
FACTBOX:
THE SECOND BATTLE OF
VILLERS−BRETONNEUXDATE: April 24-25, 1918
COMMANDERS
British Empire:
Major-General William Heneker
Major-General Harold Elliott
Brigadier-General William Glasgow
German Empire:
General Georg von der Marwitz
STRENGTH
British Empire:
British 8th Division
Australian 15th Brigade
Australian 13th Brigade
German Empire:
77th Reserve Division
4th Guards Division
228th Division
243rd DivisionABOVEAustralian troops preparing to enter a sap
for the night attack of April 24, 1918.
NATIONAL LIBRARY OF SCOTLANDBELOWTwo men of 8th Division walk down the
Amiens-Villers-Bretonneux road, near Bois l’Abbé,
April 27, 1918. NATIONAL LIBRARY OF SCOTLANDFAR LEFTAn unidentified soldier looks at the ruins
of the church at Villers-Bretonneux, 1918.
STATE LIBRARY OF QUEENSLANDitting astride the road and
railway line to Amiens, where
the imposing gothic towers of its
13th century cathedral could be seen ten
miles to the west, Villers-Bretonneux was
well behind the French front until the
German Spring Offensive sent the British
Fifth Army reeling. The town was now
just north of the join between the French
and British sectors, standing between the
German army and a vital railway junction.
The Australian 5th Division was sent in
to bolster the line.
They were just in time to resist the first
opportunistic attack by the Germans,who identified it as a likely location for a
breakthrough. The First Battle of Villers-
Bretonneux (March 30 to April 5, 1918)
was beaten back, and the Australians were
relieved by the British 8th Division on the
night of April 19, a process made more
difficult by heavy gas shelling. Mustard
gas, which settled in the buildings and
could be absorbed through the skin,
prevented the 2nd East Lancashires from
moving into the town.BBB