World War I by Cindy Dowling

Author:Cindy Dowling
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History/Australia & New Zealand
ISBN: 978-1-921497-80-3
Publisher: ReadHowYouWant
Published: 2009-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

THE VILLAGE SAVED BY THE ANZACS

Until the outbreak of war Villers-Bretonneux was just another village in the French countryside: quaint, charming and sleepy. By 1918, however, Villers-Bretonneux found itself caught up in the grim struggle between German and Allied forces on the Western Front. In April of that year the Germans occupied the village and surrounding areas.

On 25 April 1918—coincidentally the third anniversary of Anzac Day—Australian soldiers were sent to liberate the town. What followed was one of the most memorable battles of the war, and would further enhance the already growing reputation of the Australian forces for valour and extreme determination under fire.

The fighting in and around the village lasted throughout the day and soon spilled into the town itself. Men fought hand-to-hand and from house to house. By day’s end, Villers-Bretonneux had been reclaimed for the Allies at the cost of some 1200 Australian lives.

In the decades since, the people of the town have never forgotten the debt they owe the Australians. The main street was re-named Rue de Melbourne, and Anzac services honouring the Australian dead are held there every year.

The words n’oublions jamais l’Australie (‘let us never forget Australia’) appear in every class of the tiny Villers-Bretonneux school, which was rebuilt with donations from Australia after the war. The Australian War Memorial’s online encyclopaedia notes that a school plaque is inscribed with the words:

This school building is the gift of the schoolchildren of Victoria, Australia, to the children Villers-Bretonneux as a proof of their love and goodwill towards France. Twelve hundred Australian soldiers, the fathers and brothers of these children, gave their lives in the heroic recapture of this town from the invader on 24 April 1918 and are buried near this spot. May the memory of great sacrifices in a common cause keep France and Australia together forever in bonds of friendship and mutual esteem. The Australian War Memorial in France is located in Villers-Bretonneux and within it lie the graves of over 770 Australian soldiers, as well as those of other Commonwealth soldiers involved in the campaign.

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