HISTORY WAS MADE AT VILLERS-BRETONNEUX

Northern Advocate, 30 July 1938, Page 2 (Supplement)

HISTORY WAS MADE AT VILLERS-BRETON NEUX

ON the day Hie Majesty the Kin.'; unveiled the Australian War Memorial at Villers-Brelonneux, the “Sydney Daily Telegraph’' published an article written by Dr C. E. W. Bean, who’was the Australian Official Historian of the War. In that -article Dr Bean recalls some o£ the historic fights that took place near it. The Australian National War Memorial stands on interesting ground. The entrance gate on the Corbie to .Villers-Bretonneux road xs within a few yards of the spot from which, at • 3.30 on the morning of April 24. 1918. the headquarters of the 56th Australian Battalion and of the 25th British Brigade (Brigadier-General C. Coffin. V.C.), as. the mists rose from a fierce battle that had raged since before dawn, saw figures coming out of the hedges of Villers-Bretonneux towards them. It was the first intimation to them that the preceding uproar meant that the Germans, after bursting through the thin British line, had taken the town, and were now behind the Australian line (on the ridge behind the Memorial), and were thrusting towards Corbie.

The 56th Battalion and the reserve machine-guns were hurriedly lined out, facing south, along the slope on which the Memorial stands. The troops could sec a British battery of field artillery in the open west of the village, quite unprotected, firing at close range at the German infantry. The fire of the machme-guns and cl these guns quickly drove the Germans back into the village. Fourteen hours later, after dark that night, it was up the valley between the Memorial and Villers-Bretonneux that the 15th Australian Infantry Brigade, under orders of General “Pompey” Elliott, swept swiftly forward to carry out its half of that night’s famous counter-attack. Villers-Bretonneux was the scene also of another vital operation, perhaps equally famous, which occurred three weeks before, on April 4. The great German thrust of March 21, 1918. the most powerful attack ever made, had brought the German front to the next villages east of VillersBretonneux —Marcelcave and Warfusee on the plateau, and Hamel in the Somme valley. just behind the Memorial.

By DR. C. E. W. BEAN / in the “Sydney Daily Telegraph"

But Amiens itself was still screened from the German Army by the last heights, of which tire two nearest to them were the hill 'Hill 101 > behind the Memorial, and the height on whi U Villers-Bretonneux itself stands. Though the Allied resistance had greatly stiffened. Ludendorff. again?* the advice of the local German Commanders, decided to make one more effort to gain at least the view over the city, and' on April 4. at dawn, he attacked against both the British and the French. The scene that morning, at the spot where the cemetery now lies, has been described by several eye-witnesses. On the neighbouring crest. VillersBretonneux, till that day an almost intact country town sleeping peacefully behind its woods, was smoking and burning with the shell-bursts. Close behind the read on which the cemetery now fronts were British field and howitzer batteries, with their horse-teams standing by them ready to pull them out if the Germans advanced further. Scattered shells of an angry German barrage were bursting constantly behind them: several bodies of British

cavalry were brought up into close supper! behind the hill; and now and again a squadron of regiment would be ordered in advance, and would climb the slope, at the top of which it would disappear, to dash off mounted (at least m some of the crises of the day) and race at the gallop, under fire, to the position allotted for it. During the morning the 35th Battalion, with the Germans penetrating behind both its flanks, had to fall back about a mile, to the second railway bridge east of Villers-Brelonneux (just m front of the scrub-covered spoil-heap). And here, reinforced by the 33rd. it held on in lino with the cavalry north and the infantry south of it. The fight seemed to be over when, about 3.30 in the afternoon, the Germans launched a second attack, and appeared suddenly issuing from Hangard Wood behind the rest of the line. The front gave way. Infantry streamed back slowly all across the plateau and along the railway and road through the town —an endless file of them could presently be seen issuing from Vfilers-Breton-noux and moving slowly along the

top of the railway embankment towards the wood. Batteries were retiring. An officer of the 35th called down to the headquarters c-f Colonel Goddard, in a cellar at the south-eastern corner of the town, that the Germans were on them. 'Goddard had a reserve battalion, the 3Gth, in the hollow immediately south of the town, and a company of the 35th in the Villers-Bretonneux cellars. Ho turned at once to Colonel Milne, of the 36th: "Colonel, you must counter-attack immediately." Milne, once a private in the old British Army, saluted, and hurried to his battalion. He lined it out, with three companies just below the lip of the depression of the town, and one in reserve, and then gave ft the word to go. Captain Bushellc. of the left company, had asked, "How far?" "Go till you’re stopped,” said Milne. “Goodbye, boys, it’s neck or nothing." The 36th went over the top against a fury of machine-gun fire. Ahead the Germans were advancing. At the sight of the grim oncoming line they stopped, and then began to fall back. The spirit of that counter-attack was overwhelming. Thus the front was securely reestablished on an alignment about a mile east of Villers-Bretonneux. So Villers-Bretonneux was saved.