Counter Attack Villers-Bretonneux - April 1918

Counter Attack Villers-Bretonneux - April 1918 PDF Author: Peter Edgar
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1922265179
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 281

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Book Description
The brutal 1914 German invasion of Belgium and France had gained a large portion of both countries. Over three-and-a-half punishing years the Allies were slowly pushing the Germans back but in March 1918, Germany launched a massive spring offensive. Resting in the Ypres sector after the horrors of the Passchendaele campaign, the Australians were among the first sent south to try to block the enemy. Now, after an unprecedented fortnight of advance, Germany’s goal was to capture the town of Villers-Bretonneux, key to the major rail junction of Amiens. The first attempt on 4 April found the 9th Australian Infantry Brigade in the centre of the line. They stopped the enemy at the gates. Then on 24 April the Germans launched a new attack, led by tanks, and took the town. Standing by to counter-attack were the 15th and 13th brigades of the Australian Corps. Not everything went to plan and casualties were high, but the counter-attack was brilliantly executed in spite of the odds. It became ‘a soldier’s fight’ in which the Australian troops’ morale and eagerness to get to grips with the enemy, together with their aggressive, well-practised moves under fire triumphed. Counter Attack: Villers-Bretonneux – April 1918 details the pivotal role the Australians played in denying German victory. Villers-Bretonneux was never again threatened by the enemy.

Counter Attack Villers-Bretonneux - April 1918

Counter Attack Villers-Bretonneux - April 1918 PDF Author: Peter Edgar
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1922265179
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 281

Get Book Here

Book Description
The brutal 1914 German invasion of Belgium and France had gained a large portion of both countries. Over three-and-a-half punishing years the Allies were slowly pushing the Germans back but in March 1918, Germany launched a massive spring offensive. Resting in the Ypres sector after the horrors of the Passchendaele campaign, the Australians were among the first sent south to try to block the enemy. Now, after an unprecedented fortnight of advance, Germany’s goal was to capture the town of Villers-Bretonneux, key to the major rail junction of Amiens. The first attempt on 4 April found the 9th Australian Infantry Brigade in the centre of the line. They stopped the enemy at the gates. Then on 24 April the Germans launched a new attack, led by tanks, and took the town. Standing by to counter-attack were the 15th and 13th brigades of the Australian Corps. Not everything went to plan and casualties were high, but the counter-attack was brilliantly executed in spite of the odds. It became ‘a soldier’s fight’ in which the Australian troops’ morale and eagerness to get to grips with the enemy, together with their aggressive, well-practised moves under fire triumphed. Counter Attack: Villers-Bretonneux – April 1918 details the pivotal role the Australians played in denying German victory. Villers-Bretonneux was never again threatened by the enemy.

Our Corner of the Somme

Our Corner of the Somme PDF Author: Romain Fathi
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108650597
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 291

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Book Description
By the time of the Armistice, Villers-Bretonneux - once a lively and flourishing French town - had been largely destroyed, and half its population had fled or died. From March to August 1918, Villers-Bretonneux formed part of an active front line, at which Australian troops were heavily involved. As a result, it holds a significant place in Australian history. Villers-Bretonneux has since become an open-air memorial to Australia's participation in the First World War. Successive Australian governments have valourised the Australian engagement, contributing to an evolving Anzac narrative that has become entrenched in Australia's national identity. Our Corner of the Somme provides an eye-opening analysis of the memorialisation of Australia's role on the Western Front and the Anzac mythology that so heavily contributes to Australians' understanding of themselves. In this rigorous and richly detailed study, Romain Fathi challenges accepted historiography by examining the assembly, projection and performance of Australia's national identity in northern France.

Counter Attack

Counter Attack PDF Author: Peter Edgar
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781922265166
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 160

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Book Description
The brutal 1914 German invasion of Belgium and France had gained a large portion of both countries. Over three-and-a-half punishing years the Allies were slowly pushing the Germans back but in March 1918, Germany launched a massive spring offensive

Victory at Villers-Bretonneux

Victory at Villers-Bretonneux PDF Author: Peter FitzSimons
Publisher: Random House Australia
ISBN: 1742759521
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 786

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Book Description
Across a 45-mile front, no fewer than two million German soldiers hurl themselves at the Allied lines, with the specific intention of splitting the British and French forces, and driving all the way through to the town of Villers-Bretonneux, at which point their artillery will be able to rain down shells on the key train-hub town of Amiens, thus throttling the Allied supply lines. For nigh on two weeks, the plan works brilliantly, and the Germans are able to advance without check, as the exhausted British troops flee before them, together with tens of thousands of French refugees. In desperation, the British commander, General Douglas Haig, calls upon the Australian soldiers to stop the German advance, and save Villers-Bretonneux. If the Australians can hold this, the very gate to Amiens, then the Germans will not win the war. 'It's up to us, then, ' one of the Diggers writes in his diary. .

Surviving the Great War

Surviving the Great War PDF Author: Aaron Pegram
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108486193
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 285

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Book Description
Surviving the Great War is the first detailed analysis of Australians in German captivity in WW1. By placing the hardships of prisoners of war in a broader social and military content, this book adds a new dimension to the national wartime experience and challenges popular representations of Australia's involvement in the First World War.

Victory at Villers-Bretonneux

Victory at Villers-Bretonneux PDF Author: Peter FitzSimons
Publisher: Random House Australia
ISBN: 174275953X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 645

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Book Description
It’s early 1918, and after four brutal years, the fate of the Great War hangs in the balance. On the one hand, the fact that Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks have seized power in Russia – immediately suing for peace with Germany – means that no fewer than one million of the Kaiser’s soldiers can now be transferred from there to the Western Front. On the other, now that America has entered the war, it means that two million American soldiers are also on their way, to tip the scales of war to the Allies. The Germans, realising that their only hope is striking at the Allied lines first, do exactly that, and on the morning of 21 March 1918, the Kaiserschlacht, the Kaiser’s battle, is launched – the biggest set-piece battle the world has ever seen. Across a 45-mile front, no fewer than two million German soldiers hurl themselves at the Allied lines, with the specific intention of splitting the British and French forces, and driving all the way through to the town of Villers-Bretonneux, at which point their artillery will be able to rain down shells on the key train-hub town of Amiens, thus throttling the Allied supply lines. For nigh on two weeks, the plan works brilliantly, and the Germans are able to advance without check, as the exhausted British troops flee before them, together with tens of thousands of French refugees. In desperation, the British commander, General Douglas Haig, calls upon the Australian soldiers to stop the German advance, and save Villers-Bretonneux. If the Australians can hold this, the very gate to Amiens, then the Germans will not win the war. 'It's up to us, then,' one of the Diggers writes in his diary. Arriving at Villers-Bretonneux just in time, the Australians are indeed able to hold off the Germans, launching a vicious counterattack that hurls the Germans back the first time. And then, on Anzac Day 1918, when the town falls after all to the British defenders, it is again the Australians who are called on to save the day, the town, and the entire battle. Not for nothing does the primary school at Villers-Bretonneux have above every blackboard, to this day, 'N’oublions jamais, l’Australie.' Never forget Australia. And they never have. ______________________________________________ PRAISE FOR PETER FITZSIMONS 'Peter FitzSimons is an Australian phenomenon.' The Canberra Times '[FitzSimons] knows how to make words race like eager sled dogs on their homeward run.' Newcastle Herald 'Meticulously researched, well-written and incredibly presented.' Weekend Notes

Pompey Elliott

Pompey Elliott PDF Author: Ross McMullin
Publisher: Scribe Publications Pty Limited
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 800

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Book Description
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The Poppy

The Poppy PDF Author: Andrew Plant
Publisher: Ford Street Publishing
ISBN: 9781925000313
Category : Picture books for children
Languages : en
Pages : 32

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Book Description
On Anzac Day, 1918, a desperate night counter-attack in the French village of Villers-Bretonneux became one of Australias greatest victories. A bond was forged that night between France and Australia that has never been broken. Villers-Bretonneux is The town that never forgets. What was achieved that terrible night and what happened after is a story that, likewise, Australians should never forget.

From the Somme to Victory

From the Somme to Victory PDF Author: Peter Simkins
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1781593124
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 282

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Book Description
Peter Simkins has established a reputation over the last forty years as one of the most original and stimulating historians of the First World War. He has made a major contribution to the debate about the performance of the British Army on the Western Front. This collection of his most perceptive and challenging essays, which concentrates on British operations in France between 1916 and 1918, shows that this reputation is richly deserved. He focuses on key aspects of the army's performance in battle, from the first day of the Somme to the Hundred Days, and gives a fascinating insight into the developing theory and practice of the army as it struggled to find a way to break through the German line. His rigorous analysis undermines some of the common assumptions - and the myths - that still cling to the history of these British battles.

1918—Villers-Bretonneux to Le Hamel

1918—Villers-Bretonneux to Le Hamel PDF Author: Peter Burness
Publisher: DVA Anzac Portal
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 118

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Book Description
Australians on the Western Front—1918 Villers-Bretonneux to Le Hamel is the fourth book in the Australians on the Western Front 1916-1918 series developed by the Department of Veterans' Affairs.