The Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux (Britain at War issue 148)

One of the totemic Australian engagements of the First World War, coverage of the Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux is frequently myopic and driven by patriotic mythology. The traditional reading is that the British ‘lost’ VB and the Australians retook it in a daring night attack.

I wanted to shift the narrative slightly to reflect the full ‘British’ experience and give credit where it’s due to the indefatigable 8th Division who bore the brunt of the fighting, both during the original German assault and in the pincer - with many of the same battalions who had been previously withdrawn from the line, plunged straight back in for want of reinforcements.

This was partly motivated by visiting the site on the occasion of the newly opened Sir John Monash Centre and in the Adelaide Cemetery, only a couple of rows back from empty grave once occupied by Australia’s Unknown Soldier before his elevation from obscurity were a group of men of the Northamptonshire Regiment.

They all died on the same night, the occasion of the gas attack that preceded the German offensive. This article is very much a tribute to them, as well as their comrade - my great-uncle - Sgt. Bertram Church MM.

Decisive Action: The Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux appeared in Britain at War issue 148, priced £4.80. Find out more at britainatwar.keypublishing.com.