25th of April

[Bruce_in_Oz]

The 25th of April is not just "ANZAC" Day, but the culminating point of the decisive battle at Villers Brettonneux in 1918.

Another "meat-grinder", but on this occasion, the British, French and Australians pushed back the German offensive to regain the status quo.

Significantly, it was also the first "tank on tank" encounter, with the Germans using fourteen of their holdings of the A7V tanks against British Mk IV tanks (one "male" and two 'female").

It had started with a major "push" by German forces on the 17/18th of April, part of which was German artillery firing gas into the Australian positions causing about a thousand casualties.

One of the A7V tanks used was named "Mephisto". Disabled by falling into a trench and ending up on its side, it was recovered some months later by enterprising Australian troops and now, as the sole survivor of its kind, lives a quiet life in a special, very large glass case at the Queensland Museum. Other examples of the A7V were captured, with some being exhibited in Britain as trophies post-war, but it seems that ALL bar "Mephisto" were subsequently broken up for scrap.

The battle on that night was followed by several months of attempts to roll back the Germans. Ultimately Monash's concept of "quiet offensive" came into play, with Australian troops infiltrating at night, with no "conspicuous" reconnaissance and no preliminary bombardments or showers of "star-shells".

My grandfather's unit, the Brisbane-based 26th Battalion, was in the thick of it, which is one of the reasons that "Mephisto" "retired" to Brisbane, spending many years under a glorified bus-shelter at the "old" Queensland Museum. Grandad "missed out" on the final actions, having been hospitalized due to the effects of appalling conditions in the trenches on top of several minor injuries.

This was not long before the "Spanish" Influenza pandemic visited war-torn Europe and carried off as many again as had fallen in battle. Years of poor nutrition and "stress" seem to have played a big part in the speed and lethality of the "flu".

Lest we forget.

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.