Battle of Mont St Quentin

The 1st of September will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the battle of Mont St Quentin. After the success achieved at Amiens on the 8th August it was agreed by both Foch and Haig that the Fourth army should continue it push east from Amien.  The end of August found the German Army at its last stronghold Mont St Quentin overlooking the Somme River and the town of Peronne.  Mont St Quentin stood out in the surrounding countryside making it a perfect observation post and therefore a key strategic area to control. It was also an important area for the Germans to control the Somme.  Lt. General, Sir John Monash was keen to capture it and thereby control a key strategic position.

The 2nd Australian division crossed the Somme River on the evening of 31st August and attacked Mont St Quentin at 5am on September 1st. They attacked from the unexpected position from the northwest. It was diffcult in that it was an uphill fight across very open ground which made them susceptible to attack from The Germans who occupied the higher ground.   By 7am the Australian troops had gained the village of Mont St Quentin and the slope and summit of the hill.  The five German divisions were confused and dispersed.  They quickly regrouped and counter attacked with fierce fighting and heavy losses.  The Germans also attacked and shelled heavily Peronne.  Much of the fighting was hand to hand combat.  The outnumbered Australians were pushed back off the summit of Mont St Quentin. Relief battalions were sent for and with their reinforcements the Australians were able to recapture all areas.  In the process they sustained 3000 casualties. As a result the Australians were able to make a stronghold on the area and forced a complete withdrawal of German forces from Peronne. This Australian operation is sometimes regarded as the finest achievement of the AIF.

Ballarat Star 3 September 1918

Capture of Mont St Quentin. Courtesy AWM 

 

 

Battle of Amiens

A grateful France gave thanks to the 6000 Australian troops who were casualties at Amiens, battling to save the encroaching Germans.  “We bow to you, Messieurs les Australians, for the magnificent deeds you did on those days, now happily at an end, for your country and for France, and for the victory of hope and sanity” proclaimed the Bishop of Amiens, “the soil of France is transformed to a new divinity by your sacrifices and bravery.”

Such is the acclaim and respect in which the Australians are held by the community of Amiens after their reprieve from the continual bombings and the reclaiming of their village.

On 8 August 1918, an attack began on the Somme that would be staggeringly successful. The Battle of Amiens, an all-arms attack led by Australian and Canadian troops, captured kilometres of ground and vast numbers of German men and materiel. From 8 August 1918, the German Army was on the back foot, the result of what Erich Ludendorff called "the black day of the German Army". Often regarded as the natural conclusion to Monash's success at Hamel a month earlier, Amiens was warfare on a staggering scale.

The battle began at 4.20 am with 2070 guns opening up a “titanic pandemonium” of artillery fire in the heavy mist.  The facing Germans were blinded by the heavy fog and unable to fire accurately and were crushed by the weight of the barrage of tanks and infantry.  The joint forces of Australian, Canadian, French and British troops made significant gains – advancing the front by up to 8 miles in some areas.

On the first day of the battle, the allies captured 13 miles of the front, seized 400 guns, and caused 27,000 casualties to the Germans, 12,000 of these were prisoners of war.

Tank losses on first day were severe: only 155 of the 430 that had gone into action on 8 August were serviceable the following day.  And the push slowed significantly in the following days – however for the Germans, it was the “greatest defeat the German army suffered since the beginning of the war”.

By 12^th August, as the German resistance hardened – the advance of the British Fourth Army slowed.  Only half a dozen of the British tanks were still in action.  Nevertheless, the manner of the Allied victory at Amiens mattered more than its scale.  The BEFs combat skills and confidence were growing daily at a time when the German Army as a whole was clearly in sharp decline.  Their artillery and machine-gunners continued to fight, but a morose and fatalistic mood had descended upon many units.

Bereft on long-term solutions following Amiens, the Kaiser agreed at a conference at Spa on 14 August, to open peace negotiations through the Queen of the Netherlands.  Even so, as long as its forces continued to occupy large areas of Belgium and northern France, Germany might still hope to bargain from a position of strategic strength.

By 1^st September, the 2^nd Australian Division, stormed and held the formidable German bastion of Mont St Quentin, facilitating the capture of Peronne, which was cleared of German troops by midday on 2^nd September.  Meanwhile, the Canadians broke through the Drocourt-Queant Position, and as these vital points between the Somme and the Sensee fell in turn, the only option for the Germans was to retreat from the Hindenburg Line.

Ballarat Star 1st January 1921

Private John Leslie Daniel (6786A)

 21^st Battalion, who fought at the

Battle of Amiens, from Daylesford, Victoria

(Photo courtesy : AWM archive)