In the primary school of Villers-Bretonneux, there is a sign that has hung on the wall for decades. It reads: “Do not forget Australia.”
The town has kept that promise.
On 24–25 April 1918, Australian troops of the 13th and 15th Brigades launched a night counter-attack to recapture Villers-Bretonneux from the Germans. The town had fallen earlier that day during the German Spring Offensive, and its loss threatened to open the road to Amiens — a critical rail junction. The Australians fought through the night, in close-quarters combat, and by dawn the town was back in Allied hands.
It was Anzac Day. Three years to the day after the Gallipoli landings.
The cost was heavy. Over 1,200 Australians were killed or wounded in a single night. But the victory was decisive. It blunted the German advance and set the stage for the Hundred Days Offensive that would end the war.
Today, the Sir John Monash Centre stands on the ridge above Villers-Bretonneux, adjacent to the Australian National Memorial where more than 10,000 names are inscribed — Australians who died in France and have no known grave.
The Centre is extraordinary. It’s not a dusty museum with glass cases and faded photographs. It’s a modern, immersive, interactive facility that uses augmented reality, personal soldier stories, and spatial audio to bring the Western Front experience to life. The Australian Government invested significantly in its creation, and it shows.
Day 5 of Fairways & Frontlines is dedicated to the Somme battlefields and the Sir John Monash Centre. The route from Ypres to Amiens passes through Fromelles (Australia’s first Western Front battle and its costliest 24 hours), Bullecourt, Pozières, and Le Hamel before arriving at Villers-Bretonneux. It is the most emotionally significant day of the tour.
We allow 2.5 to 3 hours at the Centre — it deserves every minute. Groups should arrive 45 minutes early for the walk through the cemetery.
The next morning, the pace changes. Golf at Amiens, followed by a relaxed afternoon at the magnificent Amiens Cathedral. After the weight of Day 5, it’s a necessary exhale.
But Villers-Bretonneux stays with you. The school sign. The names on the wall. The town that still remembers.