Villers-Bretonneux Allied Counterattacks to 27 April 1918

On 25 April the Australian, British and French Allied forces recaptured the village of Villers-Bretonneux, which had been taken by the Germans on 24 April. On the night of the 24/25 April the British Fourth Army attempted a counterattack against the Germans. The German line was pushed back by 150 yards after a tank assault by the British from north of the village. This was supported by a series of counterattacks from Australian Brigades and the Northamptonshire Regiment and Durham light infantry. Despite crushing losses, a consequence of repeated assaults from German machine gun nests, the Australian Brigades finally swept around Villers-Bretonneux, forcing a German retreat. On 27 April, the counterattack formally ended, with the Australians having suffered 1,455 casualties.