In the First World War, on 24 April 1918, Villers-Bretonneux was the site of the world's first battle between two tank forces: three British Mark IVs against three German A7Vs. The Germans took the town, but that night and the next day it was recaptured by 4th and 5th Division of the First Australian Imperial Force at a cost of over 1200 Australian lives. The town's mayor spoke of the Australian troops on 14 July 1919 when unveiling a memorial in their honour.
The Australian War Memorial in France is located just outside Villers-Bretonneux and in front of it lie the graves of over 770 Australian soldiers, as well as those of other British Empire soldiers involved in the campaign. The school in Villers-Bretonneux was rebuilt using donations from school children of Victoria, Australia (many of whom had relatives perish in the town's liberation), and above every blackboard is the inscription "N'oublions jamais l'Australie" (Let us never forget Australia).[1][2] The annual ANZAC Day ceremony is held at this village on ANZAC Day, 25 April, each year. Traditionally, Australian commemorations have focused on Gallipoli. However, the 2008 ANZAC Day commemoration focused on the Western Front, and a special dawn service marking the 90th anniversary of the battle of 24/25 April 1918 was held on ANZAC Day itself at Villers-Bretonneux.[3]
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