Mont St Quentin and Péronne: Australian Victories

The Aim

A photograph of the Mont St Quentin diorama, on permanent display at the Australian War Memorial. AWM136015
By the end of August 1918, the Australian advance had closed up on the German stronghold of Mont St Quentin. Overlooking the Somme River and the town of Péronne, it dominated the surrounding countryside and was the key to the German defence of the Somme line. Determined to allow the Germans no respite, Lieutenant General Sir John Monash, the commander of the Australian Corps, sought to capture it as soon as possible. What followed, which involved battalions from every Australian state, has been described as perhaps the AIF’s finest achievement.

The Attack

Capture of Mont St Quentin, by Fred Leist. ART02929

Initially blocked on the Somme, Monash ordered the 3rd Australian Division to clear the northern bank so that the 2nd Australian Division on the other side could swing over the river and through the 3rd to strike the Germans from the northwest, catching them by surprise. Crossing on the evening of 30 August, the Australians attacked at 5 am next morning. Though they quickly gained the summit of Mont St Quentin, German counterattacks left them holding on just below it. In further heavy fighting on 1 September, much of it hand-to-hand, the crest and the nearby village of Feuillaucourt were recaptured and troops from the 5th Australian Division, who had also crossed the Somme, took most of Péronne. The rest of the town fell next day.

Péronne, heavy artillery advancing through the town 1918, by Louis McCubbin. ART03043

Its significance

Monash said of the Mont St Quentin and Péronne campaign that it

furnished the finest example in the war of spirited and successful infantry action conducted by three divisions operating simultaneously side by side.

The fight was unique in the Australian experience of the Western Front. Unlike set-piece battles such as Hamel or 8 August, to which the Australians were well-accustomed, Mont St Quentin–Péronne was characterised by rapid and free-wheeling manoeuvre, which began with the wide turning movement that Monash orchestrated. It showed Monash the general at his best.

But Monash himself freely admitted that the victory was due “firstly and chiefly to the wonderful gallantry” of the tired soldiers in understrength units who responded to call after call. Denuded by casualties and a lack of reinforcements in the preceding months, most units were down to 300 rifles at the time of the battle, less than half their normal establishment. Some fought continuously for almost 90 hours and were outnumbered by the prisoners they captured. Those who attacked Mont St Quentin yelled loudly to convince the Germans that their numbers were greater as they swept up the open hillside.

Members of the 6th Australian Infantry Brigade about to renew the assault on Mont St Quentin on 1 September 1918. AWME03139
Soldiers from a machine-gun position established in the fighting in the ruins of Péronne, photographed on 2 September 1918. AWME03183

Offsetting these difficulties to some extent was the Australians’ tactical proficiency. The skilful cooperation of rifle grenadiers and Lewis gunners as they worked through the German trenches in small groups was particularly noticeable. Mauling five German divisions, the Australians took 2,600 prisoners, bringing their tally since the advance began on 8 August to over 14,500 prisoners and 170 guns.

Among the 3,000 Australian casualties was Private Alex Barclay of the 17th Battalion. Barclay was sniped in the head, but the bullet passed miraculously right through his skull and he survived to re-enlist in the Second World War!

General Lord Rawlinson, the commander of the British Fourth Army, to which the Australian Corps belonged, reportedly stated that the capture of Mont St Quentin and Péronne was the greatest single feat of the war. It forced the Germans to retreat to their last line of defence, the Hindenburg Line.

 

Feature story: Private Robert Mactier