This lantern slide, “Villers-Bretonneux (1918),” shows a street lined with severely damaged buildings, some in a state of collapse. Villers-Bretonneux is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.
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Publisher:
Springfield College
Notes:
On April 24, 1918, during World War I, this small town 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 following day, the 4th and 5th Division of the AIF recaptured the town at a cost of over twelve hundred Australian lives, and as such, the Australian War Memorial in France is located just outside Villers-Bretonneux . Furthermore, the town’s school was rebuilt through donations from school children of Victoria, and above every blackboard is the inscription "N'oublions jamais l'Australie" (Let us never forget Australia). This slide is part of Springfield College's collection of lantern slides depicting Australian YMCA war work during World War 1.
Moderate foxing; Text on boarder reads: "Villers-Brettoneux 1918"
Part of the Australian Y.M.C.A. WWI Lantern Slide Series
