HOW THE BATTLE OF VILLERS-BRETONNEUX UNFOLDED:
* Villers-Bretonneux is a town in north-western France, seized by the Germans at the high point of their 1918 Spring Offensive
* Allied forces at the time were depleted after appalling losses in the battle of Passchendaele in Belgium in 1917
* The Australians were recuperating and rebuilding their strength around Messines in French Flanders when the Germans launched their offensive on March 21
* Supported by mass artillery fire and poison gas, the shock attack overwhelmed the thinly spread British forces in days
* It was Germany's last throw of the dice, an attempt to win the war before American troops arrived
* The attack plunged the Allies into crisis and the Australian troops marched south to plug the gaps in the defences
* Villers-Bretonneux was fought over for much of April - if the Germans were to take control, it would open the route to Amiens, an important road and rail hub
* The town finally fell to a strong German attack on at dawn on April 24
* A counter-attack was then hastily organised by the Allies, involving mostly Australian troops
* The attack seemed doomed to fail - it was launched at short notice, at night, across unfamiliar ground against an enemy armed to the teeth with machine guns
* Two Australian units - the 13th Brigade of the 4th Division and the 15th Brigade of the 5th Division - were set the main task of retaking the town
* The attack began at 10pm as the Divisions, under intense enemy fire, encircled the town in a pincer movement, before setting about clearing it after dawn on April 25
* It was a ruthless and bloody battle, fought up close with rifles, bayonets and bombs - no quarter was given
* 1464 Allied men lost their lives
* The victory established the Australian as a premier fighting force on the Western Front.
