Hamel, Battle of, was an Allied assault on German forces during World War I (1914-1918). The battle began on July 4, 1918, near the far northern French village of Le Hamel. The battle ended in a quick Allied victory. The assault was notable for its effective combination of artillery, infantry, tanks, and warplanes. The successful combination was repeated in larger Allied assaults in the final months of the war. Most of the Allied troops at Le Hamel were Australian, but a number of American and British troops also took part.
Background.
From 1914 through 1917, Allied armies battled German forces to a stalemate on the Western Front, a battlefront that ran through Belgium and northern France. During the German Spring Offensive of 1918, German troops overran Allied positions and made major advances. The offensive exhausted the Germans, however, and the Allies quickly recovered. Allied forces then prepared a series of counterattacks. The assault on Le Hamel was one of many Allied offensives on the Western Front in the summer of 1918.
The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) saw their first major action with the British during the Gallipoli campaign in 1915. In late 1917, an independent Australian Corps was created. It came under the command of Lieutenant General John Monash in 1918. In preparation for a large offensive around nearby Amiens, some 7,000 troops of the Australian Corps—joined by 1,000 United States troops—were ordered to take Le Hamel. Monash planned an innovative attack using artillery, tanks, and aircraft. Many of the air, artillery, and tank crews were British. Some 5,000 German troops held the line at Le Hamel.
The battle.
Allied troops attacked the German lines at Le Hamel early on the morning of July 4, 1918. Overhead, Allied warplanes attacked enemy positions and reported on enemy troop movements. They also dropped ammunition and other supplies to advancing Allied troops. Tanks—used to great effect for the first time at Cambrai in 1917—also supported the infantry assault. The tanks took out numerous German gun positions and carried barbed wire, ammunition, and other supplies to help the infantry. The Germans were taken by surprise, and their strong points—Le Hamel village, a fortified hill, and nearby woods—quickly fell. In less than two hours, the Allied assault advanced 1 1/4 miles (2 kilometers) and achieved all its goals. Fighting at Le Hamel continued through July 5, however, as the Germans tried—and failed—to regain their lost positions.
Aftermath.
The Allied attack at Le Hamel was a complete success, but at a significant cost. More than 1,400 Allied troops—most of them Australian—were killed or wounded. German losses were severe. Of the 5,000 defenders, some 2,000 were killed or wounded. 1,600 more were taken prisoner.
The victory at Le Hamel cleared the way for a massive Allied offensive at Amiens in August. Success at Amiens and in other Allied offensives drove the Germans back until they signed an armistice (agreement to stop fighting) on Nov. 11, 1918.
In July 1998, on the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Hamel, a memorial to the Australian Corps was dedicated on the site of the battlefield. The Hamel memorial is now a key part of the Australian Remembrance Trail that traces Australian involvement on the Western Front during World War I.
