A failed German assault on Allied lines near Dernancourt halted part of the spring 1918 offensive toward Amiens.
Key Facts
- Date
- 28 March 1918
- German casualties
- ~550 personnel
- Australian casualties
- at least 137 killed or wounded personnel
- British 35th Division casualties
- 1,540 (25–30 March) personnel
- Victoria Cross awarded
- Sergeant Stanley McDougall, 47th Battalion
- Main German assault unit
- 50th Reserve Division, XXIII Reserve Corps
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The German spring offensive of 1918 drove toward Amiens, prompting the Australian 3rd and 4th Divisions to move south from Belgium to reinforce British lines. The VII Corps, including the British 35th Division, held a line along a railway embankment between Albert and Buire-sur-l'Ancre. The German 2nd Army ordered an assault despite some commanders doubting success unless the embankment was weakly held.
On 28 March 1918, the German 50th Reserve Division attacked at dawn under fog cover along the embankment between Albert and Dernancourt, supported by the 13th Division further west. A brief artillery preparation preceded the assault. Aside from one small early-morning penetration, quickly repelled partly through the actions of Sergeant Stanley McDougall, the Germans failed to break through VII Corps defences. Rain set in by late afternoon.
The German assault was completely defeated, and McDougall was awarded the Victoria Cross for his role in repelling the penetration. The failure did not end German pressure in the sector; over the following week they renewed attacks, culminating in the Second Battle of Dernancourt on 5 April, which again ended in a German defeat.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
1 belligerent