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African masks in a cemetery in the Rhône valley

A badge of the Australian Free France committee

A series of Korean War commemorative medals

Sir John Monash Centre

Inaugurated in April 2018, the Sir John Monash Centre tells the story of Australians on the Western Front during the First World War.

More than 416,000 Australians volunteered, among them 295,000 Australians served on the Western Front between 1916 and 1918. Of these, 132,000 were wounded and 46,000 lost their lives.

The Sir John Monash Centre, named after one of the most respected Australian generals of the First World War, was built on the site of the battle of Villers-Bretonneux (1918), a significant battle in which Australian soldiers played an important role. The Centre is located behind the Australian National Memorial and is adjacent the Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery, in which over 2,000 Commonwealth soldiers are buried. The Memorial, inaugurated in 1938, commemorates close to 11,000 Australian soldiers who died on the Western Front in France and have no known grave.

Upon arrival to the site, visitors are invited to connect to the SJMC Wi-Fi, download the SJMC App on their smartphones and connect their earphones. The App (available in French, English and German) acts as a ‘virtual and personal tour guide’ through the Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery, the Australian National Memorial and the Sir John Monash Centre.

This technology allows visitors to discover the stories of Australian soldiers buried in the cemetery or commemorated on the Memorial. The app also offers a 360° panorama from the Memorial’s tower to explore the Somme Valley and learn more about its history during the war.

Inside the Sir John Monash Centre, visitors are invited to follow the journey taken by Australians during the War - from Australia before the war, to the harsh introduction to the Somme in 1916, and finally to their finest achievements in 1918. It culminates with their return to Australia, a country irrevocably changed by the War despite its distance from the actual battlefield. Visitors learn about the Australians’ experiences in their own words through letters, diaries, life-size images and the use of new and archival footage, animation, maps and soundscapes.

At the centre of the experience is an immersive gallery, which takes visitors on an emotional and educational journey to the heart of the battles of Villers-Bretonneux and Le Hamel.

A visit to the Sir John Monash Centre provides an enhanced understanding of the Australian experience on the Western Front, and the impact and loss suffered by a young nation.

Commemorative service: Alongside British and French troops, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula on 25 April. That fateful day marked the beginning of an eight-month campaign that claimed tens of thousands of lives, including over 8,000 Australians.

A year later, 25 April was officially named "Anzac Day" when Australia, New Zealand and troops in Egypt celebrated the anniversary of the landing.

In remembrance of those who served during the Great War and more recent wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations, Anzac Day ceremonies are held around the world each year. An Anzac Day Dawn service is held at the Australian National Memorial in Villers-Bretonneux, near Amiens. It takes place on the site of an intense battle in 1918 where, from early April, Australian units helped defend Villers-Bretonneux during the German spring offensive.

Education program : To make the most of their visit to the Sir John Monash Centre, teachers are encouraged to book a hands-on activities workshop for their students. The Centre offers a wide range of activities for all ages as well as tailored hands-on activities to suit students’ interests and meet curriculum objectives.

As they uncover the true story of Valentine Rochfort through objects he would have been familiar with, students immerse themselves in the Australian experience of the Western Front.

For more information : https://sjmc.gov.au/education/experience/

Sources : Centre Sir John Monash - Crédits photos : ©SJMC

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Practical information

Address

Route de Villers-Bretonneux 80800
Fouilloy
03.60.62.01.40

Prices

Free

Weekly opening hours

Every day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Fermetures annuelles

Closed from December 25, 2020 to January 1, 2021 inclusive, and from February 1, 2021 to February 21, 2021 inclusive.

Site Web : www.sjmc.gov.au

Email : info@sjmc.gov.au

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A stela beside a fjord

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MK-V radio transmitter-receiver

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The tail fin of a French aircraft shot down on 21 May 1940

1940

French, British and Germans in Norway

Narvik in 1940. HMSO

From 9 April to 10 June 1940 were two months and one day of fighting in Norway. It was a first for the Allies: a combined-arms, mixed-force, inter-Allied landing operation (France, Britain, Norway and Poland) comprising nearly 100 000 soldiers, in a strained political and military context, with victories on the ground and the troops subsequently recalled due to the catastrophic situation on the Western Front. Such large numbers of soldiers also made it a first for the Germans: Operation Weserübung (“Weser exercise”) was a combined-arms, mixed-force operation under the responsibility of an operational planning command distinct from the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW), the Oberkommando der Luftwaffe (OKL) and the Oberkommando der Marine (OKM)[1]. To conduct the operation, the Germans applied three principles: economy of resources, concentration of effort and freedom of action for subordinate tiers of command. Lastly, it was a German logistical success: control of the air by the Luftwaffe, despite very heavy losses for the Kriegsmarine. Thus it was a first for both sides: how to plan, develop and conduct operations jointly?

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The fighting at Chasselay

Colonne de tirailleurs sénégalais, avril 1940. © ECPAD

Prisoners, 1940. Source: German Federal Archive (Deutsches Bundesarchiv)

On 3 September 1939, Britain and France declared war on Nazi Germany. After a period of waiting and sporadic fighting known as the “Phoney War”, on 10 May 1940 an enemy offensive was launched from the Ardennes, which was to go on inexorably until the signing of the armistice brought it to a close on 22 June.

During that time, the defence of the Lyon area was indissociable from that of the Alpine front, under threat from the Italians, who had been at war with France since 10 June. It was also a strategic crossroads on the Germans’ route to the south.

The Battle of Saumur

The Napoleon bridge, scene of the fighting involving Lieutenant de Buffévent. Source: L’Anjou, quarterly magazine, September 1990.

On 10 May 1940, when the “Phoney War” was over, Germany sent its armies against France and Belgium.

After prevailing in the Somme and the Aisne, the enemy advanced on the Seine. General Weygand, commander-in-chief of the French armies since 20 May 1940, ordered the defence of all rivers that might block the path of the invasion to the south.

The Battle of Stonne-Oches

Elements of the 10th Panzer Division cross the Meuse during the Battle of France, 15-20 May 1940. © ECPAD

General Guderian’s XIX Army Corps, which attacked Sedan, comprised three divisions, the 1st, 2nd and 10th Panzer Divisions, with a total of approximately 1 000 tanks. Facing them was the French Second Army, under General Huntziger, whose command post was at Senuc.