Villers-Bretonneux | |
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 Villers-Bretonneux Town Hall | |
 Coat of arms | |
 Location of Villers-Bretonneux | |
  Villers-Bretonneux  Villers-Bretonneux | |
| Coordinates:49°52′N2°31′E / 49.87°N 2.52°E /49.87; 2.52 | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Hauts-de-France |
| Department | Somme |
| Arrondissement | Amiens |
| Canton | Amiens-4 |
| Intercommunality | Val de Somme |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2020–2026) | Didier Dinouard[1] |
Area 1 | 14.51 km2 (5.60 sq mi) |
| Population (2022)[2] | 4,644 |
| • Density | 320.1/km2 (828.9/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 80799 /80800 |
| Elevation | 45–107 m (148–351 ft) (avg. 91 m or 299 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Villers-Bretonneux (French pronunciation:[vilɛʁbʁətɔnø]) is acommune in theSommedepartment inHauts-de-France in northern France.
Villers-Bretonneux is situated some 19 km due east ofAmiens, on theD1029 road and theA29 motorway.
Villers-Bretonneux borders a particularly flat landscape towards the east, which can be considered as the western boundary of the Santerre plateau and the eastern boundary of the Amiénois.
The territory of the commune is crossed by the old national road 29 (current RD 1029), perfectly rectilinear road following the route of the ancient Roman road linking Amiens to Saint-Quentin in the Aisne. The agglomeration is located at the crossroads of the D 23 linking Corbie to Moreuil.
Villers-Bretonneux station is located on the railway line from Amiens toLaon viaTergnier.
Polished flints from theNeolithic era indicate that a human presence has been in the commune for a long time.
Roman coins, remains ofdwelling and asandstonemill from during theRoman Empire have been found near the town, which was on the old way linkingAmiens toVermand.[3]
In 1840, archaeological excavations revealed stone coffins, vases and buckles dating from theFrankish period.
The first mention of the name Villers-Bretonneux is in a document from 1123.[3] It was not until the 12th century that the Bretoneux or Bretonneux complement was added; prior to this the town was known as Villers. The origin of this change has historians perplexed.[4]In 1200, the lord of Villers-Bretonneux,Adams de Villers was vassal of theAbbot of Corbie.In the 14th century, the village was surrounded by a wall twelve feet high and counted 140 hovels. The castle was surrounded by a wall fifteen feet high.Waleran de Rivery, lord of Rivery and Villers-Bretonneux, married Isabelle, second daughter of Jacques de Longroy (councilor and chamberlain of theDuke of Burgundy), lord ofQuerrieu, who was killed at theBattle of Agincourt in 1415.In the second half of the 15th century, the lord wasAntoine de Rivery,knight,captain of Amiens in 1465 and lord of Rivery and Villers-Bretonneux.[5][6]
On 13 August 1636, theSpanish Army set fire to the village, as well as several villages in the vicinity. It was probably during these events connected with the capture of Corbie that the fortress was destroyed. An exact date is not known but in 1681 it was mentioned as completely inruins.[7]
In 1700, the seigniory of Villers-Bretonneux was sold toPierre Dufresne, lord ofMarcelcave.[8]As early as 1737, the wool industry was mentioned in Villers-Bretonneux.[8]In 1778, Pierre Dottin, a native of Villers-Bretonneux, published a memoir on the "la pomme de terre" inLes Affiches de la Picardie.[8]
In 1838, records show[9] that Villers-Bretonneux is one of the richest and most commercial communes in the department and that factories producing woollen stockings and flannels are well established.In 1859, the town built achurch[10] that was destroyed during the First World War. It housed a wooden Virgin from thel'école de Blasset school.[11]
On 27 November 1870, Villers Bretonneux was the scene ofa battle of theFranco-Prussian War (1870–1871) for the defense ofAmiens. The French were defeated, and the population had to pay atribute of 100,000 francs to thePrussians.
In theFirst World War the town was the site of theFirst Battle of Villers-Bretonneux andSecond Battle of Villers-Bretonneux. The first tank-against-tank combat in history took place here on 24 April 1918.
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In the interwar years, the city ofMelbourne in Australia was a sponsor of the town of Villers-Bretonneux and helped in its reconstruction as did as theState of Victoria more generally.Charlotte Crivelli who was a central figure on the committee which organised this sponsorship and organised many of the fundraising events.[12] On 22 July 1938, theVillers–Bretonneux Australian National Memorial was opened by the British sovereigns,George VI,Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon andAlbert Lebrun,President of the French Republic. The names of 11,000 fighters without burial are engraved in the stone.
In World War II, theBritish ArmySherman tank Armoured Division passed through Villers-Bretonneux, on 1 September 1944. There is a memorial near the town dedicated to the memory of theForces françaises de l'intérieur, shot and deported during 1939–45, located on the road to Amiens.
Today, Villers-Bretonneux is a modest village, which grew significantly thanks to the introduction of the knitwear industry in the 19th century. After the destruction of the First and Second World Wars, the town was rebuilt. The city center concentrates public buildings and most of the dwellings.
The municipality is now experiencing a new development thanks to its proximity to the Amiens agglomeration and to an exit from the A29 motorway (Saint-Quentin-Le Havre). Subdivisions of individual houses were built.
Patrick Simon, the Mayor of Villers-Bretonneux from 2008 until 2020, was a vocal proponent ofAustralia–France relations.[13] Simon oversaw the refurbishment of Villers-Bretonneux's Franco-Australian First World War Museum and helped to establish the Sir John Monash Centre, which opened in 2018.[13][14] He also promoted increased relations and exchanges withRobinvale, Villers-Bretonneux's twinned town in the Australian state ofVictoria.[15] Simon was awarded an honoraryOrder of Australia (AO) in 2015 for his contributions to Australian-Franco relations.[13][16] He died in office in May 2020 during theCOVID-19 pandemic in France.[13][16][17]
The increase in the population of the commune was linked to the development of knitwear in the 19th century. This activity began to decline from the 1880s onwards. The decline continued after the two world wars until they disappeared completely at the dawn of the twenty-first century.
Today, it is the services that constitute most of the economic activity: shopping center near the motorway exit, retail and handicrafts in the city center. Health services are represented by the presence of a nursing home and a convalescent and functional rehabilitation center in addition to the liberal professionals. The school functions are represented by nursery and primary schools and by a college.
In theFirst World War, on 24 April 1918, Villers-Bretonneux was the site of the world's first battle between twotank forces: three BritishMark IVs against three GermanA7Vs. The Germans took the town, but that night and the next day it was recaptured by two brigades of theFirst Australian Imperial Force at a cost of some 1,200 Australian lives.[18] The town's mayor spoke of the Australian troops on 14 July 1919 when unveiling a memorial in their honour:
TheAustralian War Memorial in France is located just outside Villers-Bretonneux and in front of it lie the graves of over 770 Australian soldiers, as well as those of otherBritish Empire soldiers involved in the campaign. The school in Villers-Bretonneux was rebuilt using donations from school children ofVictoria, Australia (many of whom had relatives perish in the town's liberation) and above every blackboard is the inscription, "N'oublions jamais l'Australie" (Let us never forget Australia).[20][21] The annualAnzac Day ceremony is held at this village on Anzac Day, 25 April. Traditionally, Australian commemorations have focused onGallipoli. However, Anzac Day commemorations since 2008 have also focused on the Western Front, anddawn services marking the anniversary of the battle of 24/25 April 1918 are held on Anzac Day itself at Villers-Bretonneux.[22][23]
Villers-Bretonneux is the sister city ofRobinvale, Victoria, Australia.[24]
In 2017, the commune had 4,464 inhabitants, an increase of 8.5% compared to 2007.
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Delacour's château, or, as the Australian force called it, the "Red château", served as headquarters and billets for Allied generals during theBattle of the Somme. MarshalFoch stayed there. At the end of fighting in November 1918 it became the local headquarters of theImperial (later Commonwealth) Graves Commission. Later abandoned, it was extensively cannibalised for building materials. Its skeleton, which remained as a tourist attraction until 2004, was razed in that year and all traces of it were removed to make way for a supermarket.
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