Australian National Memorial

The Australian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux is the main memorial to Australian military personnel killed on the Western Front during World War I. It is located on the Route Villiers-Bretonneux (D 23), in the Somme département, France. The memorial lists 10,773 names of soldiers of the Australian Imperial Force with no known grave who were killed between 1916, when Australian forces arrived in France and Belgium, and the end of the war. The location was chosen to commemorate the role played by Australian soldiers in the Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux (24–27 April 1918). Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, the memorial consists of a tower within the Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery, which also includes a Cross of Sacrifice. The tower is surrounded by walls and panels on which the names of the missing dead are listed. The main inscription is in both French and English, on either side of the entrance to the tower. The memorial and cemetery are maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Australian Corps Memorial

This commemorates and interprets the battle of Le Hamel which took place on 4 July 1918, when, with the support of the Americans, General Monash launched a hugely victorious attack by combining for the first time infantry, artillery, air forces and tanks, thus heralding the tactics of modern warfare. This memorial park was created in the village of Le Hamel by the Australian state and inaugurated on 7 August 1998. The site’s panoramic displays and explanatory panels help visitors to understand the strategic challenge which it represented during the battle. Several trenches have been preserved.