le quesnoy liberation

New Zealand and Le Quesnoy

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  It was the New Zealand Division's final action of the First World War. On 4 November 1918, just a week before the Armistice was signed, New Zealand troops stormed the walled French town of Le Quesnoy. The 90 men killed were among the last of the 12,483 who fell on the Western Front.

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• Page 2 – The liberation of Le Quesnoy

  The capture of the French town of Le Quesnoy by the New Zealand Division on 4 November 1918 has special significance in New Zealand's military history.

• Page 3 – Visiting Le Quesnoy

  Just 4 kilometres east of Beaudignies in northern France is Le Quesnoy. This town was in German hands for almost all of the First World War, from August 1914, until the New

• Page 4 – Battle accounts, Lieutenant Averill

  Leslie Cecil Lloyd Averill is best remembered for his exploits during the liberation of Le Quesnoy on 4 November 1918.

• Page 5 – Battle accounts, Private Nimmo

  Captain James Matheson Nimmo joined 3rd Battalion, 3rd New Zealand (Rifle) Brigade on 27 September 1918.

• Page 6 – Further information

  Further reading and links relating to Le Quesnoy

1918: Spring Offensive and Advance to Victory

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  In 1918, a series of major German and Allied offensives broke the stalemate of trench warfare on the Western Front, resulting in the collapse of the German Army and the end of the war within the year. New Zealand units played an important part in the Allies' final push for victory.

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• Page 1 - 1918: spring offensive and advance to victoryIn 1918, a series of major German and Allied offensives broke the stalemate of trench warfare on the Western Front, resulting in the collapse of the German Army and the end of the

Māori in the NZEF

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  More than 2000 Maori served in the Māori Contingent and Pioneer Battalion during the First World War

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• Page 4 - On the Western FrontThe New Zealand Pioneer Battalion arrived in France in April 1916. It was the first unit of the New Zealand Division to move onto the bloody battlefield of the

Armistice Day

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  After four terrible years, fighting in the First World War finally ended with the signing of an armistice between Germany and the Allies on 11 November 1918. New Zealanders celebrated enthusiastically, despite having recently celebrated the surrenders of the three other Central Powers and the premature news of an armistice with Germany.

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• Page 6 - New Zealanders overseasThe New Zealand Division official history records that those in France received the news of the armistice ‘generally in a matter of fact way, totally devoid of any demonstration