First Battle of Dernancourt

First Battle of Dernancourt
Part of Operation Michael (German spring offensive)
Date 28 March 1918 Location Dernancourt, France 49°58′29″N 02°37′54″E / 49.97472°N 2.63167°E / 49.97472; 2.63167 Result Australian-British victory
Belligerents
Australia  United Kingdom	German Empire
Commanders and leaders
Walter Congreve	Hugo von Kathen
Units involved
3rd Division 4th Division 35th Division	13th Division 50th Reserve Division
Casualties and losses
Australian: 137+ killed or wounded British: part of 1,540 casualties (25–30 March)	550+ killed or wounded
class=notpageimage| Dernancourt, a commune in the Somme department, northern France

The First Battle of Dernancourt was fought on 28 March 1918 near Dernancourt in northern France during World War I. It involved a force of the German 2nd Army attacking elements of the VII Corps, which included British and Australian troops, and resulted in a complete defeat of the German assault.

The Australian 3rd and 4th Divisions had been sent south from Belgium to help stem the tide of the German spring offensive towards Amiens and, with the British 35th Division, they held a line west and north of the Ancre river and the area between the Ancre and Somme, forming the southern flank of the Third Army. Much of the VII Corps front line consisted of a series of posts strung out along a railway embankment between Albert and Buire-sur-l'Ancre. The main German assault force was the 50th Reserve Division of the XXIII Reserve Corps, which concentrated its assault on the line between Albert and Dernancourt, attacking off the line of march after a short artillery preparation. Supporting attacks were to be launched by the 13th Division further west. Some German commanders considered success unlikely unless the embankment was weakly held, and the commander of the German 2nd Army ordered the attack to be postponed, but that message did not reach the assaulting troops in time.

The Germans attacked at dawn under the cover of fog, but other than one small penetration by a company in the early morning that was quickly repelled, partly due to the actions of Sergeant Stanley McDougall of the Australian 47th Battalion, the Germans failed to break through the VII Corps defences. McDougall was awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest award that could be received by an Australian soldier for gallantry in the face of the enemy. By late afternoon, rain set in, making early renewal of the assault less likely. The Germans suffered about 550 casualties during the battle, and the Australians lost at least 137 killed or wounded. The British 35th Division suffered 1,540 casualties from 25 to 30 March. In the week following the battle, the Germans renewed their attempts to advance in the sector, culminating in the Second Battle of Dernancourt on 5 April, when the Germans were defeated in desperate fighting.