Capture of Le Quesnoy (1918)

Capture of Le Quesnoy
Part of the Western Front of World War I Hundred Days Offensive : Battle of the Sambre (1918)
The walls of Le Quesnoy, scaled by New Zealand troops when taking the town from German forces on 4 November 1918
Date 4 November 1918 Location Le Quesnoy, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France 50°14′59″N 03°38′18″E / 50.24972°N 3.63833°E / 50.24972; 3.63833Coordinates: 50°14′59″N 03°38′18″E / 50.24972°N 3.63833°E / 50.24972; 3.63833 Result New Zealand victory
Belligerents
New Zealand	German Empire
Commanders and leaders
Andrew Russell
Units involved
New Zealand Division New Zealand Rifle Brigade	Unknown
Strength
	1,537 (town garrison)
Casualties and losses
122 killed 375 wounded	43 killed 251 wounded 2,000 prisoners of war
Le Quesnoy is a commune in the Nord department in northern France

New Zealand Division

The Capture of Le Quesnoy was an engagement of the First World War that took place on 4 November 1918 as part of the Battle of the Sambre. Elements of the New Zealand Division scaled the fortified walls of the French town of Le Quesnoy and captured it from the defending German garrison

Beginning at 5:30 am, the New Zealand Rifle Brigade advanced from its starting positions east of the town, aiming to surround it and link up on the far side. By late morning, the linkup had been achieved and other elements of the New Zealand Division moved further west into the Mormal Forest, leaving the Rifle Brigade to capture the town itself. After mopping up outlying outposts, the New Zealanders moved up to the ramparts of the town, but were held back by machine-gun fire. Late in the afternoon, a scouting party located an unguarded section of the walls and the brigade's 4th Battalion managed to climb the ramparts and move into the town, quickly seizing it. The capture of Le Quesnoy was the last major engagement of the war for the New Zealanders.

By mid-1918, the German Army had been fought to a standstill after its Spring Offensive and the Allies had sought to take the initiative. Accordingly, the Hundred Days Offensive began on 8 August, with an attack on Amiens which marked the beginning of a series of advances by the Allies that ultimately ended the war. By late October, the New Zealand Division, commanded by Major General Andrew Russell, along with part of the British Third Army, had advanced to the west of the town of Le Quesnoy.

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