Anzac Day 2024 – Villers-Bretonneux

On 25 April 2024, an Anzac Day Dawn Service will be held at the Australian National Memorial (ANM) situated next to the Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery just north of the village of Villers-Bretonneux, France. The ANM is the site of an intense battle fought 106 years before as part of wider efforts to halt a German spring offensive which was threatening to win them the war.

Throughout early April in 1918 Australian units helped defend Villers-Bretonneux from this onslaught, but at dawn on 24 April the Germans attacked and captured the town. Leading the British counter attack, the Australian 13th and 15th Brigades enveloped the town and successfully cleared it of Germans on 25 April, coinciding with the third anniversary of the Anzac landings at Gallipoli.

The commemorative service on 25 April 2024 not only commemorates this remarkable action, which effectively ended the German offensive launched a month prior, but will also mark the 109th anniversary of the Anzac landings at Gallipoli.

The service will provide an opportunity for all Australians to pause, reflect and appropriately acknowledge the service and sacrifice of all those who have served in the defence of our nation.

This service takes place with the permission and support of the French Government.