Villers-Bretonneux

Polished flints from the neolithic era indicate that a human presence has been in the commune for a long time.

Roman coins, remains of dwelling and a sandstone mill from during the Roman Empire have been found near the town, which was on the old way linking Amiens to Vermand.[2]

In 1840, archaeological excavations revealed stone coffins, vases and buckles dating from the Frankish period.

The first mention of the name Villers-Bretonneux is in a document from 1123.[2] It was not until the 12th century that the Bretoneux or Bretonneux complement was added; prior to this the town was known as Villers. The origin of this change has historians perplexed.[3] In 1200, the lord of Villers-Bretonneux, Adams de Villers was vassal of the Abbot of Corbie. In the 14th century, the village was surrounded by a wall twelve feet high and counted 140 hovels. The castle was surrounded by a wall fifteen feet high. Waleran de Rivery, lord of Rivery and Villers-Bretonneux, married Isabelle, second daughter of Jacques de Longroy (councilor and chamberlain of the Duke of Burgundy), lord of Querrieu, who was killed at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. In the second half of the 15th century, the lord was Antoine de Rivery, knight, captain of Amiens in 1465 and lord of Rivery and Villers-Bretonneux.[4][5]

On 13 August 1636, the Spanish Army set fire to the village, as well as several villages in the vicinity. It was probably during these events connected with the capture of Corbie that the fortress was destroyed. An exact date is not known but in 1681 it was mentioned as completely in ruins.[6]

In 1700, the seigniory of Villers-Bretonneux was sold to Pierre Dufresne, lord of Marcelcave.[7] As early as 1737, the wool industry was mentioned in Villers-Bretonneux.[7] In 1778, Pierre Dottin, a native of Villers-Bretonneux, published a memoir on the "la pomme de terre" in Les Affiches de la Picardie.[7]

In 1838, records show[8] that Villers-Bretonneux is one of the richest and most commercial communes in the department and that factories producing woollen stockings and flannels are well established. In 1859, the town built a church[9] that was destroyed during the First World War. It housed a wooden Virgin from the l'école de Blasset school.[10]

On 27 November 1870, Villers Bretonneux was the scene of a battle of the Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871) for the defense of Amiens. The French were defeated, and the population had to pay a tribute of 100,000 francs to the Prussians.

In the First World War the town was the site of the First Battle of Villers-Bretonneux and Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux. The first tank against tank combat in history took place here on 24 April 1918.

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  German Tank outside the town 1918
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  Rue de la Gare, Villers Bretonneux 1918.
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  A Crashed Fokker at Villers-Bretonneux

In the interwar years, the city of Melbourne in Australia was a sponsor of the town of Villers-Bretonneux and helped in its reconstruction as did as the State of Victoria more generally. On 22 July 1938, the Villers–Bretonneux Australian National Memorial was opened by the British sovereigns, George VI, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon and Albert Lebrun, President of the French Republic. The names of 11,000 fighters without burial are engraved in the stone.

In World War II the British Army had Sherman tank Armoured Division passed through Villers-Bretonneux, on 1 September 1944. There is a memorial near the town dedicated to the memory of the Forces françaises de l'intérieur, shot and deported during 1939–45, located on the road to Amiens.

Today, Villers-Bretonneux is a modest village, which grew significantly thanks to the introduction of the knitwear industry in the 19th century. After the destruction of the First and Second World Wars, the town was rebuilt. The city center concentrates public buildings and most of the dwellings.

The municipality is now experiencing a new development thanks to its proximity to the Amiens agglomeration and to an exit from the A29 motorway (Saint-Quentin-Le Havre). Subdivisions of individual houses were built.

Patrick Simon, the Mayor of Villers-Bretonneux from 2008 until 2020, was a vocal proponent of Australia-France relations.[11] Simon oversaw the refurbishment of Villers-Bretonneux's Franco-Australian First World War Museum and helped to establish the Sir John Monash Centre, which opened in 2018.[11][12] He also promoted increased relations and exchanges with Robinvale, Villers-Bretonneux's twinned town in the Australian state of Victoria.[13] Simon was awarded an honorary Order of Australia (AO) in 2015 for his contributions to Australian-Franco relations.[11][14] He died in office in May 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic in France.[11][14][15]