CAMBRIDGE / LE QUESNOY
FRIENDSHIP ASSOCIATION
The Battle of Le Quesnoy
Before The Battle
The following six postcards from before the battle show the objective that the New Zealanders had to take
The German Occupation
Though the date is unknown, this photo is believed to have been taken during the occupation by
German forces shows German soldiers with British prisoners of war (seen on the left and in the centre
wearing putties), outside of what looks to be a German headquarters building. The words in large
letters 'Etappen Kommandantur' on the building above the town's name mean Sector Commander.
Photo via Richard Stowers
The Battle for Liberation
Units of the New Zealand Field Artillery take up position around Le Quesnoy
New Zealand Division's support line troops wait in a ditch the provides them cover
A New Zealand machine gunner mans his Maxim gun from behind the cover of a hedgerow
New Zealand troops rest in a trench during the battle
Kiwi soldiers arrive on the scene aboard a truck
An open trench provides little cover for these soldiers
Members of the New Zealand Rifle Brigade who had a big hand in the capture of Le Quesnoy
resting before their next onslaught
Wounded soldiers are loaded aboard an ambulance to be rushed to the nearest field hospital
Kiwi troops queue up for a much deserved meal and a hot drink in the field during the battle
A New Zealand mortar crew about to fire their deadly shell at the enemy
A view of the daunting walls that faced the New Zealand and British troops
Another view of the wall, with a New Zealand soldier on the top providing a scale for the size of the
structure. Note the shell damage to the wall but the fact that the explosives did little damage to
the ancient walls is testiment to their design in the middle ages. This photo was taken after the nattle had ended and the town had been liberated.
The Battle Won...
The New Zealand national flag newly flies in le Quesnoy. The town has been won by the kiwis, and the German flag lowered with the Ensign of the New Zealand Army replacing it.
German prisoners are rallied at a school near to Le Quesnoy
Another view of the german prisoners
Captured German artillery pieces are amassed in a nearby field
The town celebrates its liberation
New Zealanders now guard a bridge that allows access to the town of Le Quesnoy
Members of the Maori Pioneer Battalion set to work to help the locals clear away rubble and bomb
damage,
and clean up the town after the battle. The Maori Pioneer Battalion seldom got into the front
line fighting, their
main role was essential maintenance behind the lines such as this rubble clearing, or
digging trenches. They
were hard workers and
were extremely efficient at digging trenches, tunnels and
other such underground
fortifications. It was through this that they earned the nickname
of The Diggers
from the British troops. It was
only later in the war that the Australians began to also get called "
diggers "
because they wore the same hats
as the Maori diggers and the name was bestowed on
Aussies through
this confusion. It stuck with them and
now when the nickname of diggers is mentioned
everyone
pictures Australian soldiers instead of the Maori
Pioneer Battalion boys.
It was widely reported that during the battle it was a member of the
Maori Pioneer Battalion, Winiata
Topihana (16135) of Maketu in the Bay of Plenty, who was the first
Allied soldier to reach the top of the
ramparts. His rifle was thrown up to him by a salvage officer and
he was involved in the fire fight. he
was however not believed to have been the first soldier to actually
enter the town boundaries.
A work party of Kiwi soldiers, with shovels over their shoulders, head off to help clear bomb damage in
the region around the town
A New Zealand soldier lends a hand to a local lady to shift some furniture. She has perhaps lost her
home in the battle
After the battle German prisoners are put to work to fill in the shell holes in the fields around the town
A bridge that was built over the moat by New Zealand Engineers in the week after the battle
Thanks to Richard Stowers for providing the photographs on this page