Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Merris May - July 1918

Merris is a small town in the far north of France adjacent to the Belgian border.

The 1st Division of the AIF had been rushed south in late March April to stem the advance on the Somme but was hastily returned and was deployed to stem another German offensive along the line of the Franco Belgian border.  In this region Operation Georgette, the second largest of the Geman lines of attack had aimed to strike towards the Channel Ports at Calais via the important rail head of Hazebrouk.

Hazebrouk was held and the German offensive stalled as it had further south, short of their objectives.

During May and June of 1918, the Australians engaged in 'Peaceful Penetration' attempting to win back ground lost to the Germans via small stealthy 'snatch and grab' attacks that seized German outposts.

More to follow

By Steve Larkins 2014  Updated 2025