Bresle: From the Rear Area to the Front Line

Situated at the bottom of the valley, the village of Bresle offered some protection from artillery fire. Being close enough to the front, it served as an entry point to the trenches. Trench systems led the soldiers directly to the front line further to the east. Nevertheless, as the Germans advanced in 1918, the village also suffered damages.
Known as St Mark’s Tree, an ancient lime tree – which had been a sacred site for the Gauls – once stood here. Sadly destroyed in 1918, the war memorial was erected on the site of this tree.

During the four years of the war, Bresle was passed through and occupied by men from all over the world. As a result, we can still find traces of these men’s presence in the houses that survived the conflict. One such example is the ‘Rising Sun’, the emblem of Australia, carved into the stone, which you can see in the photograph.