PM joins French locals on Anzac Day

New Zealand PM John Key (centre) with Franck-Olivier Lachaud, Sous-Prefet of Valenciennes, (L) and Mayor Paul Raoult. Photo / NZPA

Prime Minister John Key's decision to join the citizens of French town Le Quesnoy in their annual commemorations of Anzac Day has started a new chapter in what Mr Key has called "a precious link with the town".

In welcoming Mr Key, Le Quesnoy Mayor Paul Roault recalled the successive generations of New Zealanders who have returned to the region to commemorate the heroic action taken by New Zealand soldiers in the last days of World War 1 in November 1918, to relieve the town of German occupation.

Mr Key described the story of how the riflemen of the New Zealand infantry courageously mounted the fortified walls of the town as "a story worth retelling".

During his visit, Mr Key joined Mr Roault to visit the special memorial to the day that 122 New Zealanders died on 4 November, 1918, and retraced the path taken by the New Zealand soldiers 93 years ago. He walked with a large entourage from one side of the town to the other, viewing the large fortifications still in place.

"Being united in honouring our forebears who fought for us was deeply moving," Mr Key said.

At an official reception for Mr Key, Mr Roault said he wanted Mr Key to know and understand New Zealanders visiting the town were "automatically at home and anything that affects New Zealand, such as the Christchurch earthquakes, touches us here in Le Quesnoy".

Mr Roault said he hoped the ties between Le Quesnoy and New Zealand "will continue to grow even stronger into the future".

"Initiatives such as the launching of the building of a New Zealand museum and hotel in Le Quesnoy, to be jointly designed by French and New Zealand architects, will provide a more tangible aspect to this permanent relationship," he said.

Mr Key acknowledged the jointly driven local memorial project and said New Zealand drew comfort from the kiwi-friendly relationship provided in Le Quesnoy.

The memorial project would be partially funded by a public fundraising project in New Zealand, where the public would be invited to donate $50 for memorial bricks for the museum and boutique hotel. The fund raising is being organised by a group of Auckland military historians led by Herb Farrant.

The story of Le Quesnoy, 1918:

* New Zealand sent 100,000 of its 243,000 men of military age to defend the Empire during the Great War of 1914-1918.

* From April 1916 until the Armistice on November 11, 1918, the New Zealanders fought as a Dominion Division of the British Expeditionary Force in France and Belgium.

* In early 1918, the New Zealand Division was away from the frontline retraining and reinforcing losses after the late 1917 campaigns, and from the Passchendaele campaign in particular.

* When the German army commenced its Spring Offensive of March 1918, the allied forces were heavily mauled and gaps started to appear in the Allied Front. New Zealand soldiers were moved to plug a gap and contributed to halting the German Army by 5 April.

* The final offensive to drive Germany from France and Belgium began in July 1918. By early November New Zealand infantry, including the 3rd NZ (Rifle) Infantry Brigade known as the Rifle Brigade, were positioned in front of Le Quesnoy.

* On the day of the liberation of Le Quesnoy - 4 November 1918 - being well aware of the significant civilian population living in the town, the artillery shelling was contained in front of the town ramparts. Two of three New Zealand infantry brigades had surrounded the town by 9am and, through fierce gunfire and resistance, the Rifle Brigade successfully defeated soldiers of the German army who had occupied the town for most of the war.

* The operation, which resulted in the capture of 700 German prisoners, involved firing up to 300 flaming oil drums at the walls of the town to create a covering smokescreen. In its final stages, New Zealand soldiers entered the town by scaling ladders that were set against the ancient walls.

- NZPA