Battle of Épehy The Battle of Épehy was a World War I battle fought on 18 September 1918 , involving the British Fourth Army ( under the command of General Henry Rawlinson ) against German outpost positions in front of the Hindenburg Line . Prelude . Field Marshal Douglas Haig was not eager to carry out any offensives until the assault on the Hindenburg Line itself , influenced by mounting British losses from previous battles that year – over 600 , 000 casualties since March , 180 , 000 of those in the past six weeks . Rawlinson was kept reined in and advised by Haig to ensure his men were well rested for the eventual attack on the Line ; however , when news arrived of the British Third Army ' s victory at the Battle of Havrincourt , Haig ' s mind was changed . On the day following the success at Havrincourt , 13 September , Haig approved Rawlinson ' s plan to clear German outpost positions on the high ground before the Hindenburg Line , and preparations began . Battle . Very few tank s could be provided for the attack , so artillery would have to be relied upon to prepare the way , but in the interests of surprise they would not be able to provide a preliminary bombardment . The 1 , 488 guns would instead fire concentration shots at the operation ' s zero hour and support the infantry with a creeping barrage . 300 machine guns were also made available . All three corps of the Fourth Army were to take part , with V Corps of the Third Army on their left flank and on their right the French First Army ( under Marie Debeny ) . The objective consisted of a fortified zone roughly deep and long , supported by subsidiary trenches and strongpoints . The German Second and Eighteenth Armies were defending the area . On 18 September at 5 . 20am the attack opened and the troops advanced . The promised French assistance did not arrive , resulting in limited success for IX Corps on that flank . On the left flank , III Corps also found difficulty when attacking the fortifications erected at " the Knoll " , Quennemont and Guillemont farms , which were held determinedly by German troops . The story was a different one in the centre of the advance , however , where General John Monash ' s two Australian divisions achieved complete and dramatic success . These two divisions , the 1st and 4th , had a strength of some 6 , 800 men and in the course of the day captured 4 , 243 prisoners , 76 guns , 300 machine guns and 30 trench mortars . They took all their objectives and advanced to a distance of about three miles ( 5 km ) , on a four mile ( 6 km ) front . The Australian casualties were 1 , 260 officers and men ( 265 Killed , 1057 Wounded , 2 Captured ) . It should be pointed out , that this battle also saw the first mutiny of Australian forces , when 119 men of the Australian 1st Battalion refused to conduct an attack to help the neighbouring British unit . Rather than face charges of desertion in the face of the enemy , they were charged with being AWOL ( with all bar one soldier having their charges dropped after the armistice ) . The attack closed as an Allied victory , with 11 , 750 prisoners and 100 guns being taken . Aftermath . Although Épehy was not a massive success , it signalled an unmistakable message that the Germans were weakening and it encouraged the Allies to take further action with haste ( with the offensive continuing in the Battle of St . Quentin Canal ) , before the Germans could consolidate their positions . However , the failure of the British III Corp to take their last objective ( the outpost villages ) would mean that the American forces involved in the next battle ( the Battle of St . Quentin Canal ) would face a difficult task due to a hurried attack prior to the battle . Sometime after this battle , Rawlinson reported to Haig that German officers were saying frankly that " their men no longer wanted to face Australian soldiers " , a consequence of their results at Épehy .