Capture of the walls of Le Quesnoy, 1920

Capture of the walls of Le Quesnoy by George Edmund Butler, 1920.

Butler’s painting shows how the men of the New Zealand Rifle Brigade liberated the fortified town of Le Quesnoy on 4 November 1918. Rather than risk civilian lives in an artillery bombardment, the New Zealanders used a ladder to scale the ancient walls surrounding the town. Not only does this painting illustrate the qualities of courage and initiative that came to define the achievements of the New Zealand soldiers, it also manages to capture a sense of the teamwork, solidarity and mateship that became one of the trademarks of the life among the Anzacs.

• Read biography of George Butler