Fromelles 19th /20th July 1916

The Battle of Fromelles is widely regarded as a disaster for the Allies, It resulted from a plan to divert German attention from the Somme, but in a period of just over 24 hours on the 19 th July 1916 the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) suffered 5,533 casualties including 1,900 Killed.

On one of those smudgy French days when the mist clings close to the damp earth, the people of this tiny town will never shake the memory of those brave young Australians, who lay beneath the ground at Fromelles, in graves marked and unmarked and some, still, in the “old no man’s land” where the German guns mowed them down.

Fromelles was the first bloody steps of the Australians into the war on the Western front.

Pozieres 23rd July 1916

Pozieres, a small village in the Somme valley in France, was the scene of bitter and costly fighting for the 1st, 2nd and 4th Australian Divisions in mid 1916.

The village was captured initially by the 1st Division on 23 July 1916. The division clung to its gains despite almost continuous artillery fire and repeated German counter-attacks but suffered heavily. By the time it was relieved on 27 July it had suffered 5,285 casualties.

In a world we cannot imagine today, many Australians faced horrific challenges. In the Battle of Pozieres Australian soldiers also withstood heavy artillery bombardments up to the 7th August 1916, as the Germans made one last attempt to retake Pozieres.

The British commander was sternly criticized by Australians in allowing the continuation of the offensive at such a high casualty rate... this was on top of the failure at Fromelles some days and weeks earlier to the north of the Somme, where Australia had its worst day in history.

The people of France show their respect every day to those brave young men who never returned to their homeland, but remain, in the care and the hearts of the people of France

Lest We Forget