“The battle of Fromelles on 19 July 1916 was a bloody initiation for Australian soldiers to warfare on the Western Front. Soldiers of the newly arrived 5th Australian Division, together with the British 61st Division, were ordered to attack strongly fortified German front line positions near the Aubers Ridge in French Flanders. The attack was intended as a feint to hold German reserves from moving south to the Somme where a large Allied offensive had begun on 1 July. The feint was a disastrous failure. Australian and British soldiers assaulted over open ground in broad daylight and under direct observation and heavy fire from the German lines. Over 5,500 Australians became casualties. Almost 2,000 of them were killed in action or died of wounds and some 400 were captured. This is believed to be the greatest loss by a single division in 24 hours during the entire First World War. Some consider Fromelles the most tragic event in Australia’s history.”

This is an extract from an article on the battle of Fromelles that I found at the Australian War Memorial Museum (internet site) in Canberra. Because today is Anzac Day, and because Anzac Day is most famously associated with Gallipoli, I thought it worthwhile to highlight one of the many other battles that the AIF fought in in WW1.

In fact the AIF fought widely across the Western Front and in the Middle East, but it is the Gallipoli landings and the subsequent defeat that lives most vividly in the imagination. It is not hard to understand why. A dramatic landing under heavy fire in the wrong place, a terrible slog to get a purchase on the cliffs and slopes. A long period of attrition in trenches, with the Turks having the home advantage all the while. Finally, the cleverly thought deceits that allowed for a safe mass evacuation. Some of the elements of the campaign look forward to another war – D-Day and Dunkirk.

Today we remember those servicemen and women who fought and died for Australia. One can hate war and still be grateful for their sacrifice.

‘At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.’

Lest We Forget