Battle of Fromelles

Battle of Fromelles
Part of First World War
Members of the Australian 53rd Battalion on July 19, 1916 before the Battle of Fromelles. Only three of the men pictured survived the battle and all three were wounded.
Date July 19 - July 20, 1916 Location 50°36′22.5″N 2°51′16.9″E / 50.60625°N 2.854694°E / 50.60625; 2.854694Coordinates: 50°36′22.5″N 2°51′16.9″E / 50.60625°N 2.854694°E / 50.60625; 2.854694 Fromelles, Nord, France Result German victory
Belligerents
Australia United Kingdom	German Empire
Commanders
Richard Haking	Gustav Scanzoni von Lichtenfels
Strength
30,000+	10,000-15,000
Casualties and losses
5,533 Australian dead, wounded, or captured 1,500 British dead or wounded.	1,500 dead or wounded

The Battle of Fromelles, sometimes known as the Action at Fromelles or the Battle of Fleurbaix, occurred in France on July 19-20, 1916, during World War I. The action was intended partly as a diversion to Battle of the Somme, that was taking place about 80 kilometres (50 mi) to the south and an operation to retake a salient just north of the German-occupied village of Fromelles, 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) from the city of Lille,

Fromelles was a combined operation between British troops and the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). It would be the first occasion that the AIF saw action on the Western Front.

After a night and a day of fighting, 1,500 British and 5,533 Australian soldiers were killed, wounded or taken prisoner. The Australian War Memorial describes the battle as "the worst 24 hours in Australia's entire history."^[1]

It was a decisive victory for Germany, and the Australian and British losses were sustained without the Allies gaining any ground.

Battle plan

A well-defended German bunker in the Fromelles salient, July 1916.

The salient, which was contained within all the area's available high ground, pointed north-west and was nicknamed the "sugarloaf" by the Allies due to its distinctive shape. It was held by the 6th Bavarian Reserve Division. The salient's small size and height allowed the Germans to easily survey and cover no man's land on either flank.

The British General Richard Haking's battle plan called for infantry to rush past the first line of German trenches in a surprise attack during broad daylight, following an artillery bombardment, and to advance a total of about 400 metres to a secondary line.

The Australian 5th Division, which had only arrived in France a matter of days before the attack would assault the left flank of the salient. The British 61st Division (also known as the 2nd South Midland Division) would attack the right flank.

But by the time the attack was ready to be launched, its purpose as a preliminary diversion to the main action at the Somme had passed. However Haking was keen to proceed.

The battle

The infantry went "over the top" at 6pm after 11 hours of preliminary bombardment. Most elements of the Australian 8th and 14th Brigades quickly gained their objectives. However, upon reaching the supposed secondary line, they instead found a ditch full of rainwater, which provided few means of defending their gains. The 32nd Battalion (8 Bde), on the extreme eastern flank, suffered high casualties while attacking a German stronghold in the ruins of Ferme Delangre (Delangre Farm). Some elements of the 14th Brigade reached a main road, 400 metres south of the Allied line, before withdrawing to the ditch.

But on the right flank, the Australian 15th Brigade and the British 184th Brigade were cut to pieces while attempting to cross a narrower section of no man's land, closer to German machine guns. A survivor, W. H. "Jimmy" Downing, later recalled: "[t]he air was thick with bullets, swishing in a flat, crisscrossed lattice of death. Hundreds were mown down in the flicker of an eyelid, like great rows of teeth knocked from a comb."^[2]

The unfolding disaster was compounded when the 61st Division asked the 15th Brigade to join a renewed assault at 9pm, but quickly cancelled its attack without informing the Australians. Consequently half of the Australian 58th Battalion made another futile attempt to capture the salient.

The Germans succeeded in driving a wedge between the 14th and 15th Brigades, splitting the Australian forces. Increasingly isolated and out-flanked, the 8th and 14th Brigades were forced to withdraw the following morning. The Germans by this time had set up machine gun enfilades, and the resulting crossfire inflicted devastating casualties on the retreating Australians.

Aftermath

The attack completely failed as a diversion, when its limited nature became obvious to the German defenders. A communiqué released to the press by British GHQ was not favourably received by the Australians. It read: "Yesterday evening, south of Armentières, we carried out some important raids on a front of two miles in which Australian troops took part. About 140 German prisoners were captured."

The battle was responsible for one of the greatest losses of Australian lives in one 24-hour period, surpassed only by later World War I actions like the Battle of Bullecourt. The 5,533 casualties were equivalent to the combined total Australian losses in the Boer War, Korean War and Vietnam War.^[1] The 5th Division was effectively incapacitated for many months afterwards. Two battalions were effectively destroyed in the battle and had to be rebuilt: out of 887 personnel from the 60th Battalion, only one officer and 106 other ranks survived; the 32nd Battalion sustained 718 casualties.^[3] The Australian losses and conduct of the high command also significantly damaged relations between the AIF and the British.

It is believed that Adolf Hitler, then a 27-year-old corporal and a message runner in the 16th Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment took part in the battle ^[4]. Hitler served on the Aubers-Fromelles sector from March 1915 until September 1916.

Mass grave re-discovered in 2008

The "Cobbers" memorial at the Australian Forces cemetery at Fromelles, northern France

The bodies of Allied soldiers killed in the area re-taken by the Germans were buried in mass graves shortly after the battle. They were transported to sites behind German lines and buried in pits. Most of these pits were discovered by official post-war burial campaigns during the 1920s, which resulted in their re-interral in Imperial War Graves Commission (later known as the Commonwealth War Graves Commission; CWGC) cemeteries. The VC Corner Australian Cemetery, one kilometre north of Fromelles, where most of the AIF personnel killed in the battle were buried, is one such cemetery; the only large-scale, entirely Australian cemetery in France.

There was speculation for many years regarding the existence of an unmarked and forgotten mass grave near Fromelles, containing the remains of Allied soldiers killed during the battle and subsequently buried by the Germans.

Research by an Australian amateur historian, Lambis Englezos, identified a site at 50°36′36.36″N 2°51′17.10″E / 50.6101°N 2.85475°E / 50.6101; 2.85475, in a field at the edge of Bois Faisan ("Pheasant Wood"), on the outskirts of Fromelles. Bodies were transported there by German soldiers on a narrow gauge trench railway on July 22, 1916, before being buried in eight pits measuring approximately 10 metres long, 2.2 metres wide and five metres deep. Englezos believed that these grave pits had not been discovered during the official post-war burial campaigns.

In 2007, a non-invasive geophysical survey, commissioned by the Australian government, was conducted by Glasgow University Archaeological Research Department (GUARD).^[5][6] The survey gave readings consistent with pits containing the remains of hundreds of soldiers. A subsequent metal detector survey led to the discovery of Australian Army artefacts at the site.

On May 25, 2008, Australian defence personnel minister Warren Snowdon said there was no doubt that bodies of Australian soldiers were buried there. That same day, an archaeological team from GUARD began an exploratory dig at the site. The first conclusive evidence of human remains was discovered on May 29. Six burial pits were excavated and human skeletal remains were found in five of them. Only 20% of the area of the pits was exposed, to minimise disturbance of the remains. Numerous small artefacts, such as uniform badges and buttons, were recovered, confirming that the bodies were Australian and British. It was estimated that several hundred soldiers had been buried at the site. First World War historian Peter Barton and military archaeologist Dr Tony Pollard have described the importance of the find and how the excavation work will be done in video footage of excavation.^[7]

It was announced on July 31, 2008 that all human remains would be exhumed from the mass burial pits and re-buried with full military honours in individual plots at a new war cemetery, situated as close as possible to where the soldiers were found. Exhumation and re-interment will be carried out under the auspices of the CWGC.^[8]

The "VC Corner" Australian Cemetery near Fromelles.

In April 2009 it was announced that DNA samples would be taken from the remains to increase the chances of identification.^[9] The original burial location was unsuitable for a permanent cemetery because of regular flooding, and difficulty of access for visitors. The site for the new permanent CWGC cemetery was selected in late 2008 and is located approximately 120 metres from where the bodies were found.^[10][11] It will be very similar in appearance to other CWGC war cemeteries in France and will be built to the same standard.

Exhumation of bodies at the Bois Faisan site began in May 2009 and ended on 14 September, at which point the skeletal remains of 250 allied soldiers had been recovered.^[12] However, concerns were raised by scientists at the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA (ACAD) that the timescales were too short to allow a satisfactory analysis of the degraded DNA samples, and that the number of identifications would be less than otherwise possible.^[13] During early phases of the excavation there was criticism in the Australian press regarding Oxford Archaeology which led the excavation. A Belgian World War I archaeology expert who was seconded to the Fromelles project called their methods a "nightmare", and there were concerns expressed that work on protecting the site had not been undertaken, or had been undertaken only after damage had already been done.^[14] These reported concerns were rebutted^[15] and an apology issued.^[16]

A number of visits were arranged during the exhumation exercise to allow access to the site and close scrutiny of the methods being employed. Among those who visited were independent and senior archaeologists from the UK and France, senior UK and Australian government officials, and Lord Roper, Chair of the British All Party Parliamentary War Graves and Battlefields Heritage Group. All were extremely reassured by what they saw.^[17] Statements were issued by UK and Australian Government Ministers stating their full satisfaction with the work being undertaken by Oxford Archaeology.^[18][19]

Lambis Englezos spent a significant amount of time in Fromelles during the fieldwork stage of the project, and accessed the site a number of times. He provided great assistance, particularly in briefing members of the project team on details of the battle and guiding them around its key sites. On June 7, 2009 Lambis was honoured by the Australian government, when he was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM), in the General Division.^[20] His citation read: "For service to the community through research and advocacy roles relating to Australian soldiers of the Great War buried in Fromelles, France".

Gallery

A panoramic of the Fromelles salient taken from an observatory constructed by German forces in 1914. Note that the image is taken from the high ground. A German blockhouse between Fromelles and Aubers in October 2007.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Ross McMullin, "Disaster at Fromelles" (Wartime Magazine, Issue 36, 2006) Access date: April 14, 2007.
2. ^ Ross McMullin, "The forgotten fallen" (Sydney Morning Herald, July 19, 2002) (Sydney Morning Herald, July 19, 2002) Access date: April 14, 2007.
3. ^ Mark Day, "Inside the mincing machine" (The Australian, April 14, 2007) Access date: April 14, 2007.
4. ^ BBC News - Team's mass war grave discovery
5. ^ http://www.guard.arts.gla.ac.uk
6. ^ BBC NEWS | UK | WWI 'grave' revives forgotten battle
7. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7428393.stm
8. ^ BBC News. WWI grave troops to be reburied
9. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/berkshire/8008355.stm
10. ^ http://www.cwgc.org/news.asp?newsid=98&menuname=&menu=sub&view=yes&id=13&menuid=0&s_month=&m_name=
11. ^ http://www.cwgc.org/content.asp?menuid=3&submenuid=13&id=36&menuname=Fromelles%20Images&menu=subsub
12. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/8247278.stm
13. ^ ABC Radio National: Science Show, "DNA from old grave sites" Access date: July 20, 2009.
14. ^ [1]
15. ^ http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/news/features/4563273.Uncovering_the_real_betrayal
16. ^ http://www.australia.to/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12384:fromelles-war-grave-recovery-proceeding-as-planeed-by-oxford-archaelogy-apology&catid=71:world-news&Itemid=201
17. ^ http://mikepitts.wordpress.com/2009/08/29/back-from-fromelles/
18. ^ http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/HistoryAndHonour/FromellesExcavationEndsAfter250BodiesRecovered.htm
19. ^ http://www.minister.defence.gov.au/gregCombettpl.cfm?CurrentId=9459
20. ^ WA Today, "War grave detective receives honour" Access date: June 14, 2009.

Books

• C. E. W. Bean, Official Histories – First World War Volume III – The Australian Imperial Force in France, 1916 (12th edition), Canberra, Australian War Memorial, 1941.
• Paul Cobb, Fromelles 1916, Stroud [UK], Tempus Publishing (ISBN 978-0-7524-4174-0), 2007.
• Robin Corfield, Don't forget me cobber: The Battle of Fromelles, Second Edition, The Miegunyah Press / Melbourne University Publishing, 2009. [Described by Les Carlyon as "the definitive account".]
• Patrick Lindsay, Fromelles: Australia's Darkest Day and the Dramatic Discovery of Our Fallen World War One Diggers (updated ed), Prahran [Australia], Hardie Grant Books, (ISBN 978-1-7406-6684-8) 2008.

External links

• The Fromelles Mass Grave Project (Official Website)
• "Remains found at WWI 'mass grave'" BBC, 2 June 2008
• BBC video footage of the Fromelles excavation #1
• BBC video footage of the Fromelles excavation #2
• Ross McMullin, "Disaster at Fromelles", Wartime Magazine, Issue 36, 2006. (Published by the Australian War Memorial)
• Computer Information Agency, 1996-2004,CIAOPS World Guides, "WWI Australian Battlefields"
• Ross McMullin, July 19, 2002, Sydney Morning Herald, "The forgotten fallen".
• February 7, 2007, The Australian, "New probe of WWI Digger Battlefield"
• "WWI 'mass grave' found in France" BBC, 8 June 2007
• "WWI 'grave' revives forgotten battle" BBC, 8 June 2007
• Video of Fromelles, showing the battlefield
• Neil Wilson July 20, 2007 Missing Diggers mystery solved
• Grave Found?
• UKTV website {reference only}
• Video of VC Corner and Australian Memorial Park, Fromelles. Jason Fielding
• Video of Pheasant Wood, Fromelles - September 2004. Jason Fielding
• Documentary by Dr Alan Young on The Untold Story of the Western Front, Fromelles, the bloodiest day in Australian history"