The Battle Of Fromelles Fought In World War I

The Battle of Fromelles during World War I began on 19th July 1916 and concluded the next day. The assault began close to the village of Fromelles in N.France and was intended to take the emphasis from the battle that was taking place fifty miles to the south at the Battle of the Somme which had began on 1st July 1916.

History has implied this particular battle was quite useless since it cost countless men their lives for little purpose. British and Australian troops were both asked to storm the frontlines throughout the Great War. This battle, which lasted only moments is thought to have claimed the lives of no less than five thousand Australians and fifteen hundred British troopers.

It would take 94 years before the troopers were laid to rest in a cemetery, as they were initially buried in a mass grave but now lay to rest quietly at the Pheasant Wood Cemetery which is dedicated to their extraordinary sacrifices. Fromelles had been a combined effort by the British forces and those who were in Australian military troops which were known as the Australian Imperial Force.

It is thought to have been a failure since the attack itself was unsuccessful in the attempts to create a diversion for the enemy. Among the causes historians suggest it was a failure was because the troops were told to go forward in the light of day, which made them a target for the enemy as they were in clear view from the moment they went over the top.

Currently you will find in the Fromelles Australian Memorial Park a statue that honours the numerous courageous troopers that were seen carrying out the injured. One of those troopers Sergeant Simon Fraser from the 57 Battalion tells the tale of how he personally began carrying one of the injured and heard a weak voice asking for help who he helped pull to safety. Sergeant Fraser would later lose his life the following year as he battled in the Great War.

Pheasant Wood is the one of the newest military cemeteries on the Western Front and many Australian soldiers who died at Fromelles .. Unique version for reprint here: The Battle Of Fromelles Fought In World War I.