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 Fromelles, Nord, France Result German victory
Combatants
‎Australia United Kingdom	German Empire
Commanders
Richard Haking	Gustav Scanzoni von Lichtenfels
Strength
30,000+	10,000-15,000
Casualties
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. It was fought as the Battle of the Somme raged, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) to the south. The battle of Fromelles is significant as the first occasion on which the First Australian Imperial Force (AIF) saw action on the Western Front. Because 5,533 Australian soldiers were killed, wounded or taken prisoner in an operation which was a total failure, 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. “The Great War ” redirects here. ... Soldiers of the 53rd Battalion, Australian 5th Division, waiting to attack during the Battle of Fromelles, July 19, 1916. ... July 19 is the 200th day (201st in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 165 days remaining. ... July 20 is the 201st day (202nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 164 days remaining. ... 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ... Fromelles is a village in France in the Nord-Pas de Calais area. ... Extent of Flemish in the Arrondissement of Dunkirk, 1874 and 1972 Nord (French: North) is a département in the north of France. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_German_Empire. ... Motto Gott mit Uns (German: God with us”) Anthem Heil dir im Siegerkranz (unofficial) Territory of the German Empire in 1914, prior to World War I Capital Berlin Language(s) Official: German Unofficial minority languages: Danish, French, Frisian, Polish, Sorbian Government Constitutional monarchy Emperor  - 1871–1888 William I  - 1888 Frederick... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... Richard Haking (born 1862 - died 1945) was a British General in the First World War. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_German_Empire. ... Combatants British Empire Australia Canada New Zealand Newfoundland South Africa United Kingdom France German Empire Commanders Douglas Haig Joseph Joffre Max von Gallwitz Fritz von Below Strength 13 British & 11 French divisions (initial) 51 British and 48 French divisions (final) 10. ... Combatants British Empire United Kingdom Australia New Zealand South Africa Newfoundland India France German Empire Commanders Douglas Haig Henry Rawlinson Ferdinand Foch Fritz von Below Strength 13 British divisions 6 French divisions 6 divisions Casualties British: 57,470 French: 7,000 8,000 dead or wounded 2,200 prisoners The... Combatants United Kingdom South Africa German Empire Commanders Henry Rawlinson Fritz von Below Strength 5 divisions 2 divisions Casualties 9,000 dead, wounded, or missing 1,400 captured The Battle of Bazentin Ridge, launched by the British Fourth Army at dawn on 14 July 1916, marked the start of the... The Battle of Pozières was a two week struggle for the French village of Pozières, and the ridge on which it stands, during the middle stages of the 1916 Battle of the Somme. ... Mouquet farm, Pozières by Fred Leist, 1917. ... The Battle of Guillemont was a British assault on the German-held village of Guillemont during the 1916 Battle of the Somme. ... The Battle of Ginchy took place on 9 September 1916 during the Battle of the Somme when the British 16th (Irish) Division captured the German-held village of Ginchy. ... The Battle of Flers-Courcelette, which began on 15 September 1916 and lasted for one week, was the third and last of the large-scale offensives mounted by the British Army during the Battle of the Somme. ... The Battle of Morval, which began on 25 September 1916, was an attack by the British Fourth Army on the German-held villages of Morval, Gueudecourt and Lesboeufs during the Battle of the Somme. ... The Battle of Thiepval Ridge was the first large offensive mounted by the British Reserve Army of Lieutenant General Hubert Gough during the Battle of the Somme. ... The Battle of Le Transloy was the final offensive mounted by the British Fourth Army during the 1916 Battle of the Somme. ... The Battle of the Ancre Heights was a prolonged battle of attrition in October 1916 during the Battle of the Somme. ... The Battle of the Ancre was the final act of the 1916 Battle of the Somme. ... July 19 is the 200th day (201st in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 165 days remaining. ... 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... Combatants British Empire Australia Canada New Zealand Newfoundland South Africa United Kingdom France German Empire Commanders Douglas Haig Joseph Joffre Max von Gallwitz Fritz von Below Strength 13 British & 11 French divisions (initial) 51 British and 48 French divisions (final) 10. ... The First Australian Imperial Force (1st AIF) was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during World War I. It was formed from August 15, 1914, following Britains declaration of war on Germany. ... For most of World War I, Allied Forces, predominantly those of France and the United Kingdom, were stalled at trenches on the Western Front. ... The eternal flame at the heart of the Memorial keeps the spirit of the fallen alive The Australian War Memorial The Australian War Memorial is Australias national memorial to the members of all its armed forces and supporting organizations who have died in the wars of the Commonwealth of... Map of the World showing the participants in World War I. Those fighting on the Allies side (at one point or another) are depicted in green, the Central Powers in orange, and neutral countries in gray. ...

The action, just north of the German-occupied village of Fromelles, 16 km (10 mi) from the city of Lille, was intended partly as a diversion to the larger battle, and also at taking a German salient. Fromelles is a village in France in the Nord-Pas de Calais area. ... New city flag Traditional coat of arms Motto: – Location Coordinates Time Zone CET (GMT +1) Administration Country France Region Nord-Pas de Calais Department Nord (59) Intercommunality Urban Community of Lille Métropole Mayor Martine Aubry  (PS) (since 2001) City Statistics Land area¹ 39. ... In military terms, a salient is a battlefield feature that projects into enemy territory. ...

The forces and objectives

The salient, held by the 6th Bavarian Reserve Division, pointed north-west, and was called the "Sugar Loaf" by the Allies, due to its distinctive shape. Being small it provided an advantage to the occupiers, by allowing them to survey and cover the stretches of 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, the most inexperienced of the Australian units, would see action a matter of days after arriving in France, on the left flank of the salient. The British 61st Division (also known as the 2nd South Midland Division) would attack the right flank. 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. Richard Haking (born 1862 - died 1945) was a British General in the First World War. ... The Australian 5th Division was formed in February 1916, during the First World War as part of the expansion of the Australian Imperial Force infantry brigades. ... The British 61st (2nd South Midland) Division was a second-line Territorial Army division raised in 1915 as a reserve for the first-line battalions of the 48th (South Midland) Division. ...

The battle

The infantry went "over the top" at 6pm, after 11 hours of preliminary bombardment. The Australian 8th and 14th Brigades quickly gained their objectives. However, upon reaching the secondary line, they found no trenches and no viable means of defending their gains. The 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: In military science a brigade is a military unit that is part of a division and includes regiments (where that level exists), or (in modern armies) is composed of several battalions (typically two to four) and directly attached supporting units. ... 29th Infantry Battalion, 2nd Division, Canadian Corps. ...

The 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 in 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. Symbol of the Polish 1st Legions Infantry Division in NATO code A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of around ten to twenty thousand soldiers. ... Symbol of the Austrian 14th Armoured Battalion in NATO military graphic symbols A battalion is a military unit usually consisting of between two and six companies and typically commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel. ...

The Germans succeeded in driving a wedge between the 14th and 15th Brigades, splitting the Allied 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. Enfilade and defilade are military tactical concepts used to describe a fighting units exposure to enemy fire. ...

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." Armentières is a commune and a canton of the département of Nord, in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais région, in France. ...

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 Australian casualties were equivalent to the total Australian losses in the Boer War, Korean War and Vietnam War combined.^[3] 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.^[4] The Australian losses and conduct of the high command also significantly damaged relations between the AIF and the British. There were two Boer Wars: the First Boer War (1880–1881) the Second Boer War (1899–1902). ... Combatants United Nations:  Republic of Korea,  Australia,  Belgium,  Luxembourg,  Canada,  Colombia,  Ethiopia,  France,  Greece,  Luxembourg,  Netherlands,  New Zealand,  Philippines,  South Africa,  Thailand,  Turkey,  United Kingdom,  United States Medical staff:  Denmark,  Australia,  Italy,  Norway,  Sweden Communist states:  Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,  Peoples Republic of China,  Soviet Union Commanders... Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Democratic Republic of Vietnam People’s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength US 1,000,000 South Korea 300,000 Australia 48,000... Symbol of the Austrian 14th Armoured Battalion in NATO military graphic symbols A battalion is a military unit usually consisting of between two and six companies and typically commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel. ...

It is believed that one of the German soldiers involved in the battle was Adolf Hitler, then a 27 year old corporal and a message runner in the 16th Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment, which was defending the Sugar Loaf salient. Hitler served on the Aubers-Fromelles sector from March 1915 until September 1916. Hitler redirects here. ... Corporal is a rank in use in some form by most militaries, police forces or other uniformed organizations around the world. ... 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar). ... 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ...

Footnotes

1. ^ 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. ^ McMullin, 2006, Ibid.
4. ^ Mark Day, "Inside the mincing machine" (The Australian, April 14, 2007) Access date: April 14, 2007.

External links

• 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"