Cross of Sacrifice seen through the arch entrance to the CWGC Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery, Fromelles, France.
In the early evening of 19 July 1916, near the village of Fromelles, in northern France, two infantry divisions newly arrived on the Western Front, the 5th Australian and British 61st (South Midland) attacked a 4,000 yard section of the German frontline centred on a notorious strongpoint called the "Sugar Loaf". Advancing over unfavourable ground, in clear view of resolute and expectant defenders, the attackers suffered terrible casualties in a matter of minutes. The action turned into a bloody catastrophe - the Australians had over 5,500 killed, wounded and missing; 61st Division reported over 1,500 killed, wounded and missing. No tactical advantages resulted from the action and it remains the worst day in Australian military history. Completed in July 2010, Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery is the first new war cemetery to be built by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in fifty years. The cemetery contains 250 Australian and British soldiers, whose remains were recovered in 2009 from a number of mass graves located behind nearby Pheasant Wood, where they had been buried by the Germans following the disastrous battle of Fromelles on 19 and 20 July 1916.
Size: 3593px × 2375px
Location: Fromelles, Nord, France
Photo credit: © Maurice Savage / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 19, 1916, 5th, 61st, arch, archway, australian, barry, battle, battlefield, battlefields, british, cemetery, commission, commonwealth, cross, cwgc, edwards, entrance, france, fromelles, front, gate, graves, great, july, military, pheasant, remembrance, sacrifice, war, western, wood, world, ww1, wwi
