The 100th Anniversary of a disaster.

[wombat666]

The worst 24 hours in Australian history occurred 100 years ago at Fromelles. Not the worst in Australian military history, the worst 24 hours in Australia's entire history.
The Australians suffered 5,533 casualties in one night. The Australian toll at Fromelles was equivalent to the total Australian casualties in the Boer War, Korean War and Vietnam War put together. It was a staggering disaster.

And this catastrophic attack at Fromelles - advocated and orchestrated by a British corps commander - had no redeeming tactical justification whatsoever. It was, in the words of a senior participant, Brigadier General H.E. "Pompey" Elliott, a "tactical abortion".
One-third of the Australian casualties at Fromelles were in Elliott's 15th Brigade.

[ftl818]

The worst 24 hours in Australian history occurred 100 years ago at Fromelles. Not the worst in Australian military history, the worst 24 hours in Australia's entire history.
The Australians suffered 5,533 casualties in one night. The Australian toll at Fromelles was equivalent to the total Australian casualties in the Boer War, Korean War and Vietnam War put together. It was a staggering disaster.

And this catastrophic attack at Fromelles - advocated and orchestrated by a British corps commander - had no redeeming tactical justification whatsoever. It was, in the words of a senior participant, Brigadier General H.E. "Pompey" Elliott, a "tactical abortion".
One-third of the Australian casualties at Fromelles were in Elliott's 15th Brigade.

Yesterday BBC2 broadcasted a one hour documentary about the Battle of the Somme.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07lst9b



Paul

[hubbabubba]

Just fell on this site HERE after having seen your thread.

In Canada, we entertain the basic same feelings for the Dieppe's butchery in WWII.

[roger-wilco-66]

These are unspeakable, terrible scenarios, and I am truly horrified looking at these deeply cynical decisions (taken by all sides) to send thousands of fellow humans into certain death. How can anyone responsible for these decisions live with the monstrous consequences.
Many years ago I was part of a historian group that visited Verdun once a year and I've been to places there were you normally can't enter, like underground structures under the fortresses and restricted areas (we had permits). I did that for 7 years. In these untouched places, because of the lack of vandalism and looting, were a lot of genuine signs that, to a empathic or sensible and historically educated individual, make a very intimate impression about what it was like back then. It must have been hell. I have never been to a place more grizzly than Verdun.


Mark

[Penzoil3]

Then there was the 23,000 lost in six weeks at Pozieres. almost as bad as Gallipoli.

Sue

[wombat666]

Just a couple of notes on Pozières.


At 4 am on 7 August, shortly before dawn, the Germans launched their final counter-attack.
On a front of 400 yards (370 m) they overran the thinly occupied O.G. Lines — most of the Australians were sheltering in the old German dugouts — and advanced towards Pozières.

For the Australians, the crisis had arrived. At this moment, Lieutenant Albert Jacka, who had won the Victoria Cross at Gallipoli, emerged from a dugout where he and seven men of his platoon had been isolated, and charged the German line from the rear.
His example inspired other Australians scattered across the plateau to join the action and a fierce, hand-to-hand fight developed. Jacka was badly wounded but as support arrived from the flanks, the Australians gained the advantage and most of the surviving Germans were captured. No more attempts to retake Pozières were made.

After the battle it became apparent that General Birdwood had lost much of his Gallipoli popularity through his failure to oppose Gough's impetuous desire for "quick results" and his "lack of thought" at Pozières.
Soon after, Australian troops rejected his personal appeal for the introduction of conscription, voting against this recommendation largely because of their reluctance to see additional men subjected to the horrors of piecemeal attacks.

The Australians had suffered heavy losses; they had lost as many men in the Battle for Pozières in six weeks as they had in the whole Gallipoli Campaign.
One of the Official British Historians strongly praised the independent initiative shown by small sub-units of men in clearing the enemy from positions in the village, but at the same time attributed much of the severity of losses to Australian inexperience and their "reckless daring."

There were two attempts by the Australian Government to pass Conscription legislation during the 1914-1918 years, both soundly defeated by the people.
Aside from the brief and highly unpopular 'lucky dip' conscription during the 1960s, Australian forces have always been voluntary.
And a footnote on the Vietnam era conscripts, based on my personal experience, all were bloody good soldiers!