Australians are encouraged to remember the anniversary of Australia’s first engagement on the Western Front and most costly day of war, the Battle of Fromelles 91 years ago, the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Bruce Billson, said today. Mr Billson said that on 19 July 1916, troops from the Australian 5th Division, together with British 61st Division forces, assembled in trenches across the fields of Fromelles, France, for the first major battle that Australians fought on the Western Front.

“Our soldiers left their trenches to attack and capture German lines at Fromelles, in an area known as the Sugar-loaf salient, with the aim of diverting enemy forces from the Battle of Somme, which was raging away to the south,” Mr Billson said.

“During the night of the 19th and 20th of July, the Australians were initially successful, capturing part of the German line, and withstanding a strong enemy counter-attack when reinforcements did not arrive. The next morning they were forced to withdraw back over no-man’s-land.

“By the morning of the 20th, in a battle that lasted just over 24 hours, the 5th Division suffered more than 5500 casualties, rendering it incapable of offensive action for many months.

“The 61st British Division suffered more than 1500 casualties with German forces little more than 1000.

“Many Australians who died in the battle had survived the Gallipoli campaign the year before. They were soldiers who fought with courage and honour.

“They faced an enemy force who had watched their preparations and knew they were coming. The enemy held the high ground and all the advantages,” Mr Billson said.

From devastating battles at places such as Pozieres, Fromelles, Mouquet Farm, Bullecourt, Messines, Ypres, Passchendaele and Amiens, some 46,000 Australian soldiers, more than five times the number killed at Gallipoli, have their final resting place on the Western Front. “This year we remember the 90th anniversaries of the 1917 battles on the Western Front including Bullecourt and Ypres,” Mr Billson said.

“All the Australians who served on the Western Front have now passed away, but their legacy remains. As a nation, we are forever grateful for the service and sacrifice of our past and present servicemen and women. We will remember them and their place in our history.”

Information on the Battle of Fromelles is available on the Australian War Memorial website, www.awm.gov.au.