Fromelles Memorial Park and Military Cemetery

The Battle of Fromelles was fought by Australian and British forces on July 19-20, 1916. The aim of the operation was to seize a 4000-yard stretch of the German front line around a position known as Sugarloaf. It was hoped this action would prevent Germans from sending reinforcements to the Battle of the Somme, which had begun on July 1, 1916.

The operation was a disaster. At the center of the attack, neither the Australian nor British infantry, attacking across a particularly wide stretch of no-man's-land, managed to reach the Sugarloaf. Hundreds of men were killed, wounded or shot by German machine gunners who had survived the artillery bombardment. A section of the German line (where the Fromelles Memorial Park now stands) was seized by the Australians, but the Germans were able to work their way into the flanks of this vulnerable position. By early morning on July 20, the Australians were forced to withdraw to their original lines.

The Australian Fifth Division suffered 5,533 dead and wounded in one day. German casualties were light. This battle had no effect on the German ability to send forces south to the Somme. The dead were buried in two mass graves at the Fromelles Military Cemetery.