The Battle of Fromelles in July of 1916 propelled the 1st AIF into the charnel house of the Western Front.
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The highly successful withdrawal from Gallipoli, organised by Australian General Brudenell White, saw no loss of life at all.
The troops were once again amassed in Egypt before heading to France.
In July of 1916 the men arrived at the Western Front and like most formations new to the main arena in the biggest war that has ever been, they were given a relatively undemanding initiation in a quiet part of the line.
Only twice since the Western Front had been stabilised had there been fierce fighting in this sector, near the town of Fromelles.
The force had scarcely begun to familiarise themselves with their new surroundings when they received startling news they would be participating in the 5th Division’s imminent full-scale attack against the Germans.
Brigadier General ‘Pompey’ Elliott was profoundly concerned as the operation seemed inadvisable for a variety of reasons. Preparations would have to be rushed; the artillery was inexperienced and no-mans land was more than 400 metres wide.
Elliott made known his misgiving of the proposed battle and asked that his concerns be given to Sir Douglas Haig. The attack was delayed but not cancelled, and a date of the 19th of July was fixed. A date now infamous in Australian military history and the worst in Australian history where 5533 casualties occurred in 24 hours.
This was the equivalent of the total Australian losses of the Boer War, Korean War and Vietnam War combined.
The attack had no redeeming tactical justification as Elliott lost one-third of his 15th Brigade.
The Rural City of Horsham was not immune from casualties. The youngest being Private Edwin Ernest Griffiths of the 31st Battalion.
When he enlisted he gave his age as 21, in fact, he had just turned 18 years of age. He was one of four children of Edwin and Anne Griffiths and had been an apprentice watchmaker at Sacks Jewellers on the corner of Firebrace Street and Roberts Avenue.
He had arrived on the battlefields in June of 1916 and one month later was killed in action. The Horsham Times of September 1916 stated “He was a bright, active capable youth, was popular with his comrades and much beloved of his friends.
“He went down doing his best in the great cause for which Britain and her allies stand.
“A sporting house at his old school, Horsham High, was named in his honour.”
Another Horsham man, Private James Plozza was also among the 14 Horsham deaths of the battle.
James was born at McKenzie Creek and enlisted as a 30-year-old in 1915. Following training in Australia and Egypt, he arrived on the battlefields of France in June of 1916. Less than one month later he was killed in action.
Jim had set up regular communication by letter with his former school at Haven, some of which are preserved at Haven.
Two years after the news he had been killed in action his parents received news that Jim had been seen in a convalescent home in England. A series of letters between his parents and the army ensued confirming his death.
We can only imagine the emotions for his family at this time.
The hell of Fromelles is hard to imagine. Whole battalions of men just wiped out by the stammering German machine guns. The air was described as like a flat criss-cross lattice of death with hundreds of bullets whirling like knives.
Lieutenant David Doyle described the scene as “the most awful scene of slaughter imaginable. If you gathered the stock of a thousand butcher shops, cut it into small pieces and strewn about it would give you a faint conception of what shambles those trenches were.”
The incompetent and arrogant British Corps Commander, General Sir Richard Haking, wrote of the virtual destruction of the Australian 5th Division and the British 61st Division: “I think the attack, although failed, has done both of the divisions a great deal of good.”
Brigadier General Elliott greeted shocked survivors as they returned with tears streaming down his face, as he shook hands with the pitiful remnant of his brigade.
Much affected by his wartime experiences, Elliott committed suicide in 1931. General Haking died in his sleep in 1945.