Geoffrey Benn
Fromelles, Northern France, 19-20 July 1916. The début of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) on the Western Front and what has since been described by the Australian War Memorial as 'the worst 24 hours in Australia’s entire history'. In a single day the 5th Australian Division suffered 5,533 casualties. A fifth of the number of casualties sustained in eight months at Gallipoli.Within the slaughter of World War I, there were many reasons to celebrate victories and to hush up defeats. Throughout the allied and axis powers, there were many complicit helpers in these 'endeavours in truth'. However, what happens, when even years later the truth of what happened remains uncovered? Worse still, what happens when that truth is covered over by one’s own commanders and politicians? This is what happened with Fromelles and for 100 years the recognition due to the soldiers who fought so bravely for the AIF was resoundingly ignored. Now, following exhaustive and meticulous research, Geoffrey Benn’s study into the disaster of Fromelles, reveals the truth of a battle in which the soldiers conducted themselves magnificently and whose aftermath was shamed by those who should have known better.
