ARTOIS - Fromelles 1916

In the first part of this photo impression our route will focus on the battlefield of Fromelles and the fate of the Australian 5th Division during the Battle of Fromelles of 19-20 July 1916. We start at Fleurbaix with a visit to two British military cemeteries, Rue Pétillon and Le Trou Aid Post, the Layes brook, the Australian VC Corner Cemetery, the Cobbers Memorial, Pheasant Wood and the Fromelles Pheasant Wood Military Cemetery. In between I will explain briefly in three frames the background of these sites during the Battle of Fromelles. In the second part of this photo impression our route focuses on the German concrete relics of the sites of action of the Fromelles battlefield. We will visit bunkers in the Sugar Loaf Salient and in the front sectors of les Rouges Bancs, Delangré Farm and la Boutillerie. We will make a short detour to Fournes-en-Weppes to continue our bunker route via le Maisnil and we will finish  in the Rue du Bas, north of Radinghem-en-Weppes.

Two graves of victims of the Battle of Aubers Ridge of 1915 of the Indian Corps, a Naik (Lance Corporal) and a Sepoy (Soldier).

The German Raids of 5 and 30 May 1916

One of the first encounters of the Australian soldiers with the German forces occurred on the evening of 5 May 1916, when units of the 16th Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment (B.R.I.R. 16) raided the Australian trenches south west of Fleurbaix around Le Bridoux. After a withering artillery and mortar bombardment that caused dozens of casualties, German soldiers entered the Australian positions and captured a small number of prisoners before retiring to their own lines. For the next few weeks, activity along this sector of the front increased as German and Australian artillery units regularly exchanged fire and German snipers claimed a steady toll of casualties.

30 May

On 30 May, the Germans staged another raid, this time attacking a salient held by the 11th Battalion AIF at Cordonnerie Farm. British and Australian miners had been tunnelling in this part of the line, and the objective of the German raid was to identify the Commonwealth regiments in the area and destroy mine shafts. At 8.15 in the evening, the Germans unleashed a devastating bombardment of artillery shells and heavy trench mortar bombs. This intense fire continued for over an hour and twenty minutes and completely destroyed the flimsy breastworks behind which the Australian troops were sheltering. Despite the noise and thick clouds of shell smoke, the men of the 11th rallied well and began firing Lewis gun rounds toward the German troops who started advancing across no man’s land just after 9.00 pm. The raiders managed to enter the Australian positions and capture a handful of prisoners, but were forced to retreat before they could inflict further damage. The lengthy bombardment that accompanied the raid on 30 May caused over 100 Australian casualties, over 40 of whom were killed. Many of those killed during the raid were buried at Rue Pétillon, which is also the final resting placing of over 100 Australian soldiers killed at the Battle of Fromelles on 19 July 1916.

Source: Commonwealth War Graves Commission .

We leave the cemetery to continue south-westward along the Rue de Pétillon to the Le Trou Aid Post Cemetery.

Lieutenant General Sir Richard Haking and his XI Corps (61st (2nd South Midland) Division and 5th Australian Division) positioned themselves opposite the German lines on Aubers Ridge.

The 61st Division, under command of  Major-General C. J. Mackenzie, had disembarked in France in late May 1916, after delays in training caused by equipment shortages and the supplying of drafts to the 48th Division. The division entered the front line for the first time on 13 June.

The Tommies of the British 61st Division positioned themselves around Fauquissart opposite the Wick Salient of Aubers and occupied 2,750 m. of line.

The 5th Australian Division, consisting of 18,000 men, under command of Major General J.W. McCay, had arrived in France only days before the attack and relieved the 4th Australian Division on 12 July 1916 on the right flank of the Second Army. After the defeat of Gallipoli the 5th Australian Division stayed in Egypt, reinforced by draft after draft of fresh recruits. In Egypt the soldiers were trained in trench-digging, road construction, handling hand grenades, firing Lewis and Vickers machine-guns and firing the new 3 inch Stokes mortar.

The Diggers of the Australian 5th Division positioned themselves around Fleurbaix opposite Fromelles and occupied 1,800 m. line.

Le Trou Aid Post Cemetery - In October 1914 British soldiers serving in the Fleurbaix sector began burying their fallen comrades beside a regimental aid post and dressing station located not far from the support trenches that led to the front-line. Le Trou Aid Post cemetery was used until July of 1915 and when the war ended contained just 123 burials, all of which are now in Row F. In the years after the Armistice, the cemetery was enlarged when the remains of Commonwealth soldiers were brought here from other burial grounds and battlefields throughout the region. The cemetery is now the final resting place of officers and men killed in heavy fighting at Le Maisnil in October 1914, the Battle of Aubers Ridge (9-10 May 1915), the Battle of Loos (25 September – 14 October 1915), and the Battle of Fromelles (19-20 July 1916).

The unique architectural features and landscaping in the cemetery were designed by Sir Herbert Baker. Today more than 350 Commonwealth soldiers of the First World War are buried at Le Trou Aid Post. Over 200 burials are unidentified, but special memorials commemorate five casualties known or believed to be buried among them. There are also two French war graves.

The Germans called this bridge the "Tommy-Brücke", Tommy Bridge.

The next views from the bridge might seem dull now, but simultaneously the bridge offers an opportunity to understand the situation of the battlefield. A view over the Layes north-eastward to the site of the former Australian lines.

On this German map of 23 July 1916 you will find our position on the “Tommy-Brücke” on the eastern edge of the map. The map shows in red the Australian network of breastworks, called The Orchard. The dark blue line marks the first line of the Bavarian Sugar Loaf Salient. 

View from the Tommy Bridge north-westward to The Orchard.

Before we continue southward, I shall briefly explain in the frame below the composition of the Bavarian defenders on the eve of the Battle of Fromelles of 1916.

The German defence

The Bavarians possessed a large range of concealed artillery guns and some dummy batteries to divert their enemy. Among the real guns were a dozen 33 mm. trench cannons.

Continuous monitoring of the Allied positions, accurate registration and mapping of the targets before the battle enabled the Bavarians to target successfully the British and Australian gun batteries. The Bavarian batteries were also able to produce enfilade fire during an infantry attack. They also possessed a large amount of mortars of various calibres ("Granatenwerfer", "Minenwerfer" and "Ladungswerfer"), marked on the map in blue with "GW" and "MW".

By 1916 each battalion owned 5-7 machine-guns, which were positioned in emplacements at ground level, ready to sweep No Man's Land from flanking positions, marked on the map above in red as "MG".

Below a 1918 post-war sketch of the German defence system around Fromelles and Aubers, showing the machine-gun positions of Aubers Ridge.

A large part of these machine-guns were captured and modified British, French, Russian and Serbian weapons. Not all of these weapons were deployed at the front line. As a precaution against enemy artillery damage no battalion would deploy more than 4 machine-guns at the same time in the front line. Some were kept behind, safely stored in support positions, ready to assist in case of a breakthrough, or, if needed, to be transported forward. About 700–1,000 m. behind the first line of breastworks the Bavarians built a line of concrete machine-gun posts, known as “Stützpunkte“.

Because of their combat experience and their two years of familiarity with the terrain of the battlefield of Aubers Ridge, Scanzoni von Lichtenfeld’s troops were simply superior to the recently arrived Australian units, who lacked the battle experience and the same familiarity with the terrain.

From the Tommy Bridge we continue 200 m. to stop at the VC Corner Australian Cemetery, which is located on the former barbed wire entanglements in front of the Australian first line. The first Australian line was behind the cemetery.

The Memorial Park was designed to commemorate the Australians who fought and died during the attack at the Battle of Fromelles on 19th to 20th July 1916. The Memorial Park was opened at a ceremony on 5th July 1998.

The sculpture of two figures is by Peter Corlett from Melbourne, Australia. The sculpture is dedicated to the men, who fought and fell in the Battle of Fromelles.

Before we continue to explore this interesting site, I shall briefly explain in the frame below the Battle of Fromelles of 1916.

The Battle of Fromelles - 19-20 July 1916

On 16 July 1916 16 Squadron joined 10 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC). The aircraft photographed and reconnoitred the area before the attack. During the battle the RFC flew artillery-observation missions. The squadrons flew further afield and denied German reconnaissance aircraft a view of British troop movements behind the XI Corps front. On 19 July aircraft from two squadrons patrolled the area towards Lille and had numerous air fights, in which two German Fokker Eindeckers III and a British Airco D.H.2 were shot down. The RFC deployed bombing raids on German army billets, supply dumps and railways from Lille to Lens.

Preliminary Artillery Bombardment

Before the artillery fire was lifted from the front line, the infantry was to assemble as close to the German lines as possible, the No Man's Land being 100–400 m. wide.

Mine Explosion

As I have said, neither division was well-prepared for the attack. Each division was to attack with its three brigades in line, with two battalions from each brigade in the attack and the other two in reserve, ready to take over captured ground or to advance further.

The 61st Division attacked the right flank and the Wick Salient from the north-west.

With all due respect to the actions of the 61st Division my story continues now focusing on the battlefield of Fromelles and the fate of the 5th Australian Division.

(For a virtual tour in the attack sector of the 61st Division, I refer to my previous photo impression, prior to this, about Aubers and the Wick Salient.)  

In the Sugar Load Salient the right flank of the III. / B.R.I.R. 16 repelled the 15th Australian Brigade, mainly with enfilading machine-gun fire and artillery fire. Later it was reinforced by the II. Battalion from Rue de Leval, which joined with the left flank of the III. / B.R.I.R. 21.

German counter-attacks

A counter-attack of the I. / B.R.I.R. 21 at 8:00 p.m. in the Rouges Bancs and Delangré Farm sector fell into confusion under British artillery-fire. It was stopped by small-arms fire of the 8th Australian Brigade.

20 July

The Bavarians counter-attacked in the night of 20 July at 1:30 a.m. with flanking machine-gun fire forcing the Australians to retire to the German first line.

Later on, at 6:00 a.m., I. / B.R.I.R. 21 and half of B.R.I.R. 20 attacked the “Kastenweg”-sector from the flank, reaching their own, old first line. From there the Diggers were forced to withdraw next to their original jump-off lines. During the withdrawals some soldiers managed to fight their way out, but many men were cut off and captured.

The right flank of the 14th Australian Brigade was counter-attacked at Rouges Bancs by most of I. / B.R.I.R. 16, which joined the II. Battalion, and recaptured the front line step-by-step, until dawn, when a pause was ordered because of exhaustion and lack of ammunition and grenades.

At 5:40 a.m McCay ordered the 14th Brigade to be withdrawn. At 7:50 a.m. the order to retire arrived, although it was not received by some parties. Bavarian troops fired at every sign of movement, forcing the Australians to withdraw. By 9:00 a.m. the remnants of the battalions had returned; many wounded were rescued. Artillery-fire from both sides diminished. Work began on either side of No Man's Land to repair defences. The Battle of Fromelles was over. A short truce was arranged by the Bavarians and Australians to recover their wounded.

Casualties 

The outcome of the battle, again a Bavarian victory on Aubers Ridge, was a complete disaster for Haking’s XI Corps, and in particular for the 5th Australian Division.

The British 61st Division was already under strength before the battle. It engaged half as many men as the 5th Australian Division did and it lost 1,547 casualties.

But the Australian 5th Division lost 5 times more casualties: 5,513 casualties! Australian soldiers killed in the area re-taken by the Germans, were buried shortly after the battle. On 22 July 1916 the bodies were transported via a 60 cm. railway to a wood north of Fromelles. The Bavarians buried these Australian soldiers in eight pits on the edge of Pheasant Wood.

The German casualties of the 6th Bavarian Reserve Division were limited to 1,600–2,000 men. Some of the fallen soldiers are buried in the Illies Deutscher Soldatenfriedhof.

Aftermath

A German assessment of 16 December 1916 called the attack "operationally and tactically senseless" and prisoner interrogations revealed that the Australian troops were physically imposing but had "virtually no military discipline".

McCay's order not to consolidate the initial gains, poor planning, ineffective artillery support, and the Australian lack of experience of the conditions at the Western Front, all contributed to this impressive defeat. A number of senior Australian officers were removed after this debacle, but it had no negative influence on the careers of the ambitious generals, Haking and McCay. The 5th Australian Division remained incapable of any offensive action until late summer, when it began trench-raiding.

In September 1916 the 6th Bavarian Reserve Division was sent to the Somme front.

Sources a.o.: Australian War Memorial , Peter Barton’s very recommendable book, “The Lost Legions Of Fromelles – The Mysteries Behind One Of The Most Devastating Battles Of The Great War” (2014).

After so much information it is time to look at the concrete relics of the German bunker complex in the Memorial Park.

Introduction

On request of the Australian Government a team of archaeologists of the University of Glasgow searched in 2008 for human relics of Australian soldiers on the edge of Pheasant Wood, Fromelles. This fact came late to my notice; I learned of it at the beginning of 2009 and also of the activity of a team of identification scientists of the University of Oxford. My curiosity was aroused, and I decided to inspect the site on 28 May 2010. Before we make a short walk along this interesting location, some concise words about its background.

After test excavations in 2006 and the start of the digging in 2008, it took the team of battlefield archaeologists only 4 days to deliver the proof of an existing mass grave of soldiers, who had been buried by the Germans following the disastrous battle of Fromelles on 19 and 20 July 1916.

In the end the team found 8 pits, each 10 m. x 2.20 m. and 5 m. deep. The estimates of human relics during that time of the excavations were between 250 and 400 soldiers.

The satellite photo shows the route of the walk from the parking to the Pheasant Wood site.

... the Fromelles Pheasant Wood Military Cemetery. 

Fromelles Pheasant Wood Military Cemetery

All exhumed remains of the soldiers, which were recovered in 2009 from the mass graves at the edge of Pheasant Wood, would have to be buried in a war cemetery. On 31 July 2008 the Commonwealth War Graves Commission declared that all exhumed bodies would be interred in a new cemetery at no more than 120 m. away from the mass graves, at the Fromelles Pheasant Wood Military Cemetery. 

View at the building of the Museum of the Battle of Fromelles.

From the Fromelles museum we begin the second stage of our route, exploring important sites mentioned in the background frames above and some German bunkers in the Fromelles front sector, constructed during the period of 1916-1918. We continue through the village southward and on the roundabout we turn right on the D 141, direction Aubers.

Along the north side of the D 141 stands a German 3rd line Command Post Bunker.

This bunker is not the original Command Post of "Meldeganger" (messenger) Hitler, as many battlefield guide books do believe. In a few moments we will visit the real Command Post of Meldeganger Hitler in the Sugar Loaf Salient in a field of Fromelles - l'Abiette. It is most likely that Hitler frequented this 3rd line bunker too, since it is so close to his billets and his "real" 2nd line command post in the Sugar Loaf Salient. 

For now: back to the Command Post Bunker along the D 141.

On 26 June 1940, Hitler made a "Sentimental Journey" to visit his whereabouts along the Western Front during the Great War.

From Hitler's billets we return to the village of Fromelles, passing the museum and the cemetery, to turn left into the Rue de l´Abiette, where we arrive in the former Sugar Loaf Salient.

In fact we are following Hitler´s footsteps of his daily walks from his billets to his Command Post.

Near a private fishpond in the Rue de l´Abiette we park our car and continue on foot over the field northward.

We pass a meadow lined with modern barbed wire, but here and there supported by wartime poles in the form of a pigtail.

During the wartime nights while repairing the barbed wire, hitting the poles into the ground would make too much noise and could alert the enemy. Instead, without noise, the Germans screwed these pigtail shaped poles in the ground.

Being a simple corporal during the “Urkatastrophe” and later being the omnipotent dictator, responsible for the “Untergang” of Germany in 1945, Hitler claimed in June 1940 this bunker to be “his” Command Post during his service in Fromelles.

(For more details about Hitler's service at the Western Front, read my bilingual book review on Thomas Weber's recommendable book, "Hitler's First War".)

Respecting the privacy of the residents we park our car to visit on foot a huge multipurpose bunker, "Stützpunkt Dachau". View from south-east north-westward.

The next junction we turn right to the Rue de la Cardonnerie, which the Bavarians called the “Kastenweg”.

We continue northward, crossing the No Man’s Land, passing on the left side of the next turn right the copse of the Horse Shoe, to arrive at the Australian lines of la Cardonnerie Farm, also often spelled as la CordOnnerie Farm.  

Just before we arrive at the farm, a view northward over the former Australian lines.

We return to the Rue de la Cardonnerie – D 175 to continue our route north-eastward to the hamlet of la Boutillerie. 

When we arrive again at the roundabout of les Rouges Bancs, we return to Fromelles for a relatively large jump of 5.5 km. to the centre of Fournes-en-Weppes.

Via the D 22, the D 141 eastward and the D 141a southward, we enter the Rue Faidherbe.

From Fournes-en-Weppes we continue north-eastward via the Rue Pasteur, searching for other still existing German bunkers in the landscape.

At Hameau Desprez we turn left to the Chemin de la Fresnoy to return to the German lines.

We return to the junction to continue northward via the Rue des Breux.

On both sides of the road we see different bunkers. On the east side of the road: