Battle at Fromelles Part 2: The Enemy’s Defences and Allied Barrage Begins
Unfinished defensive works in the German frontline during the Battle of Fromelles.
Having occupied the surrounds of Fromelles for roughly two years, the German’s 6th Bavarian Reserve Division had everything in their favour to secure victory over the pending battle.
The German’s defences proved to be far more sophisticated and reinforced when compared to the Allies, presenting immense tactical difficulties that would plague the Australian 5th Division and British 61st Division.
Superior German trenches were designed to limit as much damage as possible from Allied artillery, bombing attacks and machine gunfire. This was achieved by their trench systems zigzagging and never running entirely in straight lines.
Fortified by sandbagged breastworks over two metres in height and six metres deep for protection from artillery strikes, to thick bands of barbed wire entanglements for further resistance from attacking waves of Allied soldiers.
With the possession of two heavily fortified salients, the Sugarloaf and Wick, the German’s were able to overlook no man’s land and could observe beyond the Allied lines. The salients were manned by effective machine gunners that had deadly firing range.
Technologically equipped, German trenches had a buried telephone and electricity networks established for powering various amenities such as lighting systems, water pumps and concrete mixing stations.
There were an estimated 75 concrete shelters for German soldiers to bunker down from Allied bullets and shells along their lines.
The capabilities of searchlights, flares, and star shells to illuminate no man land’s under the cover of darkness, meant the 6th Bavarian Reserve Division could strategically fight day and night against the Allied fighting force with much confidence.
Furthermore, the German’s had an established tramway network, called a ‘push line’, that could facilitate both horse-drawn and petrol-powered vehicles. Connected throughout the trenches, the ‘push line’ could supply resources to the front, middle and rear lines.
As result of the German’s occupation of Fromelles for several years prior to the battle, meant they intimately knew the surrounding terrain far greater than the newly arrived British and Australian troops. This will play a significant advantage for the 6th Bavarian Reserve Division within the approaching conflict…
Men of the Australian 53rd Battalion minutes before launching their attack.
19th July 1916, on a hazy Wednesday morning, combined British and Australian artillery bombardment of German lines was expected to begin before dawn, however, the barrage wouldn’t commence until 11am due to the poor visibility.
As the British 61st Division and the Australian 5th Division moved into position ready to launch their waves of attack across no man’s land and onwards to take the German-occupied territory. The silent landscape transforms into a continuous unforgiving deafening tumult.
As detailed in a letter to his brother, Machine Gun Sergeant Les Martin wrote the following:
“From about 11am till 6pm, there was not a space of a second's duration when some of our guns were not firing, the row was deafening. I put wadding in my ears while we were down in the supports waiting to go forward.”
As the artillery bombardment unfolds, the Battle of Fromelles is officially set in motion, there’s no turning back from this point. What happens from here onwards will become the bloodiest chapter in Australian military history.
The Allied barrage hammers the German positions, shells upon shells impacting non-stop, with the intensity of the shelling averaging one gun for every eight metres of German territory. Reports from the German’s 32nd Battalion commanding officer detailed the Allied bombardment first-hand:
“Hostile trench mortars and 18-pounders are smashing our parapets and trenches to pieces. There are many casualties.”
The objectives of the British and Australian artillery units were to destroy prime targets from the Sugarloaf salient to taking out enemy machine gun crews, defences such as cutting the barbed wire entanglements to collapsing the German parapets in order to clear the way for the attacking waves of Allied troops.
A section of the German line after the Battle of Fromelles.
Hours into the bombardment, German artillery responds, meanwhile reconnaissance made by British aircraft and Allied artillery observers relayed the effects of the shelling on the various German positions. Reporting back enemy shelters and dugouts seem to appear buried and wire defences displaced.
Although, continuing observations reported around 2:30pm, stated that the ineffectiveness of the barrage hasn’t achieved the intended objectives. The Sugarloaf salient remains intact and the barbed wire entanglements remained uncut.
This signified dire circumstances for the waiting British and Australian soldiers if these objectives aren’t secured.
Orders are sent to increase the artillery strikes to rectify the situation before the first wave of troops is sent into no man’s land at 5pm.
Despite the orders being passed on to recorrect artillery impacts, it was too late when the message was received hours later… when the men had already begun going over the parapets into the battlefield.
To be continued in Part 3…
Allied soldiers walk along the path beside their frontline trenches known as breastworks.