WW1 soldiers, reburied at last

The last of 250 British and Australian World War I troops recovered from mass graves has been reburied with full military honours in northern France.

Prince Charles and the relatives of identified soldiers attended a commemorative ceremony at the new Fromelles Military Cemetery.

It comes 94 years after the soldiers were killed in the Battle of Fromelles.

Work to excavate and identify the soldiers began two years ago, after the bodies were discovered.

Of the bodies recovered, 205 have now been identified as belonging to Australian soldiers, three served with the British army and 42 are still classified as unknown.

From the BBC -- in an article that fails to note what the Australian War Memorial site states right out:

The worst 24 hours in Australian history occurred 90 years ago at Fromelles. Not the worst in Australian military history, the worst 24 hours in Australia's entire history. The Australians suffered 5,533 casualties in one night. The Australian toll at Fromelles was equivalent to the total Australian casualties in the Boer War, Korean War and Vietnam War put together. It was a staggering disaster.

And this catastrophic attack at Fromelles - advocated and orchestrated by a British corps commander - had no redeeming tactical justification whatsoever. It was, in the words of a senior participant, Brigadier General H.E. "Pompey" Elliott, a "tactical abortion".

More background and links at Wikipedia.

Posted by David on July 19, 2010 9:34 AM