Australia
will honour the service and sacrifice of our First World
War soldiers this week at the centenary commemorations
for the battles of Fromelles and Pozières.
The Battle
of Fromelles (19 July, 1916) was the first major
engagement by Australian soldiers on the Western Front
where the Australian 5th Division suffered 5,533
casualties in just 24 hours — Australia’s bloodiest
single day in military history.
The Battle
of Pozières (23 July to 3 September 1916) involved three
further Australian Divisions capturing and holding the
village of Pozières and launching 19 attacks.
Almost
300,000 Australians served on the Western Front, where
45,000 lost their lives and more than one-third of those
have no known grave.
A
commemorative service on Tuesday (19 July) at the
Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery will mark
the start of a series of 100-year anniversaries of
battles involving Australians on the Western Front. This
will include a Headstone Dedication for six soldiers
whose remains were identified by the Australian Army’s
Unrecovered War Casualties Fromelles project team.
On Saturday
(23 July), a service will be conducted at the site of
the 1st Australian Division Memorial, Pozières and the
remains of three unknown soldiers will be reinterred
with full military honours.
Mr Tehan
will be attending the events with the Hon Warren Snowdon
MP, the Governors of New South Wales, South Australia
and Queensland, Chief of Army Lieutenant General Angus
Campbell DSC, AM, Australian Ambassador to France
Stephen Brady, French Secretary of State for Veterans’
and Commemorations Jean-Marc Todechini, Military
Governor of Lille General Bernard Maitrier and other
dignitaries.
Mr Tehan
said three unknown Australian soldiers would be
reinterred with full military honours at Pozières on
Saturday.
"Even one
hundred years after the fighting took place we will bury
our unknown soldiers with respect and honour because it
is the right thing to do," Mr Tehan said.
"The
Australians at Fromelles, Pozières and across the
Western Front were volunteers fighting for our values
and freedom — their bravery has become legendary,
especially in this corner of Europe.
"They are
custodians of the Anzac tradition and set a standard
that continues to this day in the men and women who
serve in our defence forces. As a country we must never
forget the service of the men and women who fight and
die defending our way of life.
"We should
reflect on the experiences these Australians endured so
far from home, the things they saw and the sacrifices
they made and we should be grateful for the liberty we
enjoy today because of their selfless actions."
