Musée de la Bataille de Fromelles

Description

The Battle of Fromelles took place on July 19-20, 1916, pitting British and Australian divisions against a Bavarian division. The impact was terrible, and in less than 24 hours, almost 8,500 people were killed. Many of the soldiers who died on the battlefield were never found. In 2009, a team of archaeologists unearthed the bodies of 250 British and Australian soldiers who had disappeared at Fromelles. A major identification campaign began, and with each new identity, the story of a soldier was brought to the surface. The Musée de la Bataille de Fromelles, the region's must-see memorial site, weaves the links between this past and the present: it deals with wartime archaeology and modern techniques such as DNA research, which were used during the 2009 excavations. Reconstructions showcase the military equipment found in the old trenches at Fromelles, and the War Room details the course of the battle.