THE LOST LEGIONS OF FROMELLES PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Peter Barton | 448 pages | 17 Jul 2014 | Little, Brown Book Group | 9781472117120 | English | London, United Kingdom The Lost Legions of Fromelles - Peter Barton - - Allen & Unwin - Australia A documentary film-maker, archaeologist and respected First World War expert, he is the author of a series of acclaimed books. His new book, The Lost Legions of Fromelles, written with access to the German archives for the first time, reveals crucial facts about one of the bloodiest battles in the Great War. The Battle of Fromelles in July was the worst military disaster in Australian history. Peter Barton was the Fromelles Project historian and has spent ten years researching this story. A documentary film-maker, archaeologist and respected First World War expert, he is the author of a series of acclaimed books. Download cover. The story has always appeared simple, but in truth history did not unfold in the way we have for so long been led to believe. Peter Barton has written an authoritative and revelatory book on Fromelles. He describes its long and surprising genesis, and offers an unexpected account of the fighting; he investigates the interrogation of Anglo-Australian prisoners, and the results of shrewd German propaganda techniques; and he explores the circumstances surrounding the 'missing' Pheasant Wood graves. O n one of those smudgy French days when the mist clings close to the damp earth until well after lunch, I sat in a little estaminet in Fromelles that is famously festooned with boxing kangaroos and Australian flags. Over 24 hours in July the Australian Imperial Force suffered 5, casualties including some 1, killed. I was researching a book about a Collingwood player who fought there. But, like the Australian commemoration tourists who alight tour bus after tour bus at Fromelles in the warmer months, I found myself searching for an affinity with the dead. They came from my suburbs. Played my code. Went to my school and university. Armed with personal stories that day, I became very angry about what happened at Fromelles in ; angry on behalf of the soldiers whose lives were wasted on a military operation that was utterly pointless, like so many other movements on the European Western Front that expended millions of young lives during the first world war. But Barton — a British writer, documentary filmmaker and historian — has gone well beyond the established parameters on Fromelles research. Most notably, he has mined the archives of the Bavarian army in Munich. Book review: The Lost Legions of Fromelles | UNSW Newsroom I commend the Peter Barton is a historian, archaeologist and film-maker. His other books include The Somme , Passchendaele , and Arras. He continues to lead an ongoing project to recover, interpret and publish all surviving battlefield panoramas. He describes its long and surprising genesis, and offers an unexpected account of the fighting; he investigates the interrogation of Anglo-Australian prisoners, and the results of shrewd German propaganda techniques; and he explores the circumstances surrounding the 'missing' Pheasant Wood graves. He also brings a new perspective to the writings of Charles Bean. More books by this author. Category: Military. ISBN: Stone Cold Andrew Faulkner. This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Community Reviews. Showing Average rating 3. Rating details. More filters. Sort order. Start your review of The Lost Legions of Fromelles: The true story of the most dramatic battle in Australia's history. Jun 07, Robert rated it liked it. What I liked about this book was the inclusion of information from the German side. This is the first history of Fromelles that has really given equal focus on both sides of the battle, rather than being purely from the Entente side. The book has plenty of detail, at some times too much detail in my opinion but of you want the depth then this book certain cover that. The mix with the contemporary historical search for the graves of the lost diggers provides and excellent tie today's narrative. If What I liked about this book was the inclusion of information from the German side. If you are a student of the Australian contribution in France during World War I this book should prove interesting. Just be mindful of the deep dive you commence upon by reading. Ian rated it really liked it Oct 16, Sally rated it liked it May 09, Fairey rated it really liked it Dec 16, Peter Konnecke rated it it was amazing Feb 08, Louise rated it really liked it Dec 19, Louise rated it it was amazing Dec 19, Mike Southworth rated it really liked it Feb 10, Ian McClay rated it really liked it Dec 20, Ripcat rated it it was ok Nov 24, Doug Dery rated it it was amazing Jul 12, Clain Jaques rated it really liked it Mar 06, David Lawrence rated it it was amazing Apr 11, Nick Langdon rated it it was ok May 31, The Lost Legions Of Fromelles by Peter Barton – book review | Books | The Guardian A documentary film-maker, archaeologist and respected First World War expert, he is the author of a series of acclaimed books. Download cover. The story has always appeared simple, but in truth history did not unfold in the way we have for so long been led to believe. Peter Barton has written an authoritative and revelatory book on Fromelles. He describes its long and surprising genesis, and offers an unexpected account of the fighting; he investigates the interrogation of Anglo-Australian prisoners, and the results of shrewd German propaganda techniques; and he explores the circumstances surrounding the 'missing' Pheasant Wood graves. He also brings a new perspective to the writings of Charles Bean. More books by this author. Category: Military. ISBN: Stone Cold Andrew Faulkner. Barton succeeds in spades here, sparing few subjects, not least the British command and the revered official Australian historian of the first world war, Charles Edwin Woodrow Bean. Early in the book we discover that Australian prisoners captured by the Germans had, under no particular duress by their captors, blabbed details about the movement in May towards the front around Fromelles of the 2 nd Australian Division. In fact the prisoners were exceedingly communicative, offering a mass of invaluable information that not only guaranteed and assisted subsequent raids on Australian positions, but almost certainly influenced the outcome of events at Fromelles some 10 weeks hence. Indeed, as the Australians tried to make the front line, they were traversing swampy ground that still held the decaying remains of the dead. The precise mistakes of the earlier attack were repeated, with shocking consequences. Barton also skilfully weaves in another intriguing story: the location and reburial of some British and Australian soldiers who, having been killed at Fromelles in , were interred behind what was then the German front. Barton became the historian for what is known as the Fromelles project. And in this book he traces the dogged persistence against significant odds not least those of bureaucracy in Australia of the Australian schoolteacher Lambis Englezos to find, recover and identify the bodies of a particular group of the missing. Those so far recovered have been buried in Pheasant Wood military cemetery, the first new commonwealth war graveyard to be built in 50 years the commonwealth now, routinely, repatriates its war dead. There will be a trove of books about world war one action involving Australians as the centenary nears. The consumer should be wary. This article was amended on 25 June ; Fromelles is in France, not Belgium. Topics Books Australia culture blog. First world war History books reviews. Reuse this content. Order by newest oldest recommendations. Book review: The Lost Legions of Fromelles Like a lot of recent military history books, this is too long. Barton gives us far more detail than anyone could want or need. But none but the most dedicated battlefield nerd will want to know as much as Barton wants to tell. And on points where we need certainty — was the British plan sound? Putting these reservations aside, Barton should be congratulated for giving Australian readers a chance to surmount the parochialism that is so common in their military history. As he shows, what happened to the 5th Australian Division had happened before, to British troops. Thanks to Barton — and some other historians, notably Australian Army historian Roger Lee, whose research on the battle has given us a much clearer understanding of its planning and conduct — the popular legend of Fromelles needs to be revised. The battle raged for 14 hours and was a staggering disaster, resulting in over Australian casualties. Many of the bodies lay undiscovered for many decades. Peter Barton, acclaimed historian and documentary film-maker, has spent a decade researching the story of the battle and can now reveal that Fromelles did not, in fact, unfold the way we have for so long been led to believe. The first is meaningless — how does one measure degrees of the dramatic? Is "most catastrophic" judged by casualties or strategic impact? If either of these, then Singapore in wins easily. The author and his book both wear their learning lightly. Barton brings together three themes in his narrative. He locates the battle of July in which more than men of the 5th Australian Division became casualties within a context of the war in that locale, pointing out that an earlier battle of Fromelles, mounted by the British 8th Division in May , contained many of the same features, failed for many of the same reasons, and was fought against the very same enemy, soldiers of the 6th Bavarian Reserve Division.