WWI Australian, British war dead to be exhumed
PARIS (AFP) – Experts will Tuesday begin exhuming hundreds of British and Australian troops from a World War I mass grave in northern France, before laying the fallen soldiers to rest in a new war cemetery.
Up to 400 Australian and British troops, lost in the Battle of Fromelles in 1916, are thought to have been buried in pits by German forces, without their dog tags, in a location known as Pheasants Wood near the village of Fromelles.
Between now and September, a team of archaeologists is to recover the soldiers' remains, in hope of identifying as many as possible and giving them a fitting burial, the British embassy said in a statement.
Built next to the mass grave on land donated by the owner, the new military cemetery, to be completed by 2010, will the first created by the Commonwealth War Graves Commisssion since the end of World War II.
Acting on behalf of the British and Australian governments, supervised by the Commonwealth commission, experts from British firm Oxford Archaeology will carry out DNA analysis on the bodies, before laying them individually to rest.
Excavation and recovery work is to begin Tuesday in presence of government representatives from France, Britain and Australia, after a religious blessing of the site, where a memorial and an ossuary currently stand.
An amateur historian in Australia discovered the mass grave, and the Fromelles dig was launched in 2007 after several years of campaigning on behalf of Australians who hope to give their missing relatives a fitting burial.
Skeletal remains, along with British and Australian service medals and military badges, were found during limited excavation work in May and June last year, confirming the presence of the soldiers.
The British and Australian governments have published the names of some soldiers who they believe may be buried at Fromelles, and are asking people to register details of relatives they believe may be interred there.
The Battle of Fromelles was the first major battle on the Western front involving Australian troops.
Intended to divert German troops from the Battle of the Somme, it was a bloody failure.
British and Australian troops were ordered to attack on the evening of July 19, 1916, advancing in clear view of German enemy lines, who fired on them as if they were sitting ducks.
Some 5,553 Australian and 1,547 British soldiers were killed in the space of a few hours.
It was the worst loss of life for the Australian Imperial Force in a 24-hour period, more even than Gallipoli in 1915, and poisoned relations between the Australians and their British commanders.
| 英澳将重新安葬一战阵亡士兵遗骸（新华社转法新社转的的不全，特作补充） | ||
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新华网巴黎5月1日电 根据英国和澳大利亚政府的决定，一些专家将挖掘法国北部一处据信埋葬有数百名在一战期间阵亡的英国和澳大利亚士兵的墓坑，被挖掘出的遗骸将被安葬在新建的军人墓地。
据当地媒体5月1日报道，专家们将从5日开始挖掘位于法国北部弗罗梅勒镇附近的墓坑。在1916年的弗罗梅勒战役中，有约400名阵亡的英国和澳大利亚士兵被敌方的德国军队集中埋在弗罗梅勒镇附近的一个墓坑里，都没有身份识别牌。
澳大利亚一位业余历史学家后来发现了该墓地。去年，在弗罗梅勒镇的局部挖掘中发现了英国和澳大利亚军队的勋章和徽章，证实了英澳士兵阵亡此地的事实。
据报道，挖掘开始当天将举行一个仪式，英国、澳大利亚和法国的官方代表将出席。挖掘工作将持续到9月，来自英国公司“牛津考古”的专家们将对挖掘出的遗骸进行DNA鉴定，确认身份的遗骸将分别埋葬在即将建于墓坑旁边的军人墓地。墓地将于2010年完工。
弗罗梅勒战役发生在第一次世界大战中著名的索姆河战役开始后不久。1916年7月19日，部分英国和澳大利亚部队在德军的视线范围内发起进攻，以便分散在索姆河战斗的德军的精力。
看到sina上的新闻后，特地检索了一下英文原文，发现的确转载的不全，对照原文补充一些：
英国与澳大利亚政府已经公布了数百名据信被埋葬在弗罗梅勒的军人姓名。
弗罗梅勒战役是澳大利亚军队在西线战场参加的第一次重要战役。这是一场血腥的失败。几个小时内，5553名澳大利亚军人和1547名英军阵亡。
这是澳大利亚帝国武装部队，单日内最惨重的损失，甚至超过了1915年在加里波第的单日记录。这一事件极大损害了英军和澳大利亚军队指挥官之间的关系。
2009-05-02 10:31:23 A&SH 大英皇军
墓地的坐标值是：50°36′36.36″N 2°51′17.10″E / 50.6101°N 2.85475°E / 50.6101; 2.85475,
再补充一点WIKI上的关于这次战役，进攻行动的目标是德军第6巴伐利亚后背步兵师扼守的阵地，正面宽度15英里，位置在距里尔城16公里处的弗罗梅勒村附近。据信阿道夫.希特勒，作为巴伐利亚第6师第16后备步兵团的一名27岁的下士传令兵，也参加了这场战役。
行动由英国理查德.哈京中将指挥，由澳大利亚第5师和英国第61师负责实施。1916年7月19日凌晨6点，伴随弹幕射击之后，行动开始。澳 大利亚第5师师第一澳大利亚帝国武装部队（1st AIF）里最缺乏作战经验的一个师（建立时间最晚）。参战澳军的损失，超过了澳大利亚参加布尔战争、朝鲜战争预备越南战争阵亡人数的总和。
英军两天内的阵亡人数，则几乎达到了截止今年3月2日，在伊拉克作战5年阵亡人数的10倍。
行动的后果是，澳大利亚第5师基本瘫痪，几个月内无法战斗。战斗结束后，德军将英联邦军队遗弃在德军战线后的尸体集中用临时敷设的窄轨火车， 运输至德军战线后方掩埋。一战结束后，英联邦战争公墓委员会曾经寻找这次战役后阵亡英联邦军人遗骸并再次安葬。这次发现的集体掩埋墓地，据信应该是当年遗 漏的。
参战英军是来自东米德兰地区的皇家沃里克郡团、伍斯特郡团，格罗斯特郡团的好汉。
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