Fromelles
The first shots were fired at 11 a.m. on 19 July 1916. The Battle of Fromelles lasted less than 24 hours. When it was over, more than 5,000 Australian soldiers had been killed, wounded or taken prisoner - more soldiers died at Fromelles than in the Boer, Korean and Vietnam wars combined.
What was the point of this bloody loss of life? And why, almost a century later, did the attention of the world once again turn to Fromelles?
The story of this battle, and the men who took part in it, is told with compassion and respect, without glorifying war. The weapons and tactics of World War I are explained, and though the story is told mainly from the point-of-view of the Australian soldiers, it is not forgotten that others were involved in this part of history - the British, the French peasants who lived in the area, and on the other side of the trenches, the Germans.
Short-listed for the Children's Book Council of Australia, Eve Pownall Award (2012)
About the Drum Series
Books in series order
- 1.The Black Snake(2002)
- 2.Alexander the Great(2004)
- 3.Scarecrow Army(2005)
- 4.Joan of Arc(2006)
- 5.Red Haze(2006)
- 6.Mary Bryant(2007)
- 7.The Kokoda Track(2007)
- 8.Fly a Rebel Flag(2007)
- 9.The Games(2008)
- 10.The Long Patrol(2008)
- 11.Shakespeare: The Most Famous Man in London(2009)
- 12.The Death: The Horror of the Black Plague(2009)
- 13.Creforce: The Anzacs and the Battle of Crete(2010)
- 14.Closets Are For Clothes(2010)
- 15.Fromelles(2011)
- 16.Atmospheric: The Burning Story of Climate Change(2015)
Reading age: 12+ years
The Drum series combines first-person accounts and non-fiction to bring history roaring to life. The points of history are quite diverse in subject and time-period, ranging from historical figures such as Alexander the Great and Joan of Arc, sobering battles of the First and Second World Wars and Vietnam, to a lighter account of the highs and lows of the modern Olympic Games. These historical accounts are well-researched and written to be quickly engaging.