Fromelles and PozièresIn the Trenches of Hell. The story of the first major action of the AIF on the Western Front. THE NATIONAL BESTSELLER On 19 July 1916, 7000 Australian soldiers in the first major action of the AIF on the Western Front attacked entrenched German positions at Fromelles in northern France. By the next day, there were over 5500 casualties, including nearly 2000 dead a bloodbath that the Australian War Memorial describes as 'the worst 24 hours in