The Battle of Fromelles, sometimes known as the Action at Fromelles or the Battle of Fleurbaix, occurred in France on July 19-20, 1916, during World War I. It was fought as the Battle of the Somme raged, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) to the south. The Battle of Fromelles is significant as it was the first occasion on which the First Australian Imperial Force (AIF) saw action on the Western Front. Because 5,533 Australian soldiers were killed, wounded or taken prisoner in an operation which was a total failure, the Australian War Memorial describes the battle as "the worst 24 hours in Australia"s entire history." Ross McMullin, "Disaster at Fromelles" (Wartime Magazine, Issue 36, 2006) Access date: April 14, 2007. It was a decisive victory for Germany, and the Australian and British losses were sustained without the Allies gaining any ground. The action, just north of the German-occupied village of Fromelles, 16 km (10 miles) from the city of Lille, was intended partly as a diversion to the larger battle, and also at taking a German salient.