A test specimen for measurement of the critical energy release rate associated with longitudinal compressive failure is proposed. High strains are localized by decreasing the out-of-plane thickness towards the anticipated damage region which consists of a unidirectional (UD) laminate. Thus, the compressive fibre failure mode is isolated. Microscopic studies show that the UD-material fails in a kinking mode. A method based on a generalized form of the J-integral and full-field measurements of the strain field is developed to extract the fracture energy. The fracture energy in four experiments is measured to be 20-40 kN/m. Finite element simulations are performed to validate the experimental results. The essential features of the response are captured by modelling the damage region with cohesive elements.