WW I Battlefield Tours

[MRM]

I know there are a number of history experts on the Board, here, and more than a few Europeans with firsthand information on WWI, so I thought I would post my inquiry here. This year is the 100th anniversary of the end of WWI. My older son and I want to tour as many battle sites this October as possible. We were able to see Verdun two years ago when he was doing his semester abroad, but this would be a dedicated WWI battle tour.

We were thinking we would fly in to Brussels and rent a car to drive down the western front, starting at Ypres, then through Lens, Vimy, Aras, possibly up to Mons, but definitely down to Verdun, St. Mihiel, and possibly all the way on to Pfetterhouse. If we did that, we might fly back home through Switzerland.

Does anyone have any recommendations of the order in which to see sites to maximize time, or sites that aren't to be missed? We will be on our own and will have a car. It will be about a ten day trip. We are open to a bit of WWII cross touring. The Ardennes would be a natural fit, but the focus is on the centennial of WWI.

I don't mean to impose, but if our resident fluffer or other European members had any suggestions, we would be most receptive.

[stuartj]

The Western Front is large, and Ive never been to Belgian end of it. But I can suggest the Somme Valley as - I struggle for the right word here- an amazing region to visit. The scope and scale of what happened there 1916-18 is hard to get your mind around.

If you were to base yourself in the major town of Amiens, which was a strategic prize, nearby is Albert, Poziere, Mont St Quenton, Peronne, Villiers Bretonneau. The Newfoundland monument near Beaumont Hamel is on amazing preserved site of trenches purchased by Canada after WW1, and nearby is a small grove in which stands a stunning giant kilted Highlander. The huge British monument to the 72000 missing is at Thiepval.

There are many many significant sites in the region of Amiens, and engaging a guide is a good idea. This book, with its maps, is a great investment.



Some interesting trivia. That book cover image is a monument at Mont St Quenton (allegedly by family lore, an image of a friends grandfather). Its not the original monument. During the German advances through the Somme in WW2, Hitler ordered that all WW1 sites be preserved. Except this one. He specifically ordered it pulled down. This is the original monument, erected after WW1, depicts a German eagle meeting its demise.

My wife, who loves France but had zero interest in WW1, was deeply affected by her time on the Somme and is planning another visit this year.

[Neilk]

Great post. Will be in Brussels at the end of July and was thinking about doing the same.

[kevin993]

Don't have time to do a full brain dump here, but see if Belleau Wood and the Aisne Marne cemetery can get on your list. There are lots of other smaller memorials, sights and cemeteries in that general area as well that we stumbled on just driving around.

The Lorraine cemetery in France is enormous and worth a stop as well.

We love the Ardennes and have done a WWII history trip there. There are some foxholes in the woods and some memorials scattered around the countryside, but it was a bit difficult to really get a good sense of things without a good map and some good research to know what you're looking at. We also did Hurtgen Forest and checked out the dragon's teeth along the Siegfried Line, but that may be getting too far east for your schedule.

The Menin Gate in Ypres is a mandatory stop, but presuming you've already got that one. Very humbling.

[svandamme]

Not sure how much time you want to take for such a trip, but the Western Front is a lot of ground to cover from coast to Switserland.

Menin Gate is very busy now and has been for the last years.
And unfortunately it became s a bit of a tourist trap..
Instead of just the Last Post every day, they now have special ceremonies where groups of visitors can read a poem or lay down a wreath ..
It's a bit to much hoopla compared to how it was if you ask me. I remember it like in the 80ies where barely a soul was visiting in winter and they still did it.
These days it's jam packed with people stand around talking through the ceremony.

There is a lot to see, take your time, the Commonwealth cemetaries are very nice.
Tiny Cot,
Ramparts cemetary on the Town Ramparts is a small but very beautiful place
Bedford House cemetary is a cemetary, the CWWGC director told me he liked that one best. It's worth a visit.
Lijsenthoek (old front hospital site so very different from the rest),
sint Symphorien in Mons is also very nice (again different as it was built by the Germans and has the first and last KIA meters away from eachother).

Talbot house , very interesting, basically a WW1 behind the frontlines Guest house for soldiers.
still as it was..
http://www.talbothouse.be/en/museum/home


the DodenGang is a trench system preserved (restored) near Diksmuide worth visiting
https://www.flandersfields.be/en/do/%E2%80%98trench-death%E2%80%99-visitors-centre
It's maintained by Belgian Defence departement.

Keiem Belgian Army cemetary, very different from the British ones in different ways
very strange to see rows on rows of "unknown"

Also visit the Deutscher Soldatenfriedhof of Langemarck.
a very rare German cemetary (most got repatriated)

There is also Pond farm where a friend of mine built a Replica Mark IV tank, that works.
http://www.depondfarm.be/
He also has a museum at hom, free of charge (but he can use donations for the tank project).

There is also Barry who is a Brit who moved to Belgium when the pistols got banned in UK
now he has a massive collection, of Webleys and other stuff, and he goes and mines the old WW1 ammonal mines..
http://classicfirearms.be/ENG/home.html
He's got a bit of a museum, and has good stories..you'de have to contact him and arrange a visit or guide , but i'm sure he'll be very busy in Oktober/November, so don't wait with that

you could spend a month in the Ypres Salient and still only brush the surface
Expect things to be very busy in that time of year.


That's the quick dump, gotta ron, have a date with a Dynomometer to get my Gator tuned up

[ZOO]

When you are in the Arras area be sure to find the German cemetery. Vimy and Beaumont-Hamel are worth visiting.

[john70t]

"When the elephants fight the grass gets trampled"- african saying i think

[MRM]

Red Beard's thread on Belleau Wood reminded me to update this thread. Junior and I have refined our plans a bit. We're planning two weeks, roughly October 8-20. I bought guide books to Ypres, Vimy Ridge and the Somme, which line up well enough that we'll start on the Northwest and move down the front from one to the other. We will work our way down to at least Verdun and St. Mihiel because on a previous trip we were able to spend only part of at Verdun and part of this trip is to complete what we missed last time.

How does this sound as an itinerary? Fly into Brussels or Amsterdam and drive first to Ypres. After Ypres, see Arras/Vimy Ridge, then the Somme, Belleau Wood/Chateau Thierry, the Marne, and end at Verdun and St. Mihiel. If we end there, where should we fly out of? Does it make sense to fly in and out of Paris? It seems like backtracking a little, but I don't see a good return airport option on the south/east end of the trip.

That's six areas to explore. We'll have a car and will be fully mobile. We can probably add a stop or two and still be able to give each location the attention it deserves. We're also working to incorporate as much of Stijn's suggestions as possible. Visiting the German cemetery and getting to see some parts of the German areas sounds like a great suggestion. We'll work a combined tour of some areas of the Battle of the Bulge while we're in that area.

Anything obvious that I'm missing here? Any specific locations or experiences we should make sure to see or do? I love Webleys so Barry the Brit sounds like a must visit.

[matthewb0051]

Verdun is a great central location. From there you can visit the location where the smaller villages were wiped off the face of the earth.
From each of the flowing you can see the other and how the line was fortified.
Fort Vaux,
Fort de Vaux Tourisme Grande guerre Verdun 1916

Fort Duamont,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Douaumont

The Verdun Museum:

Mémorial de Verdun. Musée et lieu de mémoire de la bataille de Verdun

And the Ossuary
L'Ossuaire de Douaumont | Souvenez vous de Verdun…


Sorry but my hotel recommendation in Verdun is now closed. Mom/pop cool place in great city center location. Dang.

Also near Verdun is the Meuse Argon American Cemetery and a Big Red One Monument (Duty First!). The MA Cemetery has the largest number of American dead in Europe. Yes, bigger than Normandy.

https://www.abmc.gov/cemeteries-memorials/europe/meuse-argonne-american-cemetery#.WxmQN0gvyUk