World War I Battlefields: The Tour to End all Tours
One of the most difficult parts of World War I was that the in over four years of fighting front line never moved very far. What’s bad for the soldier is great for the sightseer, as most World War I battlefields are in the same area, straddling the border of France and Belgium.
Ypres
Flanders for example saw fighting throughout the war, from October 1914 until November 1918. Ypres makes an excellent homebase for exploring Flanders. In fact, the town itself has some sites that are interesting to see before setting out to the battlefield. A great place to start is at the In Flanders Field Museum, which is set in the ancient Cloth Hall building. Ypres, itself a battlefield, was devastated during the war, and to see how well the town rebuilt while retaining its original character, you have only to visit the Cathedral of St. Martin and St. Nicholas. The St. George Memorial Church also makes an interesting stop. It was built after the war to give English pilgrims visiting their fallen loved ones in the many new cemeteries surrounding the town would have a British Church in which to mourn and pray. A plaque inside commemorates ‘One Million Dead’ of the British Empire. Ypres offers many hotel choices that make great starting points for the city and the battlefields surrounding it.
The Somme
Between July and November 1916, more than one and a half million soldiers fell in the infamous Battle of the Somme, making it one of history’s bloodiest battles. Set in northern France’s now-tranquil Picardy Region, the area has not changed much in the last century. Of the several villages populating the area, the most accessible to the Somme battlefields is the town of Albert, which offers several restaurants and several hotels. From Albert, it’s easy to get away from the major roads and onto the country lanes to get the feeling of what the area was like when the war came. Be sure to visit Delville Wood, also known as “Devil’s Wood.” The impressive South African Memorial at the Delville Wood Cemetery marks the spot of a particularly ferocious battle that the South Africans participated in. Near the village of Thiepval is the Ulster Tower, a serene replica of Helen’s Tower in County Down, Ireland, where men of the 36th Division trained.
Verdun
Not far from the Somme battlefields are the cemeteries and monuments marking the Battle of Verdun, which was fought between the Germans and the French from February to December 1916. Though the French were eventually victorious, the lost many more men than the Germans, and the 40 million artillery shells exchanged scarred the land with craters that can still be seen today. In the heart of the Verdun battlefield is a sight that you will never forget, known as the Ossuary. Inside the base of this towering monument are the bones of 130,000 men recovered from the battlefield, which can be viewed through small windows. On the slope below the Ossuary are the graves of another 15,000 French soldiers. Nearby are reminders that this was a worldwide conflict; the Memorial to Muslim soldiers and the Memorial to Israelites. Also near the Ossuary is the famous Trench of Bayonets, which has been preserved by along low concrete structure covering the site. There’s a lot to take in, and the best way to not rush is to spend the night in a Verdun hotel.
Cambrai
The French village of Cambrai was “lucky” enough to host two battles, one in 1917 and the other right before the end of the war in October 1918. The latter battle was notable for the use of a new machine of war; the tank. Unlike the much larger cemeteries and memorials of Verdun and the Somme, visiting Cambrai’s battlefields is a much more intimate experience. Cambrai is surrounded by many small villages, and the military cemeteries are often smaller, containing graves in their hundreds and sometimes even in their tens. Five Points Cemetery, the Rocquigny-Equancourt Road British Cemetery, the Grand Ravine Cemetery and the Flesquieres Hill British Cemetery are a few of them. Also of note is the Cambrai Memorial to the Missing, which is just outside the small village of Louverval. Cambrai hotels are also petite affairs and nice places to stay after reflecting on the surrounding sites.
Vimy Ridge
Part of the larger Battle of Arras, the 1917 Battle of Vimy Ridge was the Canada’s shining moment in the war, and the Vimy Ridge Memorial the Canadians built after the war is truly an awesome sight. Carved from a single piece of stone, set on the highest point of the ridge the Canadians took and opened in 1936, the memorial can be seen from miles away. Heading away from the monument to Beaumont Hamel and Sanctuary Wood, you can see some of the original trenches. The Grange Tunnel offers tours of the underground network of tunnels that riddled this area of the Western Front, and may cause you to wonder how many miles of northeastern France have similar tunnels beneath them. Vimy Ridge is located just north of the town of Arras, which offers several hotel options.
