Welcome to Cindy and David's 2014 Adventures
France - World War 1 Battlefields Tour - Part 1
Off to France and the Battlefields of WW1.
The "chunnel" freight train looks very formidable!
A 25 minute quiet and smooth journey and there we were in France.
Our guide, Peter, picked us up from Pinner and proceeded to look after us the entire time. We stayed in a lovely hotel in the town of Arras which was very comfortable and friendly.
The "chunnel" freight train looks very formidable!
A 25 minute quiet and smooth journey and there we were in France.
Our guide, Peter, picked us up from Pinner and proceeded to look after us the entire time. We stayed in a lovely hotel in the town of Arras which was very comfortable and friendly.
Such was Peter's enthusiasm for his subject he had to be reminded to feed and water his guests! This little tearoom was run by an English lady who had been there for 30 years and it is in the midst of the French countryside. Absolutely beautiful.
I had thought I would get a bit tired of battlefields during this trip but not so at all. Peter knew absolutely everything about each place and took us all down the Western Front explaining what happened where, right down to where Adolf Hitler was known to have fought.
We enjoyed the stunning countryside and the lovely little towns, all of which have been restored faithfully from the ruins to their former glory, all paid for by the War Commission formed after it was all over.
When we headed back to England, the question Peter asked was what we all ask - Did we learn anything at all from all this slaughter and mayhem?
We enjoyed the stunning countryside and the lovely little towns, all of which have been restored faithfully from the ruins to their former glory, all paid for by the War Commission formed after it was all over.
When we headed back to England, the question Peter asked was what we all ask - Did we learn anything at all from all this slaughter and mayhem?
Villers-Bretonneux - Australian cemetry maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves commission
Remember the film "Hill 60", well this is not it. Tunneling under, and blowing up the enemy positions was common practise on both sides. This one is Lochnagar Crater.
Villers-Brettoneux in the distance.
Villers-Bretonneux became famous in 1918, when the German advance on Amiens ended in the capture of the village by their tanks and infantry on 23 April. On the following day, the 4th and 5th Australian Divisions, with units of the 8th and 18th Divisions, under the command of General John Monash, recaptured the whole of the village and on 8 August 1918, the 2nd and 5th Australian Divisions advanced from its eastern outskirts in the Battle of Amiens.
Villers-Bretonneux became famous in 1918, when the German advance on Amiens ended in the capture of the village by their tanks and infantry on 23 April. On the following day, the 4th and 5th Australian Divisions, with units of the 8th and 18th Divisions, under the command of General John Monash, recaptured the whole of the village and on 8 August 1918, the 2nd and 5th Australian Divisions advanced from its eastern outskirts in the Battle of Amiens.
Battle of Pozières 23 July 1916 - 07 August 1916 Windmill Hill and the Tank memorial
Pozières, a small village in the Somme valley in France, was the scene of bitter and costly fighting for the 1st, 2nd and 4th Australian Divisions in mid 1916.
The village was captured initially by the 1st Division on 23 July 1916. The division clung to its gains despite almost continuous artillery fire and repeated German counter-attacks but suffered heavily. By the time it was relieved on 27 July it had suffered 5,285 casualties.
The 2nd Division took over from the 1st and mounted two further attacks - the first, on 29 July, was a costly failure; the second, on 2 August, resulted in the seizure of further German positions beyond the village. Again, the Australians suffered heavily from retaliatory bombardments. They were relieved on 6 August, having suffered 6,848 casualties.
The 4th Division was next into the line at Pozières. It too endured a massive artillery bombardment, and defeated a German counter-attack on 7 August; this was the last attempt by the Germans to retake Pozières.
Pozières, a small village in the Somme valley in France, was the scene of bitter and costly fighting for the 1st, 2nd and 4th Australian Divisions in mid 1916.
The village was captured initially by the 1st Division on 23 July 1916. The division clung to its gains despite almost continuous artillery fire and repeated German counter-attacks but suffered heavily. By the time it was relieved on 27 July it had suffered 5,285 casualties.
The 2nd Division took over from the 1st and mounted two further attacks - the first, on 29 July, was a costly failure; the second, on 2 August, resulted in the seizure of further German positions beyond the village. Again, the Australians suffered heavily from retaliatory bombardments. They were relieved on 6 August, having suffered 6,848 casualties.
The 4th Division was next into the line at Pozières. It too endured a massive artillery bombardment, and defeated a German counter-attack on 7 August; this was the last attempt by the Germans to retake Pozières.
Cobber Memorial - FromellesThe memorial park is situated on the German defensive line which was attacked on 19th-20th July 1916 by the Australian forces at the Battle of Fromelles.
