The Somme

  We were ready to leave Arras and after photographing the war memorial across from the hotel and finding a great little bakery where we purchased both breakfast and lunch, we headed for the battle areas of the Somme which was just south of Arras. This area saw very heavy fighting in 1916 as the British sought to relieve pressure on the French at Verdun. Tomorrow we will go to Verdun. The Somme really proved tragic as the attacks were not well planned and the British suffered tremendous casualties – in fact 60,000 on the first day of the attacks. The fighting would bog down here for 2 more years and become a meat grinder. The area is scattered with Commonwealth nation’s national memorials to honor the troops that were sacrificed and like the Ypres area with the large Menin Gate national memorial, the Somme also is home to a British national memorial. 

 As a result of the fighting, the area is scattered with many, many small memorials as a well as cemeteries. By now I can spot a British/Commonwealth cemetery at almost a mile away. They are so sad as just scattered in isolated areas across the countryside. And all around this day were the beautiful red poppies.   

The first large memorial that we visited was again Canadian but this time the Newfoundlanders! They had fought bravely on one spot of ground that is now the possession of the Canadian government. The area is preserved with the ground still visibly scarred and many areas off limits for walking because of explosives. However, two items here were really special. First, the Newfoundlanders symbol is prevalent throughout the memorial park and on their memorial itself – a majestic sculpted caribou!! Apparently there are 6 of them placed around northern France, but the one here is the largest. Second, the memorial park is mainly staffed by a specially selected group of Canadian/Newfoundland college students who go through a rigorous application and interview process to be chosen. They spend 4 months at the memorial as part of their national service and it is quite a sought after honor. We chatted with a very nice young man in the information office who after was at first surprised to see 2 American ladies visiting the war memorials (we had told him that we had seen Vimy Ridge the day before) and once I explained my project, he offered to give us a personal tour around the park! Man it would have been great, however, we had too many other places to visit this day to linger for several hours. So after bidding farewell, we were on the road again.   

This day we would track down several more very unusual Commonwealth national/unit memorials and the next one was quite unique. The Ulster troops had built a small castle on the hill that they defended! It rises like a fairy tale as you drive along the road. 

I was headed for the largest British memorial in the world – the Thiepval tower. Built on the highest point overlooking the Somme battlefields, it commemorates the more than 74,000 British/Commonwealth troops that lost their lives but are physically unaccounted for – this is 20,000 more than on the massive Menin Gate. Again, like Vimy Ridge pictures hardly do it justice and I am not sure they convey the massive size of the structure.  

There were many plastic poppy memorial wreaths laid here and a large tour group of British middle school students. I should pause a moment here to also tell you that everywhere we have gone in the WWI sites there have been many groups of school children who have been brought to visit the sites. There are quite a few British but also some French and German and they range from pretty young elementary school to high school. In the cemetery below the tower are British and French troops buried side-by-side – a n unusual site.     Also it is important to remember that all of these cemeteries and national memorials sit on land that the French generously donated to these nations for these memorials and which the nation then maintains. Thiepval towers over the countryside and can be seen for miles.      The folks at the small gift shop were very friendly and when they learned we were professors gave us some additional small booklets to use for teaching.  

As we drove away from Thiepval, I came across a small unusual obelisk on the side of the road that was not listed on any of my maps or information and when I pulled over into the small pull out I could see small models of tanks on it. Well BINGO! This memorial commemorated the site where tanks had first been used in combat! I was not surprised as Cambrai (site of the first major tank battle as planned and organized by JFC Fuller upon whom I had written a graduate paper) was just down the road but it was a fun find.       Not far near Pozieres was a memorial to a sight known as the windmill that had been fought over by Australian troops (them again LOL). The windmill had been a key landmark in an otherwise devastated landscape and the ruins of the windmill foundation as well as trenches were still visible. The memorial also had a plaque listing casualty figures by nation on the Western Front. 

My next target was the South African national memorial and I must say it turned out to be quite a surprise. It is located amongst a small forest – all of which was re-planted since the war and sits back from the road. As you approach it appears to be made of the white marble like many of the rest of the memorials and the top is crowned with 2 men reigning in a horse.      However….as you walk through the center, you suddenly see another building set back even farther behind it and with what appear to be glass doors and a cross beyond it. So we approached this second building and were stunned to find a beautiful museum with etched glass doors! It is in the shape of a ring with the center walls etched glass listing all of the battlefields and sites upon which the South African troops in WWI and WWII participated and in the center of the ring is a courtyard with a majestic marble cross. This was like unwrapping a surprise present and simply stunning in its elegance and location. There were 2 other folks in the whole place along with us. Such a beautiful and moving tribute to these men and yet in the middle of nowhere.     

From the surprising South African memorial we now set off on a fun adventure – we were chasing a dragon! At Thiepval we had seen pictures of the Welsh Fusilliers memorial – a bright red dragon! I knew I had to have a photo of this but finding it proved to be a real trip. The signage to direct us was haphazard at best and it was located on road with no name or number. So we kept trying different roads. We finally ended up on a road that grew increasingly smaller and at one point was 2 tire tracks, but we persevered as we drove deeper into the French countryside – laughing all the way. Suddenly, we saw another car up ahead coming our way, a car Suzanne recognized from one of the memorial parking lots from just earlier in the day. As they approached we found a slightly wide spot in the road and both cars passed by each other. As we rounded the next curve, there was a pull out and on the hill above us was our dragon! Again amazing that such a striking memorial is only seen by the local farmers who work the land a few intrepid explorers/history buffs like ourselves. We were now pumped after all of our escapades since we did find the dragon!   

Our last stop this day, was the Australian National Memorial. It also sits on a hill with a large cemetery laid out in front of it. The roses were blooming as we parked the car in the pull out and began the walk back to the memorial itself which stands so regally. The memorial was damaged during WWII and pockmarks from artillery and small arms fire are still visible. The names of over 11,000 Australian troops lost and without identifiable remains are etched on its walls.         Our last adventure was to hike up the steps to the top for a great view across the French countryside and the hike was worth it. Again as you see the flags in the pictures from this day, note that they are all waving majestically, which means cold wind for us and the top of the memorial was pretty chilly. There is a sundial at the top with directions and distances marked upon it including for towns in Australia.     

After descending the memorial, we headed to Reims and our hotel for the night. Reims is home to the largest cathedral in all of France and it was down the street from our hotel. Now I must say this hotel left much to be desired! It was clearly a very old building and had no a/c although they provided a fan. It was also pretty musty and dusty, had a tiny bathroom (even by European standards) and only 1 electric outlet that was no where near the bathroom or a mirror! With our day’s escapades we had worked up an appetite so we walked to a great area of town and had a nice dinner on the patio with a bottle of wine. We would survive our night in Reims but were up early and ready to head out the next day which would be our last with the car.     And here Joan of Arc (my patron saint) played here vital role in the Hundred Years War.