The
Somme is a region in Picardy, northern France
through
which the Somme River flows.
The
name Somme comes from a Celtic word meaning "tranquility".
During
WW1 more than 3 million men fought here
and
one million men were wounded or killed,
making
it one of the bloodiest battlefields in human history.
Not at all tranquil then,
thankfully the tranquility has now returned.
Not at all tranquil then,
thankfully the tranquility has now returned.
Our
first stop this morning was The Australian
National Memorial
at
Villers-Bretonneux on a hilltop 15 minutes from Amiens.
We
climbed the steps to the top of the tower.
There's
a 360° view of the surrounding countryside,
of
Australian sites on the Western Front.
The
Sir John Monash Centre is under construction on the site
(
hence the crane) it is due for completion by ANZAC day 2018
and
will be a lasting legacy from the Centenary of Anzac.
To
the right of the Memorial's central tower
are
panels that list the names of the 11,000 Australian soldiers
who
died on battlefields across France and have no known grave.
Their
names are listed under the units in which they died,
with
their rank and any honours and awards.
Polygon
Wood is where Andrew's maternal grandfather served.
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Our
second stop the town of Peronne,
was
occupied by the Germans for almost the entire length of the war
and
was liberated by the Australians on September 2nd
1918.
We
visited the award winning museum
housed
in a massively fortified chateau.
It
provides a good overview of WW1's historical and cultural context,
telling
the story of the war chronologically,
with
equal space given to French, British and German perspectives.
This
display demonstrates how many relics are still being found
by
farmers and residents in the area.
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From
there we visited the Australian Memorial at Le Hamel,
it
commemorates the participation of the Australian corps
in
the successful Battle of Le Hamel on the 4th
July 1918
when
General Monash led his Australian and American troops
into
a tactical battle that lasted only 93 minutes!
The central wall is adorned with a large bronze 'Rising Sun'.
A
very moving quote from the French Prime Minister is written
in
English on the left panel and French on the right.
The
remains of part of the captured German trench can also be seen.
This
nearby panel overlooks the field in which the Red Baron,
(Manfred
von Richthofen) was shot down on April 21, 1918.
He
was only 25 years old. He had been chasing a British fighter pilot
when
he was hit by a bullet. He managed to land the plane,
but
soon died from the bullet.
He
was buried in France by the Allies with a full military funeral.
He
earned the nickname, the
Red Baron, because he flew a red plane
and
became one of the most decorated fighter pilots in Germany.
Manfred
became very famous on both sides of the war.
He
wasn't necessarily a great pilot, but he was a
very accurate shooter, took
few risks, and used excellent tactics.
He
often used the sun to hide from view while
attacking an enemy from above.
….........................................................................................
Our
next stop was the memorial to
the
1st
Australian Division at Pozieres.
The
majority of these men had come to France
after
serving at Gallipolli.
Pozieres
was a key obstacle and captured
by
the Australians on 23rd
July 1916.
…....................................................................................
Just
beyond Pozieres, The Windmill Site
marks
a ridge more densely sown
with
Australian sacrifice than any other place on earth.
Within
view of this site between 23rd
July and 5th
December 1916,
Australia
suffered 23,000 casualties, more than 6,700 of whom died.
….....................................................................................
Arriving
in La Boisselle a sign points to the right to ‘La Grande Mine’.
It's
a huge crater known to the British as the ‘Lochnagar Crater’,
caused
by the detonation of a British mine at 7.28 am on 1 July 1916,
just
before the opening assaults of the Battle of the Somme.
No
sooner had the mine exploded than German and British
soldiers
hurled themselves across no–man’s–land
to
seize the lip of the newly formed crater.
Men
of the 10th Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment,
got
there first and held this vital position.
The
crater is privately owned by Richard
Dunning MBE,
if
you'd like to learn more about how he came to own it
you might like
to click on the link below.
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Our
final stop was the Underground City of Naours.
The
immense underground galleries are former quarries
that
were used, from the Middle Ages, as shelters during times of war.
It was difficult to take photos so some of these are from the internet.
It was difficult to take photos so some of these are from the internet.
The
site’s remarkable layout has been recognised as
one of the largest
network of tunnels in Northern France.
WW1 History
A
hospital was set up underground and many soldiers
visited
the caves too. During these visits
they
often inscribed their name on the walls of the caves.
Almost
3,000 names have been discovered so far.
This
recent revelation (2014) makes
the
underground city the highest concentration
of
WW1 graffiti as yet uncovered!
Today we walked 7.2k's
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