Showing posts with label World War I in France. Show all posts
Showing posts with label World War I in France. Show all posts

04 January 2019

Guide to WORLD WAR I in FRANCE posts






WORLD WAR I in FRANCE


The following links take you to the post about the sites along The Western Front of World War I.

On the occasion of the centenary of World War I in 2018, I traveled The Western Front from Belgium to the Swiss Border and remembered the Armistice of 11 November 1918 at the Cenotaph in London, England.


Pozières The Windmill honouring Australian troops in Northern France
Pozières Tank Corp memorial near the first use of tanks

Lochnagar Crater and the British offensive known as the Battle of the Somme. The mine blasted ground when the Battle of the Somme began 1 July 1916


Beaumont Hamel Newfoundland Memorial Park honouring British troops from

     Newfoundland

Thiepval Memorial, Visitor Centre, and Museum The memorial honours British

     and South African troops


Compiegne —the site of the 1918 Armistice


Meaux Museum —an extensive battlefield museum

La Ferté-sous-Jouarre British war memorial including monuments to the

     Royal Engineers

Belleau Wood and the American Monument – remembering U.S. Marines who fought here
      in 1918

Chateau-Thierry and the American memorial —impressive memorial 
     atop a hill by the Marne River

Les Fantômes Memorial Sculpture by Paul Landowski— creative sculpture 
     located at the Second Battle of the Marne 1918

Soisson The British Memorial honouring about 4,000 British Commonwealth troops,
     who died in the Battles of the Aisne and Marne.

Aisne —Cerny en Loannois — picturesque village with a chapel and cemetery
     in the area known as Chemin des Dames

Aisne and the Monument to the Crapouillots French artillerymen 
     honoured in a monument shaped like a mortar shell

Tank Corp Memorial   This memorial includes several large scale tanks.

Le Main de Massiges and the impressive reconstructed trenches


Hill of Vauquois and the devastation of mine warfare. A village is obliterated.

Romagne a small town with an interesting museum on the way to the

     American cemetery of the Meuse-Argonne battle

Meuse-Argonne —an impressive American Memorial near Verdun


Voie Sacrée Memorial on the way to Verdun the sacred supply route

The Battle of Verdun —Verdun and the nearby Museum

Trench of Bayonets memorial and the Battle of Verdun

Douamont Ossuary  and Cemetery and the Battle of Verdun

Romanian (aka Rumanian) Military Cemetery at Soultzmatt France

Le Ligne Museum and Trenches located in the beauty of the mountains.

Ilfurth—a German Cemetery

Vieil Armand Battlefield also known as Hartmannswillerkopf—National Monument

Pfetterhouse at the Swiss Border


See also...



*****


Connections

If interested, please join me. I write about psychology and culture—especially topics related to the Psychology of Religion and Positive Psychology.

___________________________________________________

My Page    www.suttong.com

My Books  
 AMAZON     GOOGLE PLAY STORE

FACEBOOK  
 Geoff W. Sutton

TWITTER  @Geoff.W.Sutton

LinkedIN Geoffrey Sutton  PhD

___________________________________________________

Academic Publications (many free downloads)
     
  Academia   Geoff W Sutton   (PhD)
     
  ResearchGate   Geoffrey W Sutton   (PhD)


Trench of Bayonets World War I France




Not far from Douamont is the memorial to the soldiers in the Trench of the Bayonets. A German offensive resulted in men completely covered in their trenches. What was visible was their bayonets sticking up through the ground.

The memorial remembers the French soldiers. Because of the theft of bayonets, crosses now mark the sacred soil.


My World War I Travels



Connections

My Page    www.suttong.com

My Books  
 AMAZON     GOOGLE PLAY STORE

FACEBOOK  
 Geoff W. Sutton

TWITTER  @Geoff.W.Sutton

LinkedIN Geoffrey Sutton  PhD

Publications (many free downloads)
     
  Academia   Geoff W Sutton   (PhD)
     
  ResearchGate   Geoffrey W Sutton   (PhD)



The Battle of Verdun France




The Battle of Verdun was the longest battle in recent history, which began 21 February and extended until 15 December 1916.

The city of Verdun is located on the River Meuse. The Germans has gained control of the high ground on the east side of the river.



The plan of attack was devised by German Chief of Staff, Erich von Falkenhayn. The attack, following bombrdment, was led by Crown Prince Whilhelm. The plan was supposed to quickly take the French out of the war before the British Empire could become fully engaged. But later in the year, the British drew German troops away to the Battle of the Somme.



The nearby Verdun Memorial Museum was modernised, expanded, and reopened in 2016, which was the centenary of the First World War battle.

Visitors can view artefacts from the battlefield and learn the history of the Battle of Verdun in the context of the War.

The French and their allies held their ground despite the use of gas.



A marker reminds visitors of the crucial supply line along the Voie Sacrée.


Dioramas attempt to help visitors glimpse the battlefield terrain.



A simple plane represents the changes coming to modern warfare.






Not far away is the impressive hilltop American Memorial to the Meuse-Argonne offensive.


The Battle of Verdun included fighting at Fort Douamont and Vaux on the right bank. Many are buried at the Douaumont Ossuary and cemetery.


Connections

My Page    www.suttong.com

My Books  
 AMAZON     GOOGLE PLAY STORE

FACEBOOK  
 Geoff W. Sutton

TWITTER  @Geoff.W.Sutton

LinkedIN Geoffrey Sutton  PhD

Publications (many free downloads)
     
  Academia   Geoff W Sutton   (PhD)
     
  ResearchGate   Geoffrey W Sutton   (PhD)








Douamont Ossuary and Cemetery France World War I



The Battle of Verdun resulted in some 700,000 casualties with 230,000 killed. Many unidentified soliders are among those whose bones lie within the ossuary.


The ossuary is atop a hill near the town of Verdun, which is known for the longest battle of the Great War.



Below the hilltop is a cemetery.


My World War I Travels




Connections

My Page    www.suttong.com

My Books  
 AMAZON     GOOGLE PLAY STORE

FACEBOOK  
 Geoff W. Sutton

TWITTER  @Geoff.W.Sutton

LinkedIN Geoffrey Sutton  PhD

Publications (many free downloads)
     
  Academia   Geoff W Sutton   (PhD)
     
  ResearchGate   Geoffrey W Sutton   (PhD)



01 January 2019

Vieil Armand Battlefield - Hartmannswillerkopf National Monument France



Hartmannswillerkopf was the site of many battles between 26 December 1914 to 9 January 1916. It is a national monument to the Great War.




It is located in the Alsatian plain. Hartmannswillerkopf is also known at the Vieil Armand in French.











About 30,000 soldiers died in this area.


My World War I Travels




Ilfurth German World War I Cemetery France


This German cemetery contains the graves of 1964 German soldiers of World War I.



One grave identified the first German soldier who died 2 August 1914, Lieutenant Albert Mayer.




My World War I Travels





Pfetterhouse and World War I France



The Pfetterhouse marks the end point of The World War I Western Front. Along the road from the house pictured above is the Swiss border.
















In the wooded area nearby are trenchworks with storyboards describing the battlefield.















My World War I Travels




Connections

My Page    www.suttong.com

My Books  
 AMAZON     GOOGLE PLAY STORE

FACEBOOK  
 Geoff W. Sutton

TWITTER  @Geoff.W.Sutton

LinkedIN Geoffrey Sutton  PhD

Publications (many free downloads)
     
  Academia   Geoff W Sutton   (PhD)
     
  ResearchGate   Geoffrey W Sutton   (PhD)







Rumanian Military Cemetery Soultzmatt France



This is the largest Rumanian cemtery in France. There are 553 graves for the dead of World War I. The cemetery was opened in 1924 by King Ferdinant and Queen Marie of Rumania.












My World War I Travels



Connections

My Page    www.suttong.com

My Books  
 AMAZON     GOOGLE PLAY STORE

FACEBOOK  
 Geoff W. Sutton

TWITTER  @Geoff.W.Sutton

LinkedIN Geoffrey Sutton  PhD

Publications (many free downloads)
     
  Academia   Geoff W Sutton   (PhD)
     
  ResearchGate   Geoffrey W Sutton   (PhD)


Le Ligne Museum and Trenches France


The museum, set in the Vosges, contains objects found on the battlefield as well as full size figures of French and German soldiers.
























Outside is a path to the French and German trenches that scar the beautiful hilly landscape.



























Memorial museum website link

My World War I Travels




Connections

My Page    www.suttong.com

My Books  
 AMAZON     GOOGLE PLAY STORE

FACEBOOK  
 Geoff W. Sutton

TWITTER  @Geoff.W.Sutton

LinkedIN Geoffrey Sutton  PhD

Publications (many free downloads)
     
  Academia   Geoff W Sutton   (PhD)
     
  ResearchGate   Geoffrey W Sutton   (PhD)



American Memorial Meuse Argonne France



The largest number of American soldiers in Europe are buried at this site. 

The soldiers died during the Meuse-Argonne offensive of World War I and total 14,246.

Video of the Memorial









On site are a memorial, cemetery, and visitor center, which was reopened in 2016.



Inside the visitor center





















Some of the soldiers remain here but others were buried in the US.



Historical note


The Meuse–Argonne offensive took place during World War I and was a major part of the final Allied offensive along the entire Western Front. It began on September 26, 1918, and continued until the Armistice of November 11, 1918, lasting a total of 47 days¹. During this offensive, more than 700 Allied tanks advanced against German positions in the Argonne Forest and along the Meuse River after a six-hour-long bombardment². It involved a massive force of 1.2 million French, Siamese, and American soldiers, making it the largest in United States military history. Unfortunately, it also resulted in over 350,000 casualties, including 28,000 German lives, 26,277 American lives, and an unknown number of French lives. The inexperience of many troops, early-phase tactics, and the global influenza outbreak ("Spanish flu") contributed to the severity of American losses during this campaign¹. The Meuse–Argonne offensive was a significant engagement for the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) and played a crucial role in bringing World War I to an end¹.

 

Sources: Conversation with Copilot, 5/26/2024

(1) Meuse–Argonne offensive - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meuse%E2%80%93Argonne_offensive.

(2) Meuse-Argonne offensive opens | September 26, 1918 | HISTORY. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/meuse-argonne-offensive-opens.

(3) Meuse-Argonne Offensive in World War I - ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/world-war-i-meuse-argonne-offensive-2361406.

(4) Meuse-Argonne Offensive - Military History - Oxford Bibliographies. https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/abstract/document/obo-9780199791279/obo-9780199791279-0038.xml.




US website link


My World War I Travels





Connections

My Page    www.suttong.com

My Books  
 AMAZON     GOOGLE PLAY STORE

FACEBOOK  
 Geoff W. Sutton


LinkedIN Geoffrey Sutton  PhD

Publications (many free downloads)
     
  Academia   Geoff W Sutton   (PhD)
     
  ResearchGate   Geoffrey W Sutton   (PhD)

Here are some more photos 




Private Johnson

Private Beaver
















Romagne 14-18 WWI Museum Romagne-sous-Montfaucon France



An informal but extensive collection of military artefacts from World War I can be found in this museum-gift shop-restaurant in Romagne.




































The building itself does not appear like a modern museum but it's worth a visit to step inside.
And it's not a bad place for lunch.




The village is small and worth a walkabout




















At the opposite end of the village from the church is a street named for General Pershing, which leads to the American Cemetery.




















My World War I Travels




Connections

My Page    www.suttong.com

My Books  
 AMAZON     GOOGLE PLAY STORE

FACEBOOK  
 Geoff W. Sutton

TWITTER  @Geoff.W.Sutton

LinkedIN Geoffrey Sutton  PhD

Publications (many free downloads)
     
  Academia   Geoff W Sutton   (PhD)
     
  ResearchGate   Geoffrey W Sutton   (PhD)