Angela Bird's Northern France pages: Battlefields through the centuries

ANGELA BIRD'S

Northern France
What to do and see within 90 minutes of Calais

BATTLEGROUND FRANCE
Visit war-related sites of Northern France, from the
Norman Conquest to World War II, by way of
the Hundred Years War, invasions by the Spanish Netherlands
and–of course–sites associated with World Wars I and II.

Pictured above: St-Valery-sur-Somme; Crécy en Ponthieu; Beaumont-Hamel; Somme poppy; WWII Atlantic Wall. All © Angela Bird.

War has been a fact of life for the inhabitants of Northern France over many centuries. They suffered invasion by tribes from neighbouring lands; then by the Romans and, later, the Vikings. Disputes over claims to the throne of France by England and by Spain gave rise to the Hundred Years War and the Thirty Years War, respectively. The Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71 obliterated strategic towns and caused the deaths of many thousands of soldiers. And the 20th century brought the most devastating wars seen in Europe, with World War I fought over large areas of Northern France, and World War II, causing first the evacuation of Allied troops in 1940, then the construction of Hitler’s Atlantic Wall and launch-sites for V-weapons, and finally the battles for liberation of the country from mid-1944.
KEY
ROMAN INVASION	100 YEARS WAR	30 YEARS WAR	NAPOLEONIC WARS	WORLD WAR I	WORLD WAR II

AREA 1: DUNKERQUE, CASSEL AND FRENCH FLANDERS

BAILLEUL	The town’s war memorial is a blasted bit of wall, a remainder/reminder of the devastation that the place suffered during World War I. WWI
BRAY-DUNES	The wide beaches and sand dunes – so empty today – are where the Allied troops massed while awaiting the Evacuation (see Memorial du Souvenir, below). WWII
DUNKERQUE	The fascinating story of the Dunkirk Evacuation of May 1940 is unfolded in the Mémorial du Souvenir. WWII

AREA 2: CALAIS, BOULOGNE, ST-OMER & WORLD WAR II

CALAIS	This port was a maze of medieval streets until World War II, when bombing by both sides reduced it almost entirely to rubble. Today the medieval church, built by the English during their occupation of Calais, is still undergoing restoration following World War II bombing. General de Gaulle was married here. WWII
CAP BLANC-NEZ	Dover Patrol monument. A tall obelisk commemorates the co-operation between British and French ships during World War I in their struggle to keep the Straits of Dover free of German U-boats. The success of the floating barrier, constantly patrolled by Allied trawlers, meant submarines were kept at bay and the conveying of men and equipment to and from the Western Front could be maintained. WWI

AREA 3: LE TOUQUET, MONTREUIL, HESDIN & THE SEVEN VALLEYS

AGINCOURT	Henry V marched from Normandy towards Calais, but was forced to engage the French Constable d’Albret in battle at what is now the village of Azincourt. There’s a good page on the battle here, on BritishBattles.com. The modern visitor centre in Azincourt, south of Fruges, tells the story, and you can walk round the battlefield to appreciate it better. HYW
MERLIMONT	At the south end of the beachfront promenade you can see a memorial, right, to a group of five young men who vowed to join de Gaulle in London in 1940, after the fall of France, and managed to reach England by canoe. WWII
MONTREUIL	As well as being an important fotress in medieval times, Montreuil was the headquarters of part of the British Army during World War I. Inside the Citadelle, right, make sure you follow the steps down to the “casemate”, and you will find yourself in the semi-underground rooms where the British Army’s nerve centre was located. A handsome statue, right, of Field Marshal Haig stands in a corner of the main square; the general rode into Montreuil every day from his château billet in the countryside. WWI

AREA 4: AMIENS, CRÉCY AND THE WILDLIFE OF THE SOMME BAY

AMIENS	Inside the wonderful cathedral, right, don’t miss the memorials in the south aisles to the many Allied troops of different nationalities who lost their lives outside Amiens in 1918 defending the city from the German attack. At the far end of the cathdral, backing onto the high altar and the choir section, look for the “weeping cherub” statue. Postcards of it were send home by Allied soldiers to their loved ones at home, making it world-famous. WWI
BERTANGLES	Visit this quaint village north of Amiens to see the churchyard in which the body of the “Red Baron”, Manfred von Richthofen, was first buried after he had been shot down by the Allies in 1918. (He now reposes in a family tomb in Wiesbaden, Germany.) WWI
CRECY-EN-PONTHIEU	To view the battlefield of Crécy, you can climb a wooden tower on the D111, 1km north of the pleasant little town. Edward III of England confronted Philippe VI of France here on 26 August 1346. Ask the tourist office for a map of the route across the battlefield. 10km SE of Crécy, on the D56, the curiously shaped Chapelle des 300 Corps (exterior only) is the supposed last resting-place of many of the French knights slain here. HYW
NAOURS	The “Cité Souterraine” makes a wonderful day out for young children, as it has a playground with swings and old-fashioned roundabouts. But its main interest is the tour of the extensive network of tunnels and 300 hollowed-out “rooms” beneath the surface, used by the locals to hide from invaders over the years. During World War I the tunnel system also did duty as an Australian hospital in 1916; In World War II it was used by the occupying Germans as a munitions store and as a command post. WWI & WWII	Picture from Grottes de Naours website

AREA 5: ARRAS, ALBERT & THE SOMME BATTLEFIELDS

ALBERT	Musée Somme 1916 is in a series of tunnels beneath the town’s large basilica church, now converted into an atmospheric museum of WWI trench life. Here are some rather wonderful photos of the basilica church of Albert, taken by French photographer Arnaud Fiocret The modern Thiepval Visitor Centre explains British and French action on the Somme. WWI
ARRAS	Don’t miss the recently-opened Carrière Wellington, a network of tunnels in which troops hid for days before springing a surprise attack on the Germans on 9 April 1917 WWI
PÉRONNE	The Historial de la Grande Guerre is a modern museum behind the medieval gatehouse of Péronne’s former castle. It gives a good overview of World War I. WWI
VILLERS-BRETONNEUX	The Musée Franco-Australien, at Villers-Bretonneux, describes the involvement of Australian forces in World War I. This “Digger history” site has good pictures of the Australian National Memorial, outside the town of Villers-Bretonneux. WWI

AREA 6: LENS, BÉTHUNE, BATTLES OF THE ARTOIS, & THE MINING BASIN

AUBERS	Aubers Ridge hardly rises at all above the surrounding marshland, but nevertheless afforded a major advantage to the Germans from Octber 1914 to October 1918. Attempts were made for the Allies to take it in 1915 and 1916, but little ground was made and heavy losses sustained. Visit the excellent little Musée 14-18, in nearby Fromelles, to see many artefacts from the battles, and the battlefield itself around the Cobbers’ Memorial and VC Corner Cemetery on the D22C 1.4km north of Fromelles. WWI
LOOS-EN-GOHELLE	The volunteers of the Alexandre Villedieu museum in Loos have set up an interesting website to give information on the area where the Battle of Loos was fought during WWI.. WWI	To visit the museum, or to book a tour of the Double Crassier site, contact the museum by email a.villedieu @ wanadoo.fr (close up spaces either side of the @ sign)

GENERAL: LINKS ARRANGED BY THEME

Roman Invasion 57BC

Hundred Years War 1337-1453

See a good explanation of the war here in The Orb: Online reference book for medieval studies.

Spanish Armada 1588

Thirty Years’ War 1618-48

Napoleonic Wars 1804-15

Franco-Prussian War 1870-71

WORLD WAR I 1914-18

The Royal British Legion are the people to contact in advance of your trip if you want to take a poppy wreath or cross with you to place at war sites. Their UK address is: The Poppy Appeal, RBL Village, Aylesford, Kent, ME20 7NX (UK tel: 01622 717172). It is best to arrange this before your trip. Although it is occasionally possible to buy the small poppy crosses at cafés or visitor centres in the Somme battlefields area, you cannot count on it.

The Long Long Trail website has been created by Chris Baker to present the facts of the British Army during World War I. It also has a lively forum on which much fascinating information is exchanged on all topics relating to the Great War – not only in France but also in other theatres of the war. If you want to know how to research a particular soldier, there are plenty of hints here. There are discussions about where to stay while visiting, as well as on the minutiae of uniforms, medals, battle plans and other topics.

The Great War in a Different Light is a brilliant website full of contemporary illustrations, photographs and writings from magazines published at the time. Exhaustively indexed, so you can quickly reach any subject of particular interest, it has extracts from publications in English, French, German, Spanish and Dutch.

The Western Front Association is an organisation that supports research into the Great War, the renovation of memorials and other projects.

The Imperial War Museum, London, was founded in 1917 and first opened to the public in 1920. Since 1936 it has been in its current location, the former Bethlem Royal Hospital buildings in Southwark. The original purpose of the IWM was to record the story of the Great War and mark the contribution of the Empire to victory. As well as comprehensive displays of uniforms and models connected with World War I, there is the excellent “Trench Experience”. Open Daily 10am-6pm.

The National Army Museum, London, has a permanent gallery devoted to World War I that includes infantry and cavalry soldiers from 1914, a machine gun team, trench periscope and reconstructed dug-out from 1917. Open Daily 10am-5.30pm.

The Historial de la Grande Guerre, Péronne, France, gives an excellent overview of World War I from the perspective of both sides. Headsets give tours in English, French and German. Open Daily 10am-6pm, Closed mid-Dec to mid-Jan.

Here is a map showing locations of museums in the Somme area, from the website The Great War 1914-1918.

It is strictly forbidden by French law to use metal detectors in the département of the Somme. This page (in French) explains the law in detail, but basically the reason is that so much dangerously unstable ordnance lies in the soil still (unexploded shells, gas shells, etc), which kills and maims many people every year.
NEVER TOUCH ANY OLD SHELLS OR OTHER ITEMS SEEN IN FIELDS AND ROADSIDE VERGES.

Battle of Arras/Artois April/May 1917

The Battle of Arras is well explained on this page from the Long Long Trail.

An explanation, from an American website, of the Battle of Arras and the taking of Vimy Ridge.

The Great War Different site shows contemporary illustrations of the tunnels beneath Arras, that enabled the Allies to surprise the Germans and to take Vimy Ridge

A description of the newly-opened “Wellington Quarry”, the labyrinth of tunnels beneath Arras in which Allied troops were concealed for two weeks before launching their Easter attack.

Battle of the Somme July-Nov 1916

The Battlefields of the Somme is a website set up by the Somme Tourist Board, with an excellent English version. It offers in-depth advice on research, museums, accommodation, tourist offices and other topics.

Battlefield guide Paul Reed has produced an excellent, fact-packed site about the Somme. Here is a link to the “Visiting the Somme” pages, with recommendations for accommodation and restaurants in the area.

Here is a map showing locations of museums in the Somme area, from the website The Great War 1914-1918.

Battle of the Lys April 1918

J Rickard’s site has a good description of the events leading up to the Battle of the Lys, during the German spring offensive of 1918.

WORLD WAR II 1939-45

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