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Pictured above: St-Valery-sur-Somme; Crécy en Ponthieu;
Beaumont-Hamel; |
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War
has been a fact of life for the inhabitants of |
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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 |
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The
fascinating story of the Dunkirk Evacuation of May 1940 is unfolded in the Mémorial du Souvenir. WWII |
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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 |
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CAP BLANC-NEZ |
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Henry V
marched from |
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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 |
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As well as
being an important fotress in medieval times, 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 |
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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 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 |
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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. |
Picture from Grottes de Naours
website |
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ALBERT |
Musée Somme 1916 is in a series of tunnels beneath the
town’s large basilica church, now converted into an atmospheric 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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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Roman Invasion
57BC |
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Hundred Years War
1337-1453 See a good explanation of the war here in The Orb: Online reference book for medieval studies. |
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Spanish Armada
1588 |
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Thirty Years’ War
1618-48 |
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Napoleonic
Wars 1804-15 |
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Franco-Prussian
War 1870-71 |
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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 |
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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. |
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The Western Front Association is an organisation that
supports research into the Great War, the renovation of memorials and other
projects. |
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The
Imperial War Museum, |
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The National Army Museum, |
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The Historial
de la Grande Guerre, |
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Here is a map showing
locations of museums in the Somme area, from the website The Great War
1914-1918. |
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It is strictly forbidden by French law to
use metal detectors in the
département of the |
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The
Battle of Arras is well explained on this page from the Long Long Trail. |
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An explanation, from an American website,
of the Battle of Arras
and the taking of Vimy Ridge. |
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The
Great War Different site shows contemporary illustrations of the tunnels
beneath |
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A description of the newly-opened
“Wellington Quarry”, the labyrinth of tunnels beneath |
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Battlefield guide Paul Reed has produced an
excellent, fact-packed site about the |
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Here is a map showing locations of museums in the Somme area, from the website The Great War 1914-1918. |
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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. |
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WORLD WAR
II 1939-45 |
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NORTHERN FRANCE
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