Guide to the Western Front

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Welcome to the Galina’s Guide to the Western Front ‘Experience the Difference’

Many groups want to visit the Western Front - to learn about World War I, to remember the sacrifice of the men and women who gave their lives for their country, to study the great works of literature that the titanic struggle and the horrendous suffering inspired or to experience a sense of history at some of the most iconic locations in the tragic story of the twentieth century - but are unsure where to include on an itinerary. This guide is designed to help tour leaders to select the most appropriate places to visit to ensure that their group gets the most from their tour.

We have included a range of museums, memorials and war cemeteries without which no tour to the Western Front is possible as well as some of the towns and cities where you might like to stay.

We hope you find it useful.

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A Cross of Remembrance in a Cemetery on the Western Front All the graves of the dead are carefully tended by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission

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Contents The Western Front Ypres & Passchendaele Museums in the Ypres Salient

Arras and Vimy Ridge The Somme Museums on the Somme

Cambrai & Hindenburg Line Poetry Tours Waterloo Art Cities of Flanders Design your Tour Booking a Galina Tour

Graves at Thiepval on the Somme

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The Western Front One hundred years on, the First World War has lost none of its power to fascinate, inspire and move. From the winter of 1914 till almost the end of the war in 1918 the front line hardly moved at all; hundreds of thousands were killed or injured for territorial gains measured in yards rather than miles. And so the battlefields of the Western front have become powerfully evocative of the apparent futility of war and the sense of pointlessness and waste has never been expressed more poignantly than by poets who served in the trenches, poets such as Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon. Today, a hundred years on, the scars on the landscape still bear witness to the devastation – though the towns have been rebuilt, the craters and lines of the trenches remain visible and the landscape is dotted with neatly tended cemeteries where the names of the fallen are preserved for perpetuity. Excellent museums now tell the story of the dramatic events using the latest multi-media techniques allowing today’s visitors to appreciate something at least of the meaning of it all and something of the horror that was witnessed by those who served.

Tyne Cot Memorial (Photo © MMP1917) © Galina International 16 Bridge Street Row Chester CH1 1NQ

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But where are the locations you absolutely must see?

Our tours to the Western Front can be divided into a number of areas of operation:    

The Ypres Salient & Passchendaele Artois, Arras & Vimy Ridge The Somme The Hindenburg Line

And a little further off – Verdun, the scene of the longest and one of the most costly battles in human history. Please contact our office if you are interested in visiting that sector of the front.

Map showing the location of the main sectors of the Western Front

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The Ypres Salient Ieper: ‘Wipers’ as the British called it, formed a salient which had been created during the ‘race to the Sea’. Fighting began around Ypres early in the war and was so intense that the city was utterly destroyed but it has been wonderfully rebuilt around the massive Cloth Hall (home to the In Flanders Fields Museum) and cathedral and is a charming and moving base for any WW1 tour.

The market place at Ypres – rebuilt to its original appearance St George’s Memorial Church: built in 1929 to honour the British army units who served in the area, the church is filled with regimental flags and commemorative plaques.

Ramparts Cemetery: a stroll from the Menin Gate along the surviving Vauban fortifications leads to the peaceful small cemetery by the Lille Gate (below).

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St George’s Memorial Church

Ypres Salient – Suggested 3 Day Tour Follow the war in Flanders from the end of mobility to the creation of the Salient & the stalemate of trench warfare & Haig's Flanders Offensive epitomised the policy of attrition adopted by the Allies in 1917. Visits to: • Hooge: Importance of the high ground & the advantages this offered to the Germans.

• Gheluvelt: Significance of the First Battle of Ypres & the formation of the Ypres Salient.

• Langemark German Cemetery: The BEF & decimation of the student battalions.

• Pilckem Ridge: The first gas attack in April, 1915; an attempt to break the deadlock.

• Ypres: Enjoy the beautiful surroundings of the Grote Markt.

• Essex Farm Cemetery & Dug-outs: The role of medics in WWI & casualty evacuation.

•The Menin Road & Hellfire Corner: A major route to the Front Line; logistics & supplies.

• Passchendaele Museum: Dug-out experience; recreated British & German trenches.

• Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate at 8.00 pm to remember the fallen.

• Dochy Farm & Passchendaele Ridge: Attrition, artillery, air-power & tactics in 1917.

• Tyne Cot Cemetery: Largest British War Cemetery with almost 12,000 casualties.

Ypres also has several museums unconnected with the war – the most important of which is the Municipal Museum housed in an attractive old patrician house and displaying a number of old masters and other works of art.

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The Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate

The Menin Gate we see today was built after the war as a memorial to those with no known grave; its Hall of Memory contains the names of 54,395 Commonwealth soldiers who died in the Salient before August 1917. Every evening at 8pm the Last Post is sounded by buglers from the city fire brigade – a tribute to the fallen performed since 1927. The ceremony can last up to 30 minutes as various groups are allowed to lay wreaths by prior arrangement.

Yorkshire Trench: this site north of the city offers a glimpse of the construction methods used by the British on the Western Front with its typical zig-zag shape, sandbagging and duckboards. The location of the original 1915 trench is shown by wooden planking. The entrances to the dugouts can still be seen and a reconstructed section of A-frame duckboard.

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Above: Yorkshire Trench

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The surgeons’ dug-outs, protected by the canal bank, can still be seen at Essex Farm Essex Farm: this was an Advanced Dressing Station and it was here that the famous poem In Flanders Fields was written by Canadian army surgeon John McCrae. The second youngest British casualty of the war, Private Strudwick, is buried here. Private Barratt VC is also buried at Essex Farm.

In Flanders Fields In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

John MacCrae

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Pilckem Ridge: the scene of the first German Gas Attack in April 1915 during the opening phase of the Second Battle of Ypres, a Memorial to the French and Algerian troops who died here marks this place. The Germans failed to press home their advantage before the breach was filled by the Canadians who held firm between this point and the village of St Juliaan where a striking monument – the Brooding Soldier – stands in tribute (image right – MelicansMatkin). On the opening day of the Passchendaele Offensive the 38th Welsh Division was in the line near this point with the task of capturing Langemark. A Welsh Memorial Park with dragon monument now stands on the spot. A few miles away is Passchendaele Ridge – notorious as a muddy hell were a horrific slaughter took place in 1917.

Langemark German Cemetery, where legend has it that school students went to their deaths in the First Battle of Ypres singing the German national anthem in an event known as the ‘Slaughter of the Innocents’, contains the remains of over 44,000 German dead, many in the Kameradengrab (mass grave), watched over by a sculpture of mourning figures (pictured right).

Hitler visited the cemetery during WWII and had Jewish graves removed © Galina International 16 Bridge Street Row Chester CH1 1NQ

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Museums in the Ypres Salient The area around Ypres boasts a number of excellent museums which help to provide essential background information for a visit to the battlefields.

Museum Passchendaele 1917 (MMP1917) at Zonnebekke Set in a rebuilt chateau in a pleasant park this museum is particularly interesting for its reconstructions of dug outs and trenches (below) as well as impressive displays setting the fighting in its context and an audio visual presentation of the Battle of Passchendaele.

Hooge Crater Museum At Hooge on the Ypres-Menin road, a small private museum in a renovated chapel and school Road holds one of the finest WWI collections in the area. It contains a unique collection of First World War uniforms, displays and military artefacts. A few hundred yards along the road the small Menin Road Museum is devoted to the fighting in the area.

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In Flanders Fields (Ypres Cloth Hall) This large museum, located in the massive rebuilt Cloth Hall deals with the experience of war. A digital poppy wrist band allows visitors to personalise their tour of the exhibits. It is possible to climb the tower for a stunning view over the city and the surrounding area.

Some Other Museums Sanctuary Wood – a private collection of items in a café with reconstructed trenches near Hill 62 Trench of Death – a kilometre long section of recreated Belgian dug outs and trenches once just 50 yards from a German sniper post. Nearby on the edge of the picturesque town of Diksmuide is the Museum on the IJzer, housed in the 84 metre high tower with commanding views across the battlefields.

The Lange Max Museum - a unique museum which especially pays attention to the German side (located near Koekelare).

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Tyne Cot Military Cemetery & Passchendaele: the Third Battle of Ypres is better known as the Battle of Passchendaele (31 July-10 Nov 1917): Haig believed that he could wear down the German army in a battle of attrition in 1917. By the time the village was captured both sides had suffered nearly a quarter of a million casualties. On the ridge is Tyne Cot - the largest cemetery for Commonwealth forces in the world, for any war. Named after Tyneside workers’ cottages which the German pill boxes resembled, it contains 11,956 burials, of which 8,369 are unnamed. The site includes a small visitor centre.

Tyne Cot overlooking the scene of the Battle of Passchendaele Hooge & Gheluvelt: the charge of the 2nd Worcesters prevented the Germans breaking through to Ypres (1914) and gave the British Expeditionary Force enough respite to reorganise and stabilise its defensive line. This area of high ground was constantly fought over during the Great War because of the commanding views it offered over the British lines to the south-east of Ypres.

Adjacent to the museum is Hooge Crater – blown in July 1915; for a nominal charge visitors can see the German pill boxes and some preserved trenches.

The crater and trenches still visible at Hooge © Galina International 16 Bridge Street Row Chester CH1 1NQ

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The sign reads ‘Hellfire Corner’ Hellfire Corner: east of Ypres, the Menin Road was one of the main approaches for troops going up to the front. Hellfire Corner, now a roundabout, was socalled because as a major junction it was regularly shelled by German artillery.

Messines: to the south of Ypres lies Messines. It is possible to visit the crypt in the (rebuilt) church where Hitler was treated for a shoulder wound. Messines was taken by the New Zealand Division who had to advance up a steep hill from their front lines near farm buildings in the valley below. Near the top of the hill is the New Zealand Memorial Park where some German bunkers can be seen.

Also near Messines is the Island of Ireland Peace Park with its tower (right) symbolising reconciliation. The 'Pool of Peace' at Spanbroekmolen was the largest of the 19 mine explosions on 7 June 1917 under the German front line on Messines Ridge.

The 'Pool of Peace' at Spanbroekmolen © Galina International 16 Bridge Street Row Chester CH1 1NQ

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Bayernwald Trenches: to the west are a carefully restored section of an original trench system dating from 1916 which allows visitors to walk through a significant area of German trenches and observe sandbagging, trench sides made of woven wickerwork branches, duckboard walkways, stone and reinforced concrete dugouts and a mine shaft “Berta 4” (secured and covered).

Hitler served at Bayernwald near Kemmel Poperinge: This small town of to the west of Ypres makes a fascinating and slightly different visit. There you will find Talbot House, during the war a place of rest and relaxation for the troops. Now a museum, visitors still receive a welcoming cup of tea as did the Tommies a century ago. A more chilling reminder of the war in this small town is to be found behind the town hall – there are the Death Cells where soldiers sentenced to be shot at dawn were held. The post they were tied to is located just outside. The town also boasts a Hop Museum dedicated to one of the regional specialities – beer.

The garden of Talbot House and the execution post – two rather different aspects of the war to be seen at Poperinge.

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Arras & Vimy Ridge Artois, the area around Arras, was the scene of heavy fighting throughout the war but especially during the Nivelle Offensive of spring 1917. British forces were to attack around Arras to draw German troops from the French attack further south.

Reconstructed houses in the centre of Arras (photo ©Arras Tourist Office) Arras: the city is an excellent base for a tour of the battlefields. It was very extensively damaged during the war but the two main squares have been reconstructed to look just as they would have done originally. The Place des Héros is dominated by the imposing gothic Town Hall; it is possible to ascend the Beffroi (bell tower) for a fine view over the city and the surrounding area.

During December an atmospheric and festive Christmas market takes place on the Grand’ Place. The city also has a fine arts museum, a citadel built by Vauban and an imposing cathedral dedicated to St Vaast.

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Arras offers visitors a particularly interesting opportunity to see how the war was fought underground. Under the Town Hall are the ‘boves’ limestone quarries dug out from the tenth century onwards which became cellars, store places for the merchants of the town’s squares, and later a shelter for the townspeople during Second World War bombardments. Before the Battle of Arras the extensive underground passages were used as accommodation for troops and a place of assembly. More of the underground city can be seen at the Wellington Quarry a short distance from the city centre.

Wellington Quarry (photo ©Arras Tourist Office) Vimy Ridge: to the north of the city, beyond NeuvilleSaint-Vaast, the largest German military cemetery in France for casualties of the First World War, is Vimy Ridge which will always be associated with the Canadian attack on Easter Monday. The Canadians had constructed an underground city and mine warfare was particularly significant in this attack.

Visitors to Vimy Ridge can (subject to availability) take a tour of the Grange Tunnel - the communications room, officers’ quarters and waterpoint - as well as seeing preserved trenches and the impressive memorial (right – image by Carcharoth) to the fallen built by the Canadian government which overlooks the plain below the ridge.

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Notre Dame de Lorette: Ablain St.-Nazaire French Military Cemetery is the world's largest French military cemetery. The cemetery and ossuary (for those whose names are not known) hold the remains of some 40,000 soldiers as well as the ashes of many concentration camp victims. As well as the cemetery the site is marked by a Basilica and Lantern Tower and most recently by the Ring of Memory is that it is the first memorial to list casualties (579,606 in Nord-Pas-deCalais between 1914 and 1918) alphabetically, with no regard to rank or nationality. A preserved section of the 1915 battlefield can still be seen on the ridge of Notre Dame de Lorette with sections of trench and some artillery pieces.

The Basilica at Notre Dame de Lorette

Lille Only 30 miles from Arras, Lille, birthplace of Charles de Gaulle, offers the chance to take a break from the Great War and indulge in some shopping in the EuroLille Centre or stroll in the Vielle Ville. The city boasts a cathedral, an Art Gallery, a zoo & a citadel built by Vauban.

The Grand Place in Lille

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The Somme The region of the Somme is located between the towns of Bapaume and Albert.

Apart from perhaps Passchendaele, nowhere is more evocative of the futility of trench warfare. The first day of the Battle of the Somme (1st July 1916) was the worst day in the history of the British Army but the fighting continued through into the autumn with no obvious gains for either side. For many, the British troops were "lions led by donkeys" whereas, across No Man's Land, the battle was regarded as "the muddy grave of the German army." Historians still debate whether the battle of the Somme really was as pointless as it is often portrayed – many experts argue that the lessons of that slaughter were actually an essential element in the eventual victory of the allies in 1918. The Somme offers unequalled opportunities to groups interested in the battlefields of the Western Front and those wanting an in depth tour of the area could easily spend several days there but here we will indicate some of the highlights which can be covered in one day.

Thiepval Memorial: absolutely essential to any experience of the Somme is a stop at Thiepval. Designed by Lutyens, the massive arch commemorates 72,246 missing British and South African servicemen who died in the Battles of the Somme of the First World War between 1915 and 1918. The Visitor Centre there has recently been extended to include an interesting museum.

The Memorial to the Missing at Thiepval

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The Caribou Monument at Newfoundland Park Newfoundland Park Preserved Battlefield: at Beaumont Hamel near Thiepval is the site of the ill-fated assault by the Newfoundland Regiment which was virtually destroyed as it attacked the German lines at “Y” Ravine. The opposing trenches, in places merely yards apart, remain and the ground between still bears the scars of shell-fire. The park contains the Caribou Memorial to the Newfoundlanders, the 51st Highland Division Memorial and the Danger Tree, beyond which advancing troops came under the sights of the machine-gun in “Y” Ravine.

Ulster Tower: built as a Memorial to the 36th Ulster Division, the tower (right) stands on what was the site of the Schwaben Redoubt on the German front line. Whilst the Ulsters managed to penetrate deep into the German lines, the failure of the assaults on both their flanks left them isolated and exposed to enfilading fire which prevented reinforcement and they were forced to retire with 50% casualties. © Galina International 16 Bridge Street Row Chester CH1 1NQ

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Preserved trenches at the Ulster Tower Serre: at the northern end of the Somme battlefield the 31st Division, consisting of Pals’ battalions drawn from Leeds, Bradford, Barnsley, Sheffield, Durham and Accrington, were allotted the task of capturing the village of Serre. Within minutes of zero hour, the Division had lost over 5,000 men. Nowhere was the impact of such losses more keenly felt than in Accrington which had been the smallest town in Britain to raise its own battalion. The remains of the front line, from which they and other northern Pals’ Battalions, attacked can still be discerned. The cemeteries in the old No Man’s Land bear witness to their loss.

The ground at Serre offers excellent orientation views towards the Quadrilateral and Newfoundland Park.

The Accrington Pals trench at Sheffield Memorial Park is a particularly poignant spot to recall the fate of the ‘pals’ regiments, many from small northern towns, whose losses had so great an impact on their communities back home. (NB currently access to this site is subject to safety restrictions.)

Serre 2 - British Cemetery

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Museums on the Somme At the Thiepval Visitor and Interpretation Centre a large collection of artefacts, archaeological finds, multimedia displays and life-sized installations (including a replica of Charles Guynemer's plane and Joe Sacco's 60 metre-long mural provide a visual account of the 1st July 1916 and explain the experience of the soldiers on both sides with interactive accounts of the missing.

One of the main museums on the Somme is that in Albert – the Somme Museum 1916 (below) whose ‘life-size tableaux convey an arrestingly realistic ambience imbued with heroism, with reproductions of trench life and treasure exhumed from the dramatic Battle of the Somme’. The visit ends in a corridor where a light and sound display will make imagine what a night under bombings would have been like.

The Historial de la Grande Guerre is housed within the Château de Péronne: the museum's displays and films aim to show the visitor not only what life was like for the soldier in the front line trenches, but also how he lived behind the trench lines.

Due to open by Anzac Day 2018, the Sir John Monash Centre, named after General Sir John Monash who led the Australian Corps on the Western Front in 1918 and located at the Australian National Memorial near Villers-Bretonneux, will be an international standard interpretive centre.

Albert: this small town, home to the Somme Museum 1916, is a convenient place to take lunch. The Basilica was famous for its precariously perched ‘Leaning Virgin’ – a replica of which adorns the rebuilt church. © Galina International 16 Bridge Street Row Chester CH1 1NQ

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‘Mash’ Valley: on the northern side of the Albert-Bapaume road, assailed by machine-guns to their front and from the direction of La Boisselle, the 2nd Middlesex Battalion suffered over 500 casualties here as the troops made their way across 750 yards of No Man’s Land. At the end of the valley is the cemetery and fortified village of Ovillers which formed part of the German front line.

Lochnagar Crater: in addition to a series of redoubts or strongpoints, the Germans fortified nine villages along their front line. One such village, La Boisselle stands on the opposite side of the Albert-Bapaume road to Ovillers and “Mash” Valley. The Tyneside Scottish Brigade of the 34th Division was decimated as it attacked the village. The Lochnagar Crater near La Boisselle was created by 90,000 lbs of explosives set off under the German lines. The crater is ninety feet deep. This position offers excellent observation of the ground over which the Tyneside Irish Brigade advanced from their reserve line at a cost of nearly 3,000 casualties.

Lochnagar Crater Pozieres: the impressive Memorial to the Missing commemorates over 14 thousand casualties in the 1918 Battles of the Somme. Other important sites include Mouquet (‘Moo Cow’) Farm which was captured by the Canadian Corps in September 1916 and Dartmoor Cemetery where Lt Harry Webber is buried – he died of wounds on the 21st of July 1916 aged 68. © Galina International 16 Bridge Street Row Chester CH1 1NQ

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Pozieres Memorial to the Missing Devonshire Cemetery: men of the 8th and 9th Battalions of the Devonshire Regiment were buried here on 4th July 1916 in what was part of their old front line trench in Mansel Copse. Amongst the casualties are the poet Lieutenant Noel Hodgson MC and Captain Duncan Martin. Martin believed that the German machine-gun situated in the civil cemetery at Mametz would inflict great damage during the attack on the morning of the 1st July. His fears were borne out by events. The Memorial at the entrance to the cemetery is particularly poignant: ‘The Devonshires Held this Trench, the Devonshires Hold it Still’.

Devonshire Trench Cemetery & Noel Hodgson’s grave

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Somme & Vimy Ridge – Suggested 3 Day Tour For many, the British troops were "lions led by donkeys" whereas, across No Man's Land, the Somme was regarded as "the muddy grave of the German army." Visits include: • Serre: Discover the fate of the northern Pals' battalions on 1st July.

• Newfoundland Park: Preserved battlefield; trenches; Newfoundland Caribou Memorial.

• Ulster Tower: Site of the Schwaben Redoubt; attacked by the 36th Ulster Division.

• Lunch-time in Albert • Thiepval Memorial to the Missing: Records the names of more than 72,000 men.

• Mash Valley: The 2nd Middlesex perished as they advanced across No Man's Land.

• Lochnagar Crater: Scene of the disastrous attack by the Tyneside brigades on 1st July.

• Pozieres Ridge & Mouquet Farm: German second line; captured by the Australians.

Air power, artillery, mining operations & meticulous planning paved the way for the Canadian Corps' spectacular success in capturing Vimy, a position the Germans believed to be impregnable.

• Notre Dame de Lorette: High ground; fiercely contested by the French & Germans.

• Vimy Ridge Canadian Memorial: On the site of the German strong-point on Hill 145.

• Reconstructed Trenches: The trenches of both sides, now separated by mine craters.

• Interpretive Centre: Audio-visual display explains the battle & Canada’s role in WWI. • Grange Tunnel (May-Nov): Communications, officers’ quarters, & artefacts.

Roses on the graves of the fallen at Serre © Galina International 16 Bridge Street Row Chester CH1 1NQ

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Cambrai & Hindenburg Line In March 1917 the Germans retreated to a new defensive line so as to disrupt Nivelle's planned offensive. It was a sound move in that it was shorter and more easily defendable, allowing the German army to make better use of its troops and avoid the huge losses it had experienced at Verdun and on the Somme, losses it would not have been able to sustain in the long term. This line was the Siegfriedstellung, familiar to the Allies as the Hindenburg Line.

Cambrai was an important supply point for the Hindenburg Line and capture of the town and the nearby Bourlon Ridge would threaten the rear of the German line to the north. The first massed assault by more than 400 tanks demonstrated the potential of armoured vehicles on the battlefield. The initial success could not be fully exploited, due primarily to a lack of reserves & the vulnerability of the Mark IV to breaking down.

Cambrai is a little distance from the main WWI sites in northern France but is an interesting old town with a number of surviving historical features. Not far away is the Historial de la Grande Guerre housed within the Château de PÊronne.

Historial de la Grande Guerre

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The tanks used in the Battle of Cambrai were transported to the area by rail and detrained just behind the British lines at several small village stations such as Ytres. From there they made their own way to the battalion assembly points.

The contrast between Ytres and the massive German railhead at Cambrai is stark.

Bonavis Ridge: the ridge marked the eastern or right flank of the main British assault in the opening phase of the battle. “F” Battalion of the Tank Corps and the 12th Division attacked along the Bonavis Ridge towards La Vacquerie Farm, Latteau Wood and ultimately the St Quentin Canal at Masnières. The crossings at Marcoing and Masnières were captured by the 20th Light Division. Whilst the canal bridge at Masnières was initially still standing an attempt to cross it by a tank from “F” Battalion (“Flying Fox”) led to its collapse taking the tank with it and causing some delay to the British advance. The modern bridge across the canal is within a few yards or the original one.

The modern bridge at Masnières Canal du Nord: still under construction in 1917, the section of canal bordering the left flank of the 62nd Division was dry with steep brick-lined sides. The canal marked the western perimeter of the main battle area although the 36th Ulster division were engaged in fighting on the west bank of the canal.

Good Old Man Farm: this was a German strongpoint during the battle and its remains can still be seen today. It was near this spot that Lieutenant Richard Wain, in Tank A2 won the Tank Corps’ first VC.

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Havrincourt-Flesquières Ridge: this was one of the more significant topographical features of the Cambrai battlefield. The chateau at Havrincourt had been a German HQ visited on occasion by the Kaiser himself but by 1917 the village and the chateau were in ruins. On the morning of the attack this was one of the few places where the Germans put up some resistance, delaying the 62nd Division’s advance towards Bourlon Wood for some time. The 62nd Divisional Memorial is on the edge of the wood. This division was commanded by Roland Boys Bradford VC, MC, who, at 25, was the youngest Brigadier-General in the British Army. He was killed on 30th November 1917.

The rebuilt chateau at Havrincourt Flesquières: as the tanks of “D” and “E” Battalions crested the rise of Flesquières Ridge they were met by a mass of German artillery fire delivered at short range.

The attack stalled at great cost to both tanks and infantry. The action which took place around the village gave rise to the legend of the “Gunner of Flesquières” who was said to be responsible for knocking out 16 tanks single-handed. In reality the Germans had appreciated the significance of this position and had concentrated guns behind the ridge especially in Orival Wood. It is sometimes possible to see the Mark IV female Deborah Tank (right) found in the village in 1998.

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Tank Monument at Flesquières Now the site of Orival Wood Cemetery, in 1917 the original wood provided cover for German artillery behind Flesquières Ridge. The wood prevented the RFC from spotting their presence in the area with fatal consequences for the tanks as they came over the top of Flesquières Ridge.

Bourlon Ridge: whilst the British made great advances on 20th November they did not break through completely and the wooded high ground of Bourlon Ridge was still in German hands. For these reasons and believing that the Germans were on the point of collapse, a renewed attempt on 23rd November saw tanks break into the village of Fontaine Notre Dame. Poor co-ordination with the infantry and a reinforced enemy trained in anti-tank methods led to their repulse.

Anneux Cemetery & Bourlon Wood © Galina International 16 Bridge Street Row Chester CH1 1NQ

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Cambrai Memorial to the Missing: this stands on a terrace at one end of Louverval Military Cemetery. The Memorial commemorates more than 7,000 servicemen who died in the Battle of Cambrai and who have no known grave.

The cemetery contains 124 burials.

Cambrai Memorial to the Missing & Louverval Military Cemetery Following the failure of the 1918 Kaiser’s Offensive the formidable defences of the Hindenburg Line were eventually overwhelmed by British, Australian & American troops on 29th September, 1918. Six weeks later, the Armistice was signed.

St Quentin Canal: the canal presented a formidable obstacle; near Riqueval it was 35 feet wide and its brick-lined sides were very steep. The canal bank was lined with machine-gun posts. Collapsible boats were also used. By these various means the troops reached the far bank of the canal and reorganised before they overwhelmed the German defences.

The St Quentin Canal at Riqueval, the bridge across it and the remains of a defensive bunker. The Bridge was captured intact; the Germans attempted to blow it up but were prevented from doing so by Captain Charlton of the 5th South Staffords, who together with a party of Engineers, rushed the machine-gun post covering the bridge before racing to beat a group of Germans to the fuses. Š Galina International 16 Bridge Street Row Chester CH1 1NQ

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Maissemy German Cemetery: the second largest German military cemetery of the First World War, Maissemy holds the remains of 30,478 German war dead of World War I. The majority of the victims lost their lives during the three main Somme battles, almost half of those buried here were killed in the fighting from late June to November 1916 and also the German in the spring offensive of 1918.

A memorial hall of golden Darchinger Tuff, a Bavarian broken stone, was built, its passages sealed with heavy artistically forged bronze grilles. Inside is a bronze sarcophagus with an angel frieze.

The cemetery at Maissemy Somme American Cemetery: the American casualties lie at Bony (right). Their presence here is a reminder of the fact that American intervention in the war was a decisive factor in Germany’s defeat. It contains the bodies of 1,827 American dead and a Memorial to 333 missing soldiers. The Bellicourt American Monument is nine miles north of St. Quentin, erected above a canal tunnel built by Napoleon I, it commemorates the achievements and sacrifices of the 90,000 American troops who served in battle with the British Armies in France during 1917 and 1918. Engraved on the rear facade of the memorial is a map illustrating the American operations; on the terrace is an orientation table. St Quentin is an excellent base for touring this part of the front. The city has a large medieval cathedral and a pleasant square with shops, bars and restaurants (Place de L’Hotel de Ville). Š Galina International 16 Bridge Street Row Chester CH1 1NQ

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Cambrai & Hindenburg Line – Suggested 3 Day Tour The first massed assault by more than 400 tanks near Cambrai demonstrated the potential of armoured vehicles on the battlefield. The initial success could not be fully exploited, due primarily to a lack of reserves & the vulnerability of the Mark IV to breaking down. Visits to: • Bonavis: The Hindenburg Line defences & changes in German tactics after the Somme.

• St Quentin Canal & Masnieres Bridge: The fate of Flying Fox & the Fort Garry Horse.

• Good Old Man Farm: "A" Battalion & Lt. Richard Wain, the Tank Corps' first VC. • Havrincourt Wood: One of the tank assembly points behind the British lines.

• Canal du Nord & Havrincourt: 62nd Division assault & tank/infantry co-operation.

• Flesquieres: The Tank Memorial at Cambrai.

• Flesquieres Ridge: 51st Highland Division assault & the reasons for its relative failure.

• Orival Wood: The German artillery & the myth of the "lone gunner of Flesquieres."

• Bourlon Wood: The German counter-attack & the end of the battle.

• Louverval Memorial to the Missing of Cambrai: Records 7,058 names.

The formidable defences of the Hindenburg Line were overwhelmed by British, Australian & American troops on 29th September, 1918. Six weeks later, the Armistice was signed.

Visits include: • Maissemy German Cemetery: Evidence of the failure of the Ludendorff Offensive.

• St Quentin Canal: The main assault on the Canal was between Bellenglise & Bellicourt.

• Riqueval Bridge: Captured intact during the assault on the St Quentin Canal.

•Tennessee Memorial: The significance of US intervention & the American army in WWI.

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Poetry Tours The futility of trench war is inevitably associated with the great poets of the Western Front. Hearing their work read aloud at the very sites that inspired them can be a profoundly moving experience. Poems such as Dulce et Decorum Est have become synonymous with opposition to war but it must be remembered that not all the poets were opposed to war in principle or were not actually opposed to it at all. Especially in the early period poetry tended to be jingoistic and to regard the whole business as an exciting and stirring adventure worthy of the manly spirit of the British Empire.

Brother poets – Brooke, Owen and Sassoon and Noel Hodgson Wilfred Owen at War One particularly poignant way to organise a visit to the Western Front is to build the itinerary around the military career of Owen, visiting some of the key locations that shaped his experience of the war. A typical four day tour starts on the Somme and continues to Cerisy-Gailly where Owen was taken to the Casualty Clearing Centre and Joncourt where he won the MC and ends at Ors where he was killed on the Sambre-Oise Canal and is buried.

Soldier Poets of WWI This four day tour visits the key sites in the Ypres Salient, on the Somme and at Vimy and views the changing nature of the war through the work of poets such as Brooke, Binyon, Pope, Hodgson, Graves, Sassoon Rosenberg, Gurney and Owen.

If you are interested in these tours please visit our website for more information.

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Waterloo Tours

Recreation of the Battle of Waterloo (Photo: Mathieu Haot) The fate of Europe was decided on one day in 1815 on a field of battle to the south of Brussels. It was a close run thing. Today visitors can tour many of the key locations where the outcome of the battle was determined and there are several museums and interpretation centres where the events of that momentous day are brought to life.

A three day tour to Waterloo includes all the most important locations for a full understanding of how the battle was won and lost including Napoleon’s HQ, the Wellington Museum in his former Headquarters Hougoumont Farm, the Lion Mound & Panorama and the Wounded Eagle Memorial to the last stand of Napoleon's Imperial Guard. Our guides will escort you round the battlefield and explain what happened at each critical point.

Agincourt & Dunkirk It is also possible to include a visit to the battlefield of Agincourt – another epoch-shaping victory, in this case that of King ‘Hal’ (Henry V) over the massed chivalry of France – or to the area around Dunkirk, scene of the near-miraculous escape of the BEF at the start of WWII. Please see our website or contact our office for full details.

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Art Cities of Flanders

Two views of Bruges – the canal, the bell tower and one of the historic streets As a break from the battlefields many groups enjoy a visit to one of the great art cities of Flanders – Ghent, Antwerp, Brussels and above all Bruges.

Bruges has been described as the ‘Venice of the North’ because of its many picturesque canals which wind between the historic buildings of this most beautiful of unspoilt medieval towns. It is possible to take a boat trip or climb the bell tower for a view of the city from on high. Among the ‘must see’ sights in Bruges are the Basilica of the Holy Blood, the Provinciaal Hof, the Madonna of Bruges

by Michelangelo in the Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk, the Gruuthusemuseum, the Begijnhof and Old St. John's Hospital. Bruges is also noted for its lace, its beer and its chocolate.

Chocolate Shops

An essential feature of a visit to Belgium for many groups is a chance to visit a chocolate shop

Bruges is called Brugge by its citizens – a name thought to derive from the Old Dutch word for ‘bridge’ and there are certainly many bridges in the city today.

Its historic core is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

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Design your Tour A Galina tour is designed to take you where you want to go.

Tell us where you would like to be picked up - your coach will meet you at your chosen point no earlier than six o’clock (and we do not travel overnight). All our executive coaches have toilets, continental doors and DVD players.

Galina liveried coach at Sanctuary Wood We will show you the places you want to see. Our tour administrators and specialist tour consultants will discuss your itinerary with you to ensure that you make the best use of your time on the continent and visit the most appropriate venues for your group.

Special requests: we can usually accommodate special requests to include particular cemeteries or battlefields where these have a particular resonance for your tour. Some groups like to lay a wreath or perform a simple ceremony to honour the fallen.

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Channel Crossings You can select from a number of different crossings: Dover to Calais – the shortest sea crossing, taking about 90 minutes and giving good time to take some light refreshments or a fuller meal and to get some fresh air. Ferries also sail from Dover to Dieppe which can offer an attractive alternative for groups visiting Belgium.

Folkestone to Calais – the Eurotunnel crossing is quick (35 minutes) and easy and avoids the hazards of choppy seas but there are no refreshments available during the crossing. If you are short of time you might like to consider a day trip to Ypres & Passchendaele using Eurotunnel – ideal for those based in the south east.

Hull to Zeebrugge – this is an ideal option for groups travelling from the north as it avoids an early morning departure and the long drive to Dover and offers comfortable overnight cabin accommodation and excellent ‘all you can eat’ buffet dinner & breakfast. Entertainment, bars, shops and a cinema ensure a pleasant and relaxed crossing so that you arrive in Belgium refreshed and ready for a day touring the battlefields.

P&Os overnight ferry from Hull docked at Zeebrugge

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Accommodation

We can offer a range of accommodation to suit all tastes and budgets – 3 and four star hotels, city centre locations or in small towns. We can also provide 2* accommodation for groups working with tight budgets. All our hotels include ensuite facilities, lifts to all floors and continental buffet breakfast.

Typical hotels used by Galina on the Western Front.

Optional Extras: groups who prefer can opt to include evening meals and / or packed lunches (though it can often be better value to try out the local restaurants) and in many cases it is possible to provide porterage & welcome drinks on arrival. Š Galina International 16 Bridge Street Row Chester CH1 1NQ

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All hotels are checked to ensure that they comply with health & safety regulations & that they possess a current operating certificate & appropriate public liability insurance, fire safety, hygiene & pest control certificates or local equivalents. We work closely with the proprietors to ensure that our guests receive a warm and efficient welcome wherever they choose to stay.

Guides Our guides are carefully chosen for their friendliness, adaptability and subject knowledge.

They have a military and / or academic background and their expertise helps to bring the locations we visit to life. Some groups prefer to arrange for their own guides to accompany their group and we are quite happy to arrange this for you. Two of our regular Western Front guides are featured below.

Left: Steve Clarke, BA (Hons), PGCE Steve is a former Head of Humanities & prior to retiring was an Assistant Head. He began leading tours for Galina in 2010. Steve is a Regional Volunteer for The War Memorials Trust & is also a keen sportsman, captaining his local cricket club. He also enjoys watching the game & is a member of Yorkshire CCC. His other sporting interests include cycling & rugby.

Right: Colonel (retd) Chris Best Chris worked his way up through the ranks beginning his military career as a junior soldier in the RAMC in 1962 and retiring as a Colonel and Deputy Commander of the newlycreated Medical Group prior to retirement in 2001. He has worked with Galina as a guide since 2002. He has served with both 19 Field Ambulance and with 5 Field Ambulance RAMC in the Balkans. He was also one of the representatives of the Army Medical Services during the Strategic Defence Review in 1997.

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Booking a Galina Group Tour We arranged our first group tour in 1989. Since then we have carried many thousands of people - of all ages - ranging from professional associations, U3A groups & retirement clubs to schools, universities & the military. We've learnt a lot; most importantly that no two groups are the same. Our itineraries are simply suggestions to be shaped & moulded until they become your itinerary. Secondly, people like learning new things & be stimulated by them as well as having a good time & enjoying themselves.

We appreciate that a good reputation is based on honesty & fair-dealing as well as quality.

We don't hide any costs in the small print & we always make clear what is & what is not included in our pricing & quotations. All coach & ferry (or Eurotunnel) costs, B&B accommodation, entrance fees to museums or venues specifically mentioned in the itinerary & guide costs are included as standard. We will also inform you of the cost of evening meals, single supplements & travel insurance in your quotation. As members of ABTA, we adhere to their Code of Conduct with regard to the quality of service & information that we provide our clients.

Free Places In the first instance, we offer 2 free places for groups of 30 or more paying passengers & 1 free place for groups of 29 or less. We can increase the number of free places if you require this (perhaps to raffle them to raise funds) but the tour price will have to be re-costed to take these into account.

A Galina liveried coach at Essex Farm near Ypres

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Easy to Contact You can enquire by telephone using our Freephone number 0800 801 560 or you can contact us by email. Just click on one of the "Request a Quotation" tabs you will find throughout our website. The more information you can give us at this stage about when & where you wish to travel the more we can help you.  

Adult Groups Tours: Military & Ex-Services Groups:

www.galinagrouptours.co.uk www.wartours.com

Personal Customer Service Our staff are friendly & approachable. They will be able to offer you practical advice about the tour in which you are interested & are happy to discuss any changes or additions or deletions to the tour itinerary that you may want to make. You will receive a quotation & provisional itinerary within 24-48 hours of your initial enquiry & the name of a member of staff who will be your personal contact during this initial stage. Should you decide to travel with us you will be allocated a tour administrator (usually the same person) who will look after your tour from the day you book to when you return. You can be sure that your tour administrator will have a thorough understanding of your itinerary's individual features & characteristics as well as your group's particular requirements.

Every

Galina client is assigned a qualified Tour Administrator to guide them through their

tour

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Low Deposits & Easy Booking We want to make booking with us as easy & straightforward as possible. We only require an initial deposit to confirm your booking, with the balance of the tour price only payable eight weeks prior to your departure date. For one-day tours we require a group deposit of £600 or £15 per person based on 40 paying passengers). For two-day tours the deposit is £1000 or £25 per person based on 40 paying passengers. For tours of three to five days' duration, the standard group deposit is £2000 or £50 per person based on 40 paying passengers & for tours exceeding five days we require a £3000 group deposit or £75 per person based on 40 paying passengers.

Quick Confirmation of Essential Tour Components At the enquiry stage, your quotation will obviously be subject to availability should you decide to book with us. The day we receive your group deposit we will then confirm all the key tour components (hotel, ferry, etc.) & inform you that everything is in place normally within a matter of a few days. For groups that have travelled with us previously we will often make provisional bookings in advance of receiving a deposit.

Safety on Tour We go to great lengths to ensure the safety of our passengers. Coach companies & accommodation that we use regularly are physically inspected at least once every three years by members of our staff who are trained as safety auditors.

Travel Insurance Galina Group Tours is an appointed representative of Arthur J. Gallagher Insurance Brokers Limited which is authorised & regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered Office: Spectrum Building, 7th Floor, 55 Blythswood Street, Glasgow, G2 7AT. Registered in Scotland.

Company Number: SC108909.

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Financial Security Your money is safe with us. All tour organisers & groups booking with Galina Group Tours are fully insured for any monies paid as to us in the form of their initial deposit & final balance of the tour price. Our policy also include repatriation, if required, arising from the cancellation or curtailment of your travel arrangements in the unlikely event of our insolvency. This financial failure insurance has been arranged by Towergate Chapman Stevens through HCC International Insurance Company PLC. There is no additional charge for this cover in addition to the tour price quoted.

Emergency Contact Number We will provide you with an emergency contact number when you are on tour in the event that a serious problem arises.

3 Simple Steps to Booking Your Trip with Galina 1. Contact us to discuss your itinerary & give us your preferred travel date/s so we can prepare & send you a price 2. Read your quotation & decide upon your preferred itinerary 3. Return your Booking Form with deposit & we will do the rest!

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Experience the Difference

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