The Western Front?

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Woodtourer
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The Western Front?

Post by Woodtourer »

So here in the US I work pt in a bike shop. On January afternoons it is REALLY quiet so was watching a bit of Downton Abby! There was a scene of The Battle of the Somme.
So this got me thinking about possibly including part of this route into our France tour.
Has anyone do this route? Thoughts would be great!
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simonineaston
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Re: The Western Front?

Post by simonineaston »

There are a number of battlefield tour outfits that have websites - that might be a good place to start.
As an amusing aside I recall the day when we, the family, were assembled in the church at Bampton, Oxfordshire (used as Downton Abbey in the tv series) for the funeral of my dear ol' mum, when halfway through the service, the door creaked slowly open and the heads of several curious tourists peered round. They were of course mortified when appraised of the nature of the goings-on, however I forgave them on account of the light relief derived therefrom.
S
(on the look out for Armageddon, on board a Brompton nano & ever-changing Moultons)
Tinkerbell
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Re: The Western Front?

Post by Tinkerbell »

On my to-do list (one day). This might be of interest https://thewesternfrontway.com/
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MrsHJ
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Re: The Western Front?

Post by MrsHJ »

Here is another labelled route. Probably you’ll be going north to south though. https://cycle.travel/route/summary/149723
simonhill
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Re: The Western Front?

Post by simonhill »

I rode it in June 2018 as my own little commemoration. I chose the 1916 battlefront line and followed it as closely as possible from the Swiss border to the North Sea.

Took me about 12 days I think. It was a heatwave but I had a headwind all the way.

I met a couple who were doing an official route, down from NL that took in other places of WW1 interest, including Compiegne, where the Armistice was signed, but nowhere near the front. Personally I prefer my own routes to these official ones.

The front starts on Swiss border or rather it just stopped there, quite bizarre when you think of the severity of fighting in other places. It then goes over The Vosges and involved bitter mountain fighting.

Verdun is always moving and I learnt about the French slaughter at Chemin des Dames.

I found parts of the British sector being touristyfied a bit annoying. Luckily the young English woman (student?) 'guide' at Thiepval took her lunch break and allowed me time to reflect and lay my solitary poppy on my own, with nearly a tear in my eye and a genuine lump in my throat..

The Menin Gate was worse with hordes of school kids clicking away with their cameras (phones). It can be very moving there, but probably best to go on a wet Wednesday in November for the truly sombre feel.

I had been to many if the major sites before, never the whole Front.

Very glad I did it.
Last edited by simonhill on 29 Jan 2023, 4:16pm, edited 1 time in total.
simonhill
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Re: The Western Front?

Post by simonhill »

Probably the biggest irony of The Battle of the Somme, was that after 6 months of fighting had ceased, the Germans secretly pulled back to their new defensive line, the Hindenburg Line, and gave up all that blood soaked mud.

Plenty to see in the area, mainly war cemeteries and monuments.
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al_yrpal
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Re: The Western Front?

Post by al_yrpal »

I just watched the much feted All Quiet on the Western Front. I found it very salutory and depressing. I think of my Grandfather who volunteered in the early stages and survived the trenches only to be sent to Ireland after the Armistice. I have his pencilled notes of where he was, a photo of him and his mates and his discharge papers. They docked the cost of his greatcoat from his final paypacket.

There is one poignant note "Etaples....bathing"

Al
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Woodtourer
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Re: The Western Front?

Post by Woodtourer »

Just picked up the book at the library today.
Slowroad
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Re: The Western Front?

Post by Slowroad »

I did a cycle tour of the Somme Valley and Picardy in September 2018, and visited my great-uncle's grave 100 years to the day that he'd been killed. It was a really interesting, often moving trip, and well worth doing. There's some lovely cycling as the area is mostly undulating hills with quiet country lanes, plus there's the beautiful Somme Valley cycle route. It would almost be possible to not realise what happenned there as the landscape has mostly been returned to farming, and the villages rebuilt. But of course there are many poignant cemeteries, and the places where the bomb craters have been preserved such as Vimy Ridge.
This of course is only a small section of the Western Front, which reached much further south. I was tracing the route my great-uncle took over his last few weeks, after months of research. There is a huge amount online about WW1, and it can get addictive!
“My two favourite things in life are libraries and bicycles. They both move people forward without wasting anything. The perfect day: riding a bike to the library.”
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Nearholmer
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Re: The Western Front?

Post by Nearholmer »

Compiegne and the armistice site gets a mention above, and although that a a bit ff the main fronts (not at all far from a set of lesser-known fronts) I would personally recommend visiting. I’ve been twice, once aged 11yo when the gravity f the whole thing struck me so much that the second visit was to take my son there when he was 11yo. The entire story of the location and the railway carriage in which the armistice was signed, and the part that it then played in WW2, and then after WW2 is a pocket history of Europe in C20th.
Woodtourer
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Re: The Western Front?

Post by Woodtourer »

Nearholmer, that sounds like a great stop. Thanks!
simonhill
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Re: The Western Front?

Post by simonhill »

There are American monuments and cemeteries. Mainly around the Argonne Forest area.

Probably out of your way.
wheelyhappy99
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Re: The Western Front?

Post by wheelyhappy99 »

I've cycled around several areas of the western front rather than a tour along the length of it. As usual travelling by bike gives a much better appreciation of the topography, why vantage points were so hard won and some areas the scene of multiple futile bloody battles.
My grandfather's cousin was wounded at Aubers, just south of Armentieres, and died ten days later in the British army hospital at Staples, and is buried in the cemetery just north of the town. He was a week away from his 17th birthday.
Seeing the flat marshland his unit were in, overlooked by hardened defences on the Aubers Ridge, actually the side of the Lys valley, explained why Neuve Chapelle, Fromelles and Aubers have such large cemeteries full of Indian, Australian and British troops. The design of Neuve Chapelle includes Indian styled kiosks and sculptures.
Those trips helped me understand why my grandfather, wounded twice, never spoke about what he lived through.
Wherever you go I hope it's enjoyable as well as interesting.
st599_uk
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Re: The Western Front?

Post by st599_uk »

I've been planning a ride on this route for a while, but events keep going against me. I want to trace the relative whose MM I have.

The new Netflix version of "Im Westen Nichts Neues" (In the West Nothing New - All Quiet on the Western Front) is well worth a watch.

The book I've seen good reviews about recently is Nick Lloyd's "The Western Front" and the previously mentioned Western Front Way has an app with explainers, guides etc.
A novice learning...
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simonhill
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Re: The Western Front?

Post by simonhill »

Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks is partly about WW1.

Award winning book that's a good read. Fiction, but well researched.
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