After a day and a half of riding from Rouen we had left Normandy and arrived in the capital of the Picardy region; Amiens. We had a (crap) coffee and a picnic lunch in a nice square before having a look at the town's rather impressive cathedral. On the outskirts of town we reached another milestone - 5000 kms - so stopped for a few selfies.
 |
| Amiens |
Around Amiens we began encountering small cemeteries in the middle of the rolling farmland. These cemeteries, with their rows of white headstones and crosses, were for soldiers that had died on, or near, the Western Front in World War One. Not knowing much about WW1 history, I had been listening to Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcast; the excellent 'Blueprint for Armageddon'. Hearing about the death tolls on the Western Front was shocking but explained the sheer numbers of cemeteries in the area.
 |
| Countryside in the Somme |
We were visiting during the 100 year anniversary of the Battle of the Somme; a horrific 4.5 month battle with an estimated 1 million casualties. For perspective; the first day of battle resulted in more deaths than the first 2 weeks of the Normandy landings (20,000). We cycled past the Australian monument at Villers-Bretonneux and stopped in for a look. Set on the top of a hill the monument has a large tower you can climb up for views over the cemetery. The tower is covered in bullet holes from fighting in the Second World War - a sad reminder that this land has been fought over more than once over the years.
 |
| Commonwealth cemetery and Australian monument at Villers-Bretonneux |
 |
| Sampling the local craft beers |
The next day was full of visits to cemeteries and memorials, including Lochnagar Crater, the New Zealand memorial at Caterpillar Valley Cemetery, the British memorial at Thiepval and the Newfoundland memorial. We also managed to fit in 60 km of cycling before arriving in Arras that afternoon!
 |
| Lochnagar Crater panorama |
The Lochnagar Crater and Newfoundland memorial were especially interesting as they both had preserved the landscapes as they were in 1916. The Lochnagar Crater is a huge (70m diameter) hole in the ground that was the result of mines placed underneath German trenches. The explosion of the mine is widely regarded as being the start of the battle and hosts a memorial service every 1st of July. The very well-thought-out Newfoundland memorial has preserved frontline trenches and a landscape pockmarked with shell holes. The area is covered in trees now; but it gives an indication of the hellish moonscape that existed during the battle.
 |
| Preserved trench at the Newfoundland memorial |
We were both keen to visit the New Zealand memorial at Caterpillar Valley. I think a lot of New Zealanders would be surprised to learn that the Western Front claimed more than 12,000 Kiwi lives, compared with 2,700 at Gallipoli. Why, then, is the Gallipoli campaign always the first to spring to mind when thinking of NZ involvement in WW1? Maybe because the total numbers of casualties on the Western Front are so mind-bogglingly high that they are hard to comprehend? A Joseph Stalin quote comes to mind; "One death is a tragedy, one million is a statistic". I found an inscription of a 'Lance Corporal S. K. Shearer' from the Otago Regiment but I haven't managed to figure out if they are any relation.
 |
| British memorial at Thiepval |
We stayed two nights in the town of Arras so we'd have time to visit the Carriere Wellington/Wellington Quarry - an underground quarry and network of tunnels where Kiwis served during the Battle of Arras. We knew of the quarry as the Otago University School of Surveying (my old school) had recently been carrying out some work to 3d scan the network for posterity. The tunnels were really interesting - we got a guide to ourselves and the whole thing is a multimedia experience that combines lighting, sound effects and videos. Paint marks on the walls of the tunnels point to areas of the quarry named 'Auckland', 'Nelson' and 'Waitomo'. I mentioned I was interested in the work the Otago Uni had been doing and the staff were glad to have a chat about it; even giving us a free book about the involvement of Kiwi troops in the war.
 |
| Heavily shelled ground on the Vimy Ridge |
 |
| If that bush had been a little bit more overgrown we wouldn't have even realised we were in Belgium! |
We eventually made it over the border into Belgium. Crossing the border was so uneventful that Sarah biked right through without realising! I had to call her back for the obligatory photo before carrying on towards Ypres.
- David
 ...){kind=link}
0 comments:
Post a Comment