Rather like the area around Ypres, there are many graveyards, typically along little, muddy roads. My first planned destination was the Hawthorn Crater. This is one of the mines that was detonated below the German lines at the outset of the Battle of the Somme in 1916. The explosion was caught on film and is often shown in documentaries about the Battle of the Somme. After driving around the area for some time, I found the Newfoundland Park Memorial & Visitors Centre and pulled over to take a look.
It had been a bit of the UK and Canadian Trenches on 1st July 1916 when the Battle of the Somme commenced. Some of the trenches are very well maintained and looking out from the Caribou Monument, you are able to get a pretty good understanding of the terrain as well as the direction of attack. It's also frighteningly plain the distance the troopers were anticipated to advance over open ground facing of cannon and machine guns.
At Newfoundland Park, I was given directions to help me locate the Hawthorn Crater and so it transpired I had gone right past it. It wasn't long before I was back and found the access point along a reasonably muddy field. At first I was hesitant but decided it was part and parcel of the experience. I got to one side of the crater though it was really over grown thus I didn't go too far and I was soon heading to my next point of interest, Ulster Tower. It's a memorial to the Ulster Regiments who conducted themselves so well on the first day of the Battle of the Somme.
Near by is the Thiepval Commemorative that is the largest UK War Commemorative on earth. Each 1st July, a huge rite is held here to honour the dead. The tower is visible from a significant distance and addititionally there is an interesting visitors centre with information about the battles fought here.
Some distance away is the South African Commemorative at Delville Wood. The commemorative was dedicated to all South African conflicts, not only those in The 1st World War. As with all of the memorials, Delville Wood is sacred ground but I found this place particularly to be really calm and acceptable. It's not that I am sure what made Delville Wood stand out to me but for me, there was actually something a lttle bit particular about this location.
My last stop of the day was a brief one at the place to the east of Amiens where the Red Baron was shot down. There isn't really much to see except for a little notice board by the side of the road. It is found by a local factory with a notable chimney. The history of the Red Baron is one of the 1st I heard about concerning World War I thus though there was not much to see, it was something that I needed to do. The Red Baron was a German air ace called Baron Manfred von Richthofen. From 1916 - 1918, he shot down a total of 80 Allied planes and was finally shot down but ground fire from an Australian unit on 21 April 1918.
It had been a bit of the UK and Canadian Trenches on 1st July 1916 when the Battle of the Somme commenced. Some of the trenches are very well maintained and looking out from the Caribou Monument, you are able to get a pretty good understanding of the terrain as well as the direction of attack. It's also frighteningly plain the distance the troopers were anticipated to advance over open ground facing of cannon and machine guns.
At Newfoundland Park, I was given directions to help me locate the Hawthorn Crater and so it transpired I had gone right past it. It wasn't long before I was back and found the access point along a reasonably muddy field. At first I was hesitant but decided it was part and parcel of the experience. I got to one side of the crater though it was really over grown thus I didn't go too far and I was soon heading to my next point of interest, Ulster Tower. It's a memorial to the Ulster Regiments who conducted themselves so well on the first day of the Battle of the Somme.
Near by is the Thiepval Commemorative that is the largest UK War Commemorative on earth. Each 1st July, a huge rite is held here to honour the dead. The tower is visible from a significant distance and addititionally there is an interesting visitors centre with information about the battles fought here.
Some distance away is the South African Commemorative at Delville Wood. The commemorative was dedicated to all South African conflicts, not only those in The 1st World War. As with all of the memorials, Delville Wood is sacred ground but I found this place particularly to be really calm and acceptable. It's not that I am sure what made Delville Wood stand out to me but for me, there was actually something a lttle bit particular about this location.
My last stop of the day was a brief one at the place to the east of Amiens where the Red Baron was shot down. There isn't really much to see except for a little notice board by the side of the road. It is found by a local factory with a notable chimney. The history of the Red Baron is one of the 1st I heard about concerning World War I thus though there was not much to see, it was something that I needed to do. The Red Baron was a German air ace called Baron Manfred von Richthofen. From 1916 - 1918, he shot down a total of 80 Allied planes and was finally shot down but ground fire from an Australian unit on 21 April 1918.
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The Somme battlefields are widely known as the place where some of the most heavy fighting of World War I occurred. Today, there are a considerable number of graveyards and commemoratives like theThiepval Memorial commemorating those that died here.
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