Day 1 Departing from Lille. The Somme

To most people the Somme signifies one day - July 1st 1916, the day the British Army suffered its greatest ever losses in a single day with nearly 60,000 casualties. But the battle for the Somme raged until November of that year. What remains is truly awesome. The sites seen today will be etched into your consciousness forever. Your tour commences in Lille, where you meet your specialist Battlefield guide at the tour departure point. We then tour the Somme battlefield covering major sites from the calamitous first day through the whole five months of the battle. You see Delville Wood, the Welsh memorial at Mametz Wood, the huge Lochnagar mine crater, the sunken road where the Lancashire Fusiliers suffered terribly, the Pozieres battlefield and Windmill Hill (both important site for Australians), Courcelette, site of the first major use of tanks supporting Canadian troops, and the nearby the tank memorial. We include the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing and the Ulster Tower. An undoubted highlight, however, will be the incredibly preserved Beaumont Hamel battlefield site. For those who are continuing to Ypres the next day, it is possible to attend the Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate in Ypres this evening. Those who are departing the tour today will return to Lille before the Last Post ceremony.
Accommodation: Hotel De Hollemeersch (Flanders) or similar
 

Day 2 Ypres Salient

'The Salient' struck fear into the Great War Tommy for being the hottest spot on the 70 mile front held by British and Empire troops. Over a quarter of a million men gave their lives to hold this last bit of Belgium from the Germans. Although history records four great battles fought at Ypres, it was in fact a constant battle against shells, bullets, bombs, gas, mud and rats.

For those who commenced the tour on Saturday, this morning offers the opportunity to spend time in Ypres itself with the opportunity to visit St George's Chapel, the Menin Gate Memorial, and the 'In Flanders Field' Museum (optional). On our day touring the Salient we see, in the company of a first class guide, some of the most important sites that remain: the area of the first gas attack, John McRae's Essex Farm, the Messines Ridge, Hooge crater where the flame thrower was introduced into modern warfare, and the sites that played a pivotal role in the Battle of Passchendaele; Polygon Wood and Tyne Cot. Walk the moonscape of the Hill 60 battlefield and see literally dozens of memorials to British, Australian and Canadian regiments and units. The tour returns to Lille, or for those remaining, we spend an evening in our regional accommodation.
(B)
Accommodation: Hotel De Hollemeersch (Flanders) or similar
 

Day 3 Fromelles & Vimy Ridge

The final day in our series of one-day Western Front battlefield visits takes us to the line between Armentieres and Arras, dubbed the nursery trenches. On this day we visit sites connected with the 1915 battles of Aubers Ridge, Festubert, and Neuve Chapelle, where the Indian Army gave a magnificent account of itself, and the 1917 Battle of Arras. We see where Adolf Hitler served and the bunker he is reputed to have used as a billet. Australians will be touched at seeing the 'Cobbers' Memorial in Fromelles. An archaeological investigation during 2009 exhumed many soldiers remains from mass graves, and these bodies will be re-interred during 2010 in the new cemetery that is being constructed opposite the exhumation site by Pheasant Wood . We cross the Loos battlefield, site of the disastrous battle of 1915. For Canadians, Vimy Ridge is undoubtedly the highlight, where we take a trench tour and spend time at the massive and imposing Vimy memorial. We also see sites in and around the pretty city of Arras connected with the huge battle of 1917. If time, we see the French National memorial at Notre Dame de Lorette before returning to our Lille departure point.
(B)

Tour pick up / drop off
This tour starts at 09.30am where you will meet your Battlefield guide at 'The Meeting Point' in the Eurostar rail terminal in Lille. This tour starts at 09.30am where you will meet your Battlefield guide at 'The Meeting Point' in the Eurostar rail terminal in Lille. If you require a Eurostar transfer from London please request at time of booking.

Tour Photos