FROM PARIS TO YPRES, BELGIUM—MADEMOISELLE FROM ARMENTIERES AND THE CHRISTMAS TRUCE

Wednesday, 8 August 2015

New Regina Hotel, Ypres, Belgium

Flanders Fields, Belgium

72F, partly cloudy

Come with me on a ride to Ypres! Our skillful bus captain took us onto the highway early this morning through rolling hills and fields of wheat, corn, and rutabaga. Sleepy, quiet villages passed us by. One of the first things I noticed was Rue du 8 Aout 1918, which translates to “August 8, 1918 Street” in one of the small villages. I was paying special attention because today is our dear daughter in law’s birthday—her date has a street! That was the date that this small town, Harbonnieres, had liberation in sight. In fact, today was a big day all of over parts of France and Belgium. The war was not over, but the Germans were being pushed back.

Rue du 8 Aout 1918--Rue is the French word for street and Aout is August

Mike Hanlon briefed us on the basics of World War I before the American involvement in 1918.

Most of our day was spent visiting the AEF in the Somme/Cantigny/In Flanders Fields area.

One of our tour mates, Virginia, started speaking of her father, Charles Dilkes, an engineer with the First Division who kept a daily diary. Since that was not permitted, he buried it before his engagement in work before the battles and would retrieve it after. Virginia and her family edited the diary, after he passed away. The book was endorsed by the World War I Centennial Commission. https://www.amazon.com/Remembering-World-War-Engineers-Diary/dp/0692028617

More First Division, Pershing’s Favorite

Cantigny—1^st Division April 27-July 8, 1918

The Battle of Cantigny, fought May 28, 1918 was the first major American battle and offensive of  World War I.  The U.S. 1st Division, the most experienced of the five American divisions then in France and in reserve for the French Army near the village of Cantigny, was selected for the attack. The objective of the attack was both to reduce a small salient made by the German Army in the front lines but also to instill confidence among the French and British allies in the ability of the inexperienced American Expeditionary Forces (AEF).

Rue 1st Division U.S.A.

The Battle of Hamel (4 July 1918)

From there we went to the site of the Battle of Hamel—33^rd Division July 4, 1918

This was a successful attack by Australian and U.S. infantry, supported by British tanks, against German positions in and around the town of  Le Hamel, in northern France, during World War I. The attack was planned and commanded by the commander of the Australian Corps. Believe it or not, poppies grew in the rutabaga field nearby.

Hamel was the first time during World War I that elements of the AEF were commanded operationally by non-American officers.

Brother and sister Frank and Cindy spoke of their  grandfather, who was an MP in the 33rd Division. This Division was decorated by King George at a Chateau, Molliens-au-Bois on August 12, 1918. General Pershing was in attendance. We stopped at this private chateau in remembrance, but despite prearrangements, we could not get in.  

Most of us enjoyed lunch at a boulangerie, sandwicherie, tarterie called Marie Blachere--great sandwiches and wraps. Tim had a ham and cheese wrap and together we shared a raspberry tarte--very very fresh.

For an afternoon break, we stopped at McDonald's in Armentieres in northern France. I played a few verses of the song, "Mademoiselle from Armentieres" on my phone for our tour mates, but if one does a search, one might find some R rated verses.  It was fun being at that spot!

By about 4 p.m. we stopped at Mont Kemmel, Flanders—and monuments to the 27^th and 30^th Divisions. We had never been in Belgium before and the transition was smooth except for the language.  Flanders is the Dutch-speaking northern portion of  Belgium. People from this area are called either Fleming or Flemish. The official capital of Flanders is Brussels. Flanders is like a county.

As the literature says, the Flanders Field Museum honors the more than 600,000 dead who fell here. Flanders (and Belgium as a whole) saw some of the greatest loss of life on the  Western Front of the war, in particular from the three battles of Ypres.

We also stopped by the site of the Christmas Truce--on Christmas Eve 1915, the British soldiers heard the Germans singing Christmas Carols and met in the open. On Christmas Day they continued fraternizing and even exchanged gifts. Several German soldiers did not participate, including Adolph Hitler. By Christmas 1916, there was no fraternizing of course.

Display of American World War I gear, uniform

This photo provides an idea of the devastation in villages--Ypres (Ieper in Belgian) was in shambles.

After I visited the museum gift shop, we checked into our hotel and ate at Ypres Burgers. Really.

We arrived early to get a good spot for the  Last Post Ceremony. Menin Gate is a war memorial in dedicated to the British and Commonwealth soldiers who were killed in the Ypres Salient of World War I and whose graves are unknown. The ceremony was very touching and meaningful.

These wreaths represent hundreds and hundreds of British Legions (something like our American Legions) who were in Ieper today for the Last Post Ceremony--commemorating 8 August 1918.

During the "Last Post Ceremony." To get a good spot for a photo we stood here for an hour, BUT I had to reach out beyond the other photographers and keep the camera straight--well, not so straight

TK's Takes: He noticed a lot of windmills-wind turbines.