A
Self Drive Tour of Australia's World War One Battlefields and Memorials |
|
This is designed to be taken out of Paris as a day tour, but could easily be spun out over a few days and could be approached from London via Lille (Eurostar) or tacked on to Normandy or Maginot Line excusion. The tour takes in Fromelles, Pozières, Le Hamel and Villers-Bretonneux, but does not include Ieper (Ypres) in Belgium. The itinerary is basically a loop starting and finishing in Amiens. First stop is Fromelles (108km from Amiens) then working back towards Amiens via Pozieres, Le Hamel (near Corbie) and finishing at Villers-Bretonneux (16km east of Amiens). There are literally hundreds of war cemetaries and memorials dedicated to various fighting units of most combatant nations so it would be possible to get sidetracked for days if this is your thing. Times are approximate. Distances are sourced from Viamichelin.com. |
|
| 08:00 | Take a
TER
(regional railways) train from Gare du
Nord (the main northbound station for Paris) to Amiens, prefecture of
the Somme Departement. These trains run pretty much every hour. |
| The train journey
takes just over an hour. There is an Avis office at Amiens station where
you could hire a car (book ahead) or most of the other car
hire companies such as Europcar and Hertz are located within Amiens. |
|
| 09:15 | Depart the Amiens
for Fromelles via the N25 direction Arras and Lens. Fromelles
is located between the cities of Lens and Lille. Use Viamichelin.com
Route Planner - Amiens (80000) to Fromelles (59249) for detailed route information.
Amiens to Fromelles is 108km. |
| The Battle
of Fromelles took place on 19 July 1916 and was the first action
on the Western Front for the First Australian Imperial Force. Intended as
a diversion from the main battle of the Somme it ended as a victory for
the Germans and cost thousands of Australian casualties. Adolf Hitler was
thought to be in action in this sector with the 16th Bavarian Reserve Infantry
Regiment.Fromelles (59249) is the site of VC
Corner Australian Cemetery and Memorial. |
|
| 11:00 | From Fromelles drive
south to Pozieres 75km south of the city of Arras. Use Viamichelin.com
Route Planner from Fromelles 59249 to Pozières
80300 for a detailed route. |
| The Canadian
memorial at Vimy (south of Lens) is very impressive and worth a visit
if you have time. |
|
| 12:00 | Have lunch in the town
of Bapaume (62450) on the way. |
| 13:00 | Drive a short distance
to Pozières |
| The Battle
of Pozières lasted from 23 July to 7 August 1916. The village of
Pozières lies on the Albert-Bapaume road and was where the Germans
had dug in. The task of capturing Pozières fell to the three Australian
Divisions of I Anzac Corps. The midnight attack on Pozières was a
success, due to careful planning (a rare commodity in those days) and a
devastating artillery barrage. The Germans, recognising the importance of
the village to their defensive network, made several counter-attacks with
the final assault coming before dawn on the 7 August. The Germans overran
Australian position resulting in vicious hand to hand combat in which the
Australians emerged victorious. In the fighting at Pozières and Mouquet
Farm, the three Australian divisions suffered over 23,000 casualties.Pozières,
south of Arras, is home to the Windmill Memorial Site. |
|
| 14:00 | Leave Pozières
for Le Hamel (80800) 23 km southwest near the town of Corbie
(also 80800). Use Viamichelin.com. |
| The Battle of Hamel
was the site of the Battle of Hamel on 4 July 1918 was a planned offensive
against the Germans holding the town of Hamel. It was a brilliant success
and a breakthrough in warfare terms as it did not needlessly throw away
lives. Australian commander Lieutenant
General John Monash was in command and dispensed with the traditional
massed frontal assaults. The battle was over in under two hours with all
objectives met and relatively light casualties. Coordinated infantry, artillery
and the new weapon tanks brilliantly. He even introduced the concept of
aerial resupply of food and medicine via parachute drops. Monash, sickened
by the conduct of the war and the attitude of his British General Staff
was adamant that he would not sacrifice his troops needlessly. Monahs’s
tactics served as a practical demonstration of how to break a deadlock through
skill not brute force. His tactics were adopted on a grander scale at the
battle of Amiens with great success. |
|
| 15:00 | Drive to Villers-Bretonneux
(80800) 7 km southwest of Le Hamel. |
| Villers-Bretonneux
is home to the main Australian War Memorial as well as the Franco-Australian
Museum. This small village near Amiens is where around 10,000 Australians
were killed or wounded resisting the German advance on Amiens. There are
two war cemeteries in Villers-Bretonneux containing hundreds of Australian
dead. The Village includes many memorials to Australian sacrifices such
as the Franco-Australian Museum. Perhaps the most poignant is the large
sign in Villers-Bretonneux school yard that says ‘Never forget Australia’See
the official site for the village of Villers-Bretonneux
. |
|
| 18:00 | From Villers-Bretonneux
it is a fairly straight 16 km run back to Amiens and the station where you
can return the vehicle and take the evening train back to Paris. Make sure
you refuel vehicle. |
| If you wish to stay in the area overnight find a hotel on France.com , choose Picardie Region and your dates. | |
| <<Back | |