JN_12's Euro Adventure - Ypres (WWI Battlegrounds)

[jn_12]

Ypres is about 2 hours West of Brussels and we spent most of a day here on a private tour of the WWI Battlegrounds. It's hard to really put into words what it's like to be at a place where hundreds of thousands died. Surreal is maybe the best way to describe it, but it's definitely a humbling experience.

Everything in the town of Ypres was rebuilt post-WWI exactly how it looked prior to the war with German money. So everything you see in these pictures might look old, but nothing pre-dates 1920. The large arch in the middle of town is the Menin Gate with names of those in the Commonwealth forces who were killed and missing. Also in this set is Tyne Cot Cemetery which is the largest Commonwealth Cemetery in the world, and is the home to the grave of Private James Peter Robinson who was a Canadian Victoria Cross recipient.

The spot where "In Flanders Fields" by John McCrae

One of only 4 German cemeteries in Belgium. Essentially it is a mass grave as bodies were simply tossed into a pit. Hitler visited this cemetery a couple times during WWII.

The Canadian WWI War Memorial. This is the exact spot where Mustard Gas was first used by the Germans.

This field is outside Passchendale and is on the edge of Tyne Cot Cemetery. In the ground here is anywhere from 100,000 to 250,000 bodies that were never recovered. For every square yard there are 34 bodies in the ground.

The only remaining trenches from the First World War.

Menin Gate

 

[ganjavih]

Thanks so much for the tour... very dramatic.

 

[Mustapha]

I much enjoyed this post, JN 12, thank you.

 

[Ummagumma66]

very moving pictures, very powerful, thank you for showing this somber yet beautiful set of pictures.

 

[Prometheus The Supremo]

in those fields with all the grave markers, is there a person buried at each one? or is it a representation?

are the corrugated metal sheets part of the original trench structure, if so, are they the original ones?

there is a pic with what looks like old gravestones fallen over on the floor, what's the story with those?

what's the story behind what look like many similar small wooden crosses placed in many different spots? some are placed around a wooden pole which is supported by a metal pole with metal wire wrapped around, any story behind that?

 

[jn_12]

Thanks all, glad you're enjoying them. Feel free to ask questions as Prometheus did.

in those fields with all the grave markers, is there a person buried at each one? or is it a representation?

Yes, each grave marker has a body buried in front of it. I don't have it pictured but in cases where graves are touching one another it means that they were all killed at the same time in the same spot, and often it is simply a pit with various remains since the bodies would be decimated. Many of the graves have nothing more than "known unto God" and if possible it will give as much information as it can such as religion, country, regiment, etc. Back then apparently they used leather dog tags instead of metal and this made it difficult to identify people since they could be easily destroyed.

The only case in the above photos is of the German cemetery with the small blocks sitting amongst trees. In this case, the bodies were exhumed from numerous graves around Belgium and buried together in a giant pit. This cemetery was no bigger than a soccer field and contained something like 50,000 bodies. The small blocks had some names and regiments on them, while the names of the known deceased are on the walls of a small pavilion at the entrance (as pictured above).

are the corrugated metal sheets part of the original trench structure, if so, are they the original ones?

No, the originals were sandbag walls. The corrugated sheets were added to help maintain the structure for visitors. Not sure exactly how far back they're dated but the steal was strong enough to walk on.

there is a pic with what looks like old gravestones fallen over on the floor, what's the story with those?

These were German graves from a battle. I don't recall any details specifically other than they were German and this was an area that the Canadians fought the Germans at great length in order to take control of a hill nearby.

what's the story behind what look like many similar small wooden crosses placed in many different spots? some are placed around a wooden pole which is supported by a metal pole with metal wire wrapped around, any story behind that?

These were put in place by kids. Not much else to it really.


By the way, interesting thing about Essex Farm Cemetery, it holds both the graves of the youngest and oldest soldiers in the war The ages escape me (I think 15 and 50, but I can't remember exactly, google would be easy to find this out from). It's also built right beside where McCrae wrote In Flanders Fields.

 

[Prometheus The Supremo]

thanks for the answers jn_12.

cemeteries are overwhelming but war cemeteries are that much more.

 

[Urban Shocker]

In 1994 I went to the commemoration ceremonies for the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Monte Cassino with my elderly parents ( my father had served there ) and they were extremely moving. There were veterans, and their families, from all over the world and drawn from both sides of the original conflict. Old soldiers, once fighting for opposing forces, met for the first time and shared reminiscences. After the main ceremony at the Commonwealth cemetery, as we were walking back to our bus, I passed an old Australian veteran sitting at the side of the road, and I noticed that he was wearing a Victoria Cross - he looked like any old guy you might pass on the street and not pay much attention to.

The Commonwealth, Polish and German cemeteries at Monte Cassino all have their own "look" - similar in the case of the Commonwealth and German ones to the photos in this thread about WW1. The American war cemeteries also have a different design. The German cemetery at Monte Cassino has a solemn chapel that you pass through at the entrance. It was terribly sad to see names etched in stone on the individual graves of young men of 16, or 18, or 20, or 25, who died in a battle that went on for months - especially so for those who wasted their lives fighting for the cause of fascism.

There is a beautifully maintained and breathtakingly situated all-Canadian cemetery on a hilltop in central Sicily that faces a small village called Agira, where 490 Canadians are buried. There are fir trees and a view of a distant lake. Our troops were among the first to land at the southern end of Sicily in July 1943 in a campaign to liberate Europe that preceded the more famous D-Day landings in France by almost a year.

 

[Ronald]

Impressive pictures. Reminds me of my visit to Ypres almost one year ago. I hear you when you say that visiting these sites is a very moving, humbling experience. What went on there just short of a century ago is just beyond my imagination, it is hard to realize the magnitude of the drama that took place there.
BTW, great series- brings back memories from my tour of Belgium last summer.

 

[Jayomatic]

Great photos. I really hope to visit those places someday to get the sense of it all. It really is quite moving to see in pictures and I can't begin to imagine what it feels like to be there.

 

[jn_12]

I thought I would give this a little bump in light of today being Remembrance Day.

 

[Jayomatic]

Great idea. I was fortunate to visit Ypres and the Vimy Memorial last August and it was quite moving. Definitely a visit everyone should do.

A few photos

Massive craters to create new front lines. A team would dig down 50ft and plant some explosives to create new places to take shelter in.

 

[jn_12]

Thanks for posting those. We didn't get to Vimy, though my girlfriend wants us to go there some day (she having the interest in the World Wars).
If anyone ever decides to go to Ypres, I'd suggest doing a guided tour of the battlefields. For around 50 Euros we had a 3 hour private tour with a guide who drove us around to all of the sites and explained the significance of everything. Our guide was a former military man from the British Forces. On our tour we lucked out and had a fellow from Calgary join us and he happened to have a wealth of knowledge about John McCrae and some of the Canadian contributions to the War, so it was like having two guides show us around.

I'm fairly certain we used this group: http://www.salienttours.be/index.html but I'm not 100% sure right now (will need to ask the gf).