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Assorted Great War Sites in the Somme Region
Monday, June 04, 2001; posted by Paris
Lisa and I spent Thursday afternoon and Friday morning visiting cemeteries, memorials and monuments. They were everywhere - we could not drive for more than a couple minutes without coming across a beautifully maintained graveyard or memorial. The landscape consisted of beautiful rolling hills with rectangular farm fields of different colors creating a beautiful patchwork.
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This is the French Memorial Chapel on Serre Road. It is set in the middle of treeless farm fields. Across the street is a cemetery.
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This is the Lochnagar Crater and those are trees straight ahead. Both sides would dig deep mines under the enemy trench lines, fill it with explosives and then detonate a massive explosion that left gigantic craters. These were done to create breeches in enemy lines. This crater is the result of an explosion that was to be coordinated with other mine explosions to begin a bloody offensive in July 1916. The explosions and militia charges were not coordinated effectively and tens of thousands of men were mown down by the enemy.
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A view from the Lochnagar crater toward the surrounding countryside. At one point, this was the site of the German front-line.
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This is a picture of the English Serre Road Cemetary No. 2. This is just down the road from the French Memorial Chapel. It is extremely well maintained (as are all of the other sites), in this case by British War Graves Commission (I do not recall the exact name).
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These crosses (as well as red poppies) can be found along most roads in this region.
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This is the Thiepval Memorial dedicated to missing British soldiers. It is a massive construction that can be seen from far away. It also has a cemetary (under renovation). Inscribed in the base are the names of thousands of missing men.
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This is the Ulster Tower Memorial, an exact replica of a tower/residence in Ireland. It is dedicated to the memory of the valiant Irish soldiers who pierced enemy lines, but were beaten back by the enemy, and friendly forces who did not know of their progress during the confusion of battle.
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