The Somme and French Flanders

General interest or focusing on one country's participation? You'll need a car. If you google battle of the Somme museums you'll find several places you can visit. We spent about a week travelling in Belgium and France visiting several of the battle sites - it was very interesting, since we both had family members who had fought in the Great War.

I'll be traveling with my two teenaged girls who are not that interested.... until they have to write a paper for school, and then they thank their lucky stars that they've seen the places where history was made!

I'm staying near Lille for a week and looking for one good museum/battlefield/cemetery where we can get a good overview.
Thanks!

Hi,

The museums and sites pertaining to the war are closer to Arras. Lille is a long way from the Somme, ie the distance from Amiens on the Somme to Lille.

Northern France is the part of France I've focused the most on and have seen several of these sites...cemeteries museums, memorials

The large British war cemetery is at the edge of town in Arras. There is an underground museum on the British troops in Arras as the city was the Gen HO for British Army. Several museums plus war cemeteries are located in this area.

Which ones do you want to see...French, German, British, Canadian, Australian, South African, Chinese?

Is this the museum? Looks like it might be very interesting! http://www.greatwar.co.uk/french-flanders-artois/museum-wellington-quarry.htm

Hi,

Thanks so much for the valuable link, a wealth of information. A good number of the villages/towns in the greater Arras area I have been to, visited, etc. The information on the Wellington Quarry is news to me. A few of the big cemeteries listed I have visited....the German, French and the British.

In the Hotel de Ville of Arras, ie, the city hall. is the Tourist Office. The underground museum is in that building. I took a tour of the place in 1997. The tour then was given only in French, (my French was zero then), makes no difference, I went anyway. ...very helpful staff.

I would suggest that when you get to Arras, inquire at the Tourist Office....tons of information available, brochures, etc. The last time for me in Arras was ten years ago..in 2009. Walking from the train station to the city hotel (tourist office) pretty straight forward, 30-40 mins? Never counted.

The only Anglophones you'll see in Arras are Canadians or British, if you do see them. The city is totally off the American tourist radar.

Part 2 here...I went to Neuville St Vaast, the cemeteries there are pretty poignant plus a WW1 museum is located there, saw this town at least twice over the years.

Arras was the operational objective in both wars by both sides.

You'll see plaques in the centre ville dedicated to its liberation by the Welsh Guards in 1944, also a plaque on the flank attack by British tanks against Rommel's 7th Panzer Div. (It was driven off). Those details are not given but the date is indicated, 23-24 May 1940 so that the event referred to can be historically deduced.

If you're going to the Somme area, there is a British war museum (small) in Albert/Somme, which was an objective in the 1918 offensives. also aiming at Amiens. The German cemetery is nearby in Fricourt.

The big WW1 museum is located near Albert in Peronne/Somme, which has no train station. Having a rental car, you'll be able to cover a lot of ground, ...all depends on how much time you're devoting to tracking down these sites and villages.

Okay, this is great! I think I need the big, extensive museum for my two teenagers:

https://www.visit-somme.com/great-war/museums-tell-tales-great-war

I know very little about the area, but after doing some more searches, I might even drive further to this museum:

https://armistice-museum.com/visit-the-memorial/the-museum/

Thanks!!

Hi,

Given that "confession" I would heartily suggest seeing the museum in Peronne so as to get an overview and as you are already in the Somme region. In 1918 Peronne was in the thick of the fighting.

Amiens was decried as "Der schwarze Tag des Deutschen Heeres." (Black Day of the German Army) by Ludendorff in 1918 since the push to Amiens had been blunted and where large numbers of German troops were surrendering for the first time.

I have been to Amiens only on day trips but at least 3 separate times...a very nice, interesting city with its famous cathedral, saw it the first time in 1989 and especially where the Somme flows through the city.