World War One Battlefields

Ed, I can highly recommend Western Front Tours. We had an amazing and memorable one day tour of the Somme with this company. They do several tours of WW1 battle sites. check out the web site
www.westernfronttours.com.au

While this information deals primarily with Canadians and WW1, we picked up a booklet on Visiting the Great War Sites of Flanders and Vimy Ridge. It was easy to follow and we covered a lot of the places in a day. The booklet is available from John Stephens at www.TheGreatWar.ca . Hope this helps. PS. I thought Vimy Ridge was spectacular.

Google up Norm Christies battle field tours, or his vidios on the History channel. And if you can find them The War Walk (a journey along the western front) by Nigel Jones and Back to the Front ( an accidental historian walks the trenches of world war 1 ) by Stephen O'Shea both good resources and great reads.

Thanks to all so far for the suggestions. I will check them out. I am familiar with "Back to the Front" and will ask my daughter for a re-loan of the book. I'm still open for suggestions. If this trip happens I anticipate we'll have three or four days. I'm torn between a self-drive and a guided tour or tours. I've driven in France before (Provence, Dordogne, and Normandy) so I'm familiar with the territory to some degree just not the territory of Northern France. So I understand those limitations. A guided tour may be more to our liking if cost are relatively moderate and we can cover some key areas.

Ed, be advised that many of these battlefield sites are unimproved, unregulated and unattended. Watch your step & respect any private property. They are fascinating to explore. Have a great time!

I'm glad to see you've got more than a day (or even just two) for this. We made the mistake of underestimating the interest we would have when we went to Verdun and did not allot enough time. We drove and toured on our own with the help of some guidebooks. While that worked out okay, if you have the funds, I think you could get more out of it with a good tour guide who really knows the area and can answer the questions that you will undoubtedly have. I would say Fort Douamont and the Ossuarie (which are actually just outside Verdun) are not to be missed. If you really want to add to your excursion, you could drive further east to the Armistice Clearing, and visit the site where Germany surrendered WWI. But, honestly, aside from the history of the place, and the excellent photos and memorabilia there, it isn't worth it IMO. (A neat place to visit if you're in the neighborhood, but not worth the extra drive from Verdun.)

We've been to dozens, big and small. Some are museums, others are just signposts. FYI, Flanders American cemetery usually has a nice ceremony for Memorial weekend in May. We went a few years back and although didn't get everything due to language barrier, it was really nice. We've visited all on our own and even the ones way out in the boonies are worth a drive.

Our guide of the Western Front Tour, Peter Norton, made our day tour most memorable. His knowledge of the events, the timelines etc. was incredible which added so much more to the tour. No amount of reading, internet research would have given us the insight we got from him. We were picked up at the Arrass station at 9.00am and dropped back there about 6.00pm. A delicious lunch, including wine, in a great little bistro in Albert was included in the price of the tour.
Reading accounts of the battles which took place here, now are so much more insightful.

Ed, There is a book, I think it's called "Walking the Front" It's about a guy who hikes the WW I front and his observations. It is extremely interesting as it describes the area 70 -80 years after the conflict. Read it before you go.