The Western Front in World War I
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
The Western Front in World War I A Maymester 2018 Travel Study Trip May 20 – June 1, 2018 This joint venture between the University of Tennessee at Martin and Union University was led by the husband-wife team of Drs. Alice- Catherine Carls (UTMartin) and Stephen D. Carls (Union University). This trip was an opportunity to commemorate the centenary of the Great War (1914-1918). UTMartin students were the first recipients of the Coleman Family Legacy Scholarship. We wish to thank Martha Edinger for her generous support of UTMartin History Majors. SUNDAY, MAY 20, 2018 NASHVILLE At BNA, travelers and family Off we go: BNA to London MONDAY, MAY 21, 2018 LONDON Coach tour: Regent Street Coach tour: a doubledecker Coach tour: Kensington Gardens, Albert Memorial Welcome dinner at the Devonshire Arms YUM! Sticky pudding with ice cream TUESDAY, MAY 22, 2018 LONDON Entering Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey: Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Westminster Abbey War Memorials We saw Meghan Markle’s bridal bouquet on the lower right- hand corner of the floor plaque dedicated to the Unknown Soldier. Meghan and Prince Harry were married two days before we arrived in London. It is a tradition for royal brides to place their bouquets there. A British unknown soldier was buried in Westminster Abbey on 11 November 1920, similarly with a French unknown soldier at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Both graves were the first examples of tombs of the Unknown Soldier. The royal bouquet Downing Street: the World War I Cenotaph Downing Street: World War II, side by side with World War I. Trafalgar Square, after lunch Chris catching art @ the National Gallery The Imperial War Museum IWM: sniper camo IWM: Austro-Hungarian uniform IWM: Toby mugs of General John Pershing, Sir Douglas Haig, and General Ferdinand Foch IWM: A German mine thrower Aboard the doubledecker No Luck! Big Ben is under wraps. In front of the London Eye Cruising the Thames London Bridge Memorial to the World War I merchant fleet Your fearless trip leaders WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2018 LONDON - LILLE St Paul’s Cathedral: commemorative crosses by Gerry Judah St Paul’s Cathedral Sculpted on the two crosses are destroyed settlements representing the impact of total war on the civilian populations. Over 18 feet tall, the crosses were sculpted by Gerry Judah to recall the white crosses of military cemeteries all over the world. The cathedral also features an altar shroud embroidered by World War I soldiers suffering from shell shock. Stained glass windows adorn the American Memorial Chapel at the back of the choir dedicated to the U.S. service personnel who died in the defense of Britain in World War II, with the seal of the states. Ready for the Eurostar at St. Pancras’ station THURSDAY, MAY 24, 2018 YPRES/FLANDERS A sample of art street in Lille Lille’s World War I monument Arriving at Tyne Cot, the world’s largest Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery -- 11,956 graves Entering Tyne Cot cemetery Tyne Cot cemetery The German war cemetery at Langemark 44,000 soldiers Student memorial, Langemark cemetery Emily placed daisies on German graves. Military Burial Traditions Allied military cemeteries mark the graves of the dead thus: white erect crosses for Christian soldiers, tombstones with the Star of David for Jewish soldiers, and tombstones facing Mecca for Muslim soldiers. Each grave is individual. Each grave is decorated with planted flowers that bloom all year long. No German soldiers are buried in Allied cemeteries. German cemeteries on French soil have flat, square, charcoal grey tombstones. Many graves contain the remains of several soldiers. Those graves are not decorated with flowers. Allied and German soldiers are sometimes buried in ossuaries or mass graves. At Langemark, the largest mass grave contains 24,197 bodies. Belgian schoolchildren honor the fallen Passchendaele Museum Passchendaele Museum The reconstituted dugout and trench, Passchendaele Museum Emily in the Passchendaele Museum trench The Menin Gate at Ypres Ypres seen through the Menin Gate Lunch of Belgian Waffles in Ypres In Flanders Fields Museum, Ypres Admission Bracelet, In Flanders Fields Museum In Flanders’ Fields Museum: life in the trenches In Flanders Fields Museum: a munitions transport In Flanders Fields Museum Back in Lille, a street festival FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2018 BLERANCOURT / REIMS At the gate of Blerancourt castle US philanthropist Anne Morgan bought the castle of Blerancourt at the urging of General Foch to headquarter her 350-women relief and rescue team The front, as painted by Esperance Leon Broquet, a volunteer World War I soldier One of Anne Morgan’s ambulances American Red Cross nurse uniform -- paper copy created by costume artist Isabelle de Borchgrave A World War I poster The Blerancourt castle at noon Picnic in the castle gardens. The Reims cathedral, site of the crowning of French kings for 1,000 years,destroyed during World War I, site of the reconciliation of France and Germany since 1961 Under angels’ wings. The Marc Chagall stained glass windows in the apse (1974) Symbol of reconciliation: the stained glass windows created by German artist Imi Knoebel (2011) The magnificent Art Deco Carnegie library The card catalog room The Art Deco skylight The Carnegie Library’s Main Desk The foyer’s chandelier – the glass beads symbolize champagne wine bubbles Reims, the forgotten battle sector Often overlooked in favor of more grievous battles – Marne, Somme, Verdun, Passchendaele, Meuse-Argonne – Reims was protected by a ring of fortresses. Between 1914-1918, the city witnessed almost incessant combat between French and German armies, during which the city was heavily damaged. The inhabitants took refuge in the champagne companies’ deep underground caves, where they organized schools, church services, and other every day life necessities. The citizens of Reims gratefully remember how their city and its cathedral, the site of the crowning of French kings for one thousand years, were rebuilt thanks to American aid. The cathedral has become the site of Franco- German reconciliation. It was not by chance that Anne Morgan settled in Blerancourt, northeast of Reims, since the city was a center for wartime hospitals. Anne Morgan’s relief and rescue efforts lasted until 1924. Today her castle is a memorial to Franco-American friendship. Fort de la Pompelle east of Reims More signs of heavy damage atop Fort de la Pompelle The mile marker at Fort de la Pompelle Remembrance and Tourism In 1920, the French Touring Club decided to help memorialize the war by marking the farthest German advance lines of 1918 along the Western Front. The mile markers were inscribed with “Here the invader was repelled, 1918.” Created by Paul Moreau-Vauthier in 1920, these markers are still visible. The mile markers were funded by private donors. The Fort de la Pompelle marker was donated by the Association of Mexican Veterans, since two hundred Mexican soldiers fought around Reims as part of the French colonial troops (of which the Foreign Legion was a part). Goodbye Reims: the cathedral’s stunning flying buttresses SATURDAY, MAY 26, 2018 MEUSE-ARGONNE At the Russian memorial of St. Hilaire le Grand with Mme Mathe, Curator Inside the Russian Orthodox chapel Memorial to the 915 Russian soldiers who defended the Reims sector between 1916 and 1917, featuring the Russian Orthodox cross Between Reims and Verdun: poppy fields and Liberty Road, Patton’s march to Bastogne – here too World Wars I and II are not far apart Close to the Kronprinz’s headquarters, deep in the Argonne forest, stands the Haute Chevauchee French memorial The crypt and ossuary –fighting in 1914-1915 used tunnel warfare and poison gas The crypt. Crater caused by the largest German mine detonated in World War I: 54 tons German and French trenches were only 60 feet apart. More trenches. Lunch in Varennes’ only “fast food” restaurant The many layers of history (R to L): Varennes’ World War I Memorial; French flag; clock tower where Louis XVI was arrested in 1791 Varennes’ majestic American World War I memorial erected by the State of Pennsylvania The largest American Military Cemetery in Europe at Romagne-sous-Montfaucon – 14,246 graves At the door of the memorial chapel Inside the memorial chapel The Southeastern quadrant “Known But To God. .” At the foot of the hill, nestled in a tree, a new life. precious and vulnerable. The private World War I museum / shop at Romagne More memorabilia collected by a local man The American Memorial at Montfaucon (Falcon Hill) on the site of the destroyed village Side By Side: a pillar from the 12th c. abbatial church, and the 1937 column of the American Memorial Susannah singing “Amazing Grace” atop the memorial Incredibly, the cemetery was left intact by the bombs With the village destroyed, inhabitants were housed in German barracks in 1920. The town was eventually rebuilt at the bottom of the hill A few miles away, another set of trenches. In the seemingly unending forest. To the monument called “Le Mort Homme” – Dead Man’s Hill This stop was for Alex – he requested it -- here he is, explaining the monument’s significance Arriving at Verdun, on the Meuse River The Verdun World War I Memorial (L to R): a cavalryman, a reserve soldier, a foot soldier, a colonial soldier, and an artilleryman SUNDAY, MAY 27, 2018 VERDUN Entering the trenches A heavily bombed shelter. Surviving the trenches Exiting the trenches at Fort Douaumont Our guide Guillaume hands a World War I spoon to Samuel. Recently overturned earth still yields many artifacts Fort Douaumont, the main fortress defending the town of Verdun The main turret, atop Fort Douaumont Signs of heavy damage near the railroad entrance of Fort Douaumont Guillaume explains the battle plans.