Thanks again guys - we're getting through this...slowly... It was a long trip, honest...
So, we have driven the short distance between Hooge to Zillebeke and the Front of 1915 at this spot, infamously recorded in history as Hill 60. These are remains of German trenches that have been kept as a park, with memorials honouring those who fought over this seemingly unimportant scrap of ground, but of course in the slow burning nature of trench warfare, every metre gained was precious, being worth thousands of lives. This area around Hill 60, the number was given by the military heads based on its height above sea level was taken by the German 30th Division on 11 November 1914 as part of the First Battle of Ypres and from then on, the British and French expended efforts in taking it back. The hill is, in fact man made, being rubble excavated during the laying of the Ypres-Comines railway line south from Ieper and on the other side of the tracks from Hill 60 is Caterpillar Hill, which, it was realised would need to be taken as well, if Hill 60 was to be occupied.
Thus, British and French miners began their work in the first mining effort of the war and by 10 April 1915 the galleries had been excavated and explosives placed in anticipation.
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Two days later the first mines were exploded and the British advanced. Casualties on both sides were recorded as a result of the explosions and stiff resistance from the Germans from artillery and gas attacks meant the British were held off, but by the end of the day on the 18th, the British had taken the hill. Aerial reconnaissance by 1 Sqn RFC was able to pinpoint the German artillery, against which fire from British artillery was directed from the air against the German positions. Fast forward to June 1917 and the Messines Ridge campaign mentioned several posts back and we are looking at the crater caused by the 1st Australian Tunnelling Company, although the tunnel was begun as early as August 1915, with galleries running under Hill 60 and Caterpillar Hill, work being done by the British and the 3rd Canadian Tunnelling Company. As recorded earlier, at 3:10am on 7 June 1917, mines laid across the German lines were detonated, creating enormous craters across the German lines, including this one. Today, the Hill 60 crater doesn't look like a crater at all, but the ferocity can be hinted at by the depth of the path into its centre. This was one of the northernmost mines, of which there were 21 across a distance of around 8 kilometres.
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This is a monumental stone that was constructed after the end of WW2 but is on the spot of a memorial to the Queen Victoria's Rifles that was commemorated in 1923, but in 1940, the invading Wehrmacht destroyed it. Rededicated after the war, it now incorporates a memorial to the fallen of WW2 as well.
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Originally constructed by the Germans, this machine gun bunker was added to by the Australians after the Messines Ridge Offensive, evidence of which can be seen in the style of construction of this opening. British bunkers differed from the German ones in the use of corrugated walls created by sheets of corrugated iron between which steel reinforced concrete was poured, then the sheets were removed to reveal the corrugated surfaces. Evidence of its original construction method can be seen in the step at the bunker's right in the trees.
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Pathways around the park highlight the location of the ever moving front, this being the German lines.
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This section of built up pathway indicates the lines, with the British and French lines in the foreground and the German lines a few feet away down in the trench we saw at the beginning of this post. The Hill 60 crater is jusr beyond the edge of the image to the right.
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Here we see the British lines during the Messines Ridge Offensive as indicated by these Remembrance Elms bracketed in blue. Running east to west from the right, Ieper is north west of this position, spires from St Maartenskerk and the Cloth Hall are visible on the horizon. This is the southern edge of the Ypres salient, six kilometres to the south west of Broodseinde and Passendale at the easternmost flank of the salient, off to the right of the picture.
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This plaque describes the events surrpounding Hill 60 and reminds the reader that German, British and Commonwealth bodies are still encased within the ground here, lending solemnity to the site. The fence behind is the boundary of Hill 60 Park. This and the following memorials are along the roadside opposite the previous image looking toward Ieper.
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This is memorial to the men of the 1st Australian Tunnelling Company and shows damage inflicted during World War Two.
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This is a memorial to the British 14th Light Division and records the campaigns during the Great War it fought in.
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This memorial sits adjacent to the bridge over the Ypres-Comines railway line and is from a different era to the other memorials here. The following information on the fates of these two men is from tracesofwar.com:
"During the Second World War on the railroad Ypres - Kortrijk something horrific occurred on Hill 60. The German troops were in Ypres and Poperinge. By train from Kortrijk direction Poperinge prisoners and materials were transported. The train was at Hill 60, on the border Zillebeke-Hollebeke and stood still as usual waiting for an extra locomotive that could provide additional traction.
Two French soldiers who were captured in one of the wagons, were shot dead by the Germans. People heard a few shots and 200 meters away were two lifeless bodies. They were Pierre Marchant and Lucien Olivier, who later turned out to be French members of the resistance. The two Frenchmen were arrested in their residence La Madeleine at the station when a train carrying SS'ers entered the station. Presumably suspected of an attack, they were surrounded and captured and taken by train to Belgium and moved to Ypres.
Were they beaten on the run when the train was waiting and shot or were they executed? What happened that day will probably always remain a mystery. The two Frenchmen were provisionally buried in the village Zillebeke. Later they were reburied in their residence. In 1969 Belgium Imosphinx Academy unveiled a memorial to commemorate the two men."
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This is the railway line that runs between Hill 60 and Caterpillar Hill, the dredging out of the channel creating the artificial mounds either side of it - Hill 60 to the left and Caterpillar Hill to the right.
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The German line, indicated by the Remembrance Elm as at June 1917, with a machine gun bunker buried in the overgrowth...
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...And Caterpillar Crater, from the mine that ripped the German position apart on the morning of 7 June.
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This is the end of my Great War battlefields Tour and I hope you have enjoyed it. It was both eye opening and moving and the staff at Camalou Battlefield Tours did a wonderful job at conveying these rich stories and bringing them to life. Obviously in three days, I couldn't cover every aspect of the NZ Div on the Western front, just the most important battles and sites, with extras along the way that really brought the war here to life for me. I felt numb for sometime afterwards.
After returning to Ypres, I spent the afternoon drinking local beer with a couple of Australians I met on the tour, which was the most pleasant way to wind up my time in Ieper. By 8pm, I was back in Paris, having caught a train from Lille, for, the next day was the last day of the Paris Airshow.
See you back at Le Bourget!