Tour First World War Sites at Flanders Fields
See Belgium's Great War Battlefield Memorials at the Ypres Salient
Dec 17, 2008
The area between the historical town of Ypres and the French border, known as the Ypres Salient, saw a number of bloody battles at a huge cost to both human life and the landscape on which they were fought.
Several tours now operate here providing a historical background to the role of Flanders Fields in First World War history, including Quasimodo Tours, run by teachers and husband-and-wife team Philippe and Sharon Uyttenhove.
Quasimodo Tours
Quasimodo Tours offers an excellent day tour of the region, taking in a number of key sites, cemeteries, memorials that are both an enduring legacy and physical reminder of the five major conflicts that collectively killed many hundreds of thousands on both sides here.
Among the sites visited include the Tyne Cot Cemetery, the largest Commonwealth burial ground in the world for any war. The cemetery contains nearly 12,000 graves, of which more than 8,000 are ‘Known Unto God’.
Tyne Cot occupies a slight rise in the land in what is otherwise very flat land in the Ypres Salient. The area was strategically important then, but to the modern day visitor it is rather sobering to look out over the tranquil fields beyond the graves towards Ypres, knowing that this area of ‘No Man’s Land’ between opposing trenches witnessed so much death and destruction.
Ypres Salient
The cemetery is located just outside the village of Passendale, notorious for the 3rd Battle of Ypres fought in 1917 that destroyed the settlement and killed as many as 2,500 Allied soldiers each day in the ‘push’ for strategic higher ground.
This is the area that became a mud and rain-filled desolate swamp after shells ripped up the landscape and men faced the danger of drowning in their equipment even if they avoided a stray bullet.
The tour also visits the cemetery at Polygon Wood that featured in the same offensive. Polygon Wood changed hands several times but eventually the scarred remains of the wood were captured by the Australian 5th Division in 1917 and today a hauntingly peaceful memorial to ANZAC troops remains among the now restored trees.
It is explained on the tour how among the millions of bullets and shells falling on this area for four years, physical discoveries are happening almost daily. Guests are taken to Hill 60, another area fought over by the Allied and German forces, an area mined with so many explosives that the ‘hill’ now actually resembles a series of craters.
The remains of several reinforced pillboxes are to be found here, including a virtually intact German built structure complete with bullet holes still visible.
The culmination of the tour takes in Ypres itself, viewing the spectacular Cloth Hall, levelled during the war, as well as the Menin Gate, marking the point from where Allied soldiers marched out of the town towards the Front Line.
Menin Gate
The Menin Gate remains a major attraction in its own right, containing the names of nearly 55,000 soldiers who died without graves. The Last Post can be heard here every night at 8pm.
Whether remembering personal loved ones who died here during the war or seeking a greater understanding of the tragedies that befell Flanders Fields, this is a touching reminder of one of the darkest periods of the C20th.
The Quasimodo Tours run between 9am-5pm most days and are particularly suited to those staying in Bruges, with a number of pick-up points from hotels and guesthouses in the town. Reservations are required for the tour, with requests to visit ancestors’ graves welcomed in advance. For more information on contacting and booking, visit Quasimodo Tours.
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