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I would have no hesitation
in recommending The War Research Tour and I am
sure that we will be
seeing you on future tours.
Perfect, everything we hoped for.
Can't make a trip?
Want photographs of a Grave, Memorial or Battlefield site?
Contact Ian at the War Research Society Headquarters.
World War 1 Battlefield Tours – 2008 (cont.)
The tour list gives the full index of all of our battlefield tours, pilgrimage tours and war graves tours for both World War 1, World War 2 and other notable battles and conflicts. Expanded details of all battlefield tours are also available in our brochure, contact us for a copy.
World War 1 – Mons, the first and last shots
The Marne, Aisne, Nery, Armistice Clearing, Compiegne – 90th Anniversary of the last shots
28th August – 2nd September
6 Days, 5 Nights
£499.00
This tour visits Vimy Ridge en route to the Hotel. The next day
will be spent in and around Mons, where the First World War started and
finished as far as the British and Commonwealth were concerned. We follow
the cavalry charge at Elouges, the saving of the Guns and see where Corporal
Thomas fired the first shot of the 'War to end all Wars', and where his
Officer, Captain Hornby, drew his sword and charged, putting the Germans
to flight.
We will visit Nimy and see where the two first
Victoria Crosses of the War were won. Visit the graves of the first and
last soldiers killed, and the grave of Lieutenant Dease VC in St. Symphorien
Cemetery. Finally, we will follow the route of the retreat from Mons down
through Le Cateau.
On day three, having visited the
site of the signing of the Armistice in the Forest of Compiegne, we will
spend a day in the Marine area to see where the German army were halted.
We will visit to the site of the famous affair at Nery, where Captain
Bradbury, his colleagues and L Battery Royal Horse Artillery turned the
tide of the German advance, and where he was awarded a posthumous VC.
We also visit La Ferte sous Jouarre and see the magnificent Memorial to
the Missing.
On the fourth day we will cover the Guards at
Villers Cotterets, and the British and French armies actions in the autumn
of 1918, through Buzancy and on to Fere En Tardenois with the American
forces, through the Ardre Valley and Marfaux.
The next day we will cover Soisson, and the Chemin
de Dames, visiting the Dragon Cave. And the final day will be spent travelling
home. 2 nights will be spent in Cambrai and 3 in Chateau Thierry.
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World War 1 – Italian Front, 90th Anniversary Tour
1st World War Italian Campaign: Asiago Plateau, Crossing the Piave, Isonzo and Caporetto
7th – 13th September
6 Days, 5 Nights
£725.00
A tour led by Mr Dale Hjort, our expert guide on these historical battlefields. On this tour we fly to Milan where we are met by our coach and taken across Northern Italy to the Asiago Plateau, to our hotel for the next four nights.
This mountainous plateau was a key to control of the disputed Trentino province, and we will visit the spectacular Fortresses of Belvedere and Busa Verle, built to defend the Austro-Hungarian frontier. We will cross this at 'Osteria All' Antico Termine' where in November 1918 the Warwickshire Territorial Brigade were the first British forces to enter Central Powers home ground. When they first climbed up to the Asiago earlier that year, they encountered unfamiliar limestone trenches in pine forests, still there for us to explore, along with concrete shelters, caves and fox holes. The battlefield cemeteries include Granezza, where Vera Brittain found the grave of her brother Edward; the unique International Cemetery at Magnaboschi; and the monumental Ossuary with its panoramic outlook.
We will follow individual soldiers – Norman Gladden, Hugh Dalton, Graham Greenwell and the Sapper V. F. Eberle who explains the mule tracks which we will see. We will assess the 48th Division's defence of the Cesuna pocket, and the subsequent dismissal of their much loved G.O.C.
From the Asiago we descend through breathtaking scenery to the Venetian plain, passing the Montello where British infantry first went into the line, and where we will find the only Victoria Cross winner burial in this theatre, at Giavera Cemetery and Memorial to the Missing. Then we decipher some Italian graffiti, cross the Piave River to Papadopoliu Island at the site of the vital pontoon bridge, visit Tezze Cemetery with its Royal Flying Corps and Royal Airforce burials, and then follow 7th and 23rd Divisions in their advance to the Tagliamento River. We spend the next two nights in Udine.
Across the Isonzo River, Monte San Michele is a preserved battlefield and memorial to the first six battles of the Isonzo. We walk through the remarkable artillery galleries cut into the hillside, and the trenches where gas was first used on this front. Nearby we locate the position of the first British battery in Italy and then look across the frontier town of Gorizia to the formidable mountain gorge of the Isonzo. Winding our way up the riverside road, we identify a site where Hemmingway apparently set a scene in 'A Farewell to Arms', and we cross Rommel's line of attack on our way to Caporetto with its excellent museum.
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World War 1 –
United States Forces in the Great War
90th Anniversary of the American success in the South
8th – 14th May
7 Days, 6 Nights
£650.00
The entry of the United States into the Great War in 1917 saw an influx
of inexperienced troops making a tremendous impact but also sustaining
enormous casualties. On this tour we follow in their footsteps through
various battles, seeing their progress as they gained experience.
Starting off in Marne area we cover the battles around Chateau Thierry, follow the Marines through the battle for Belleau Wood, then travel through to St. Mihel, the Argonne, visit the scenes of action of the ‘Lost Battalion’, cover the actions of ‘Sgt. York’ and finally travel up to the Hindenburg Line to cover the attacks of 1918.
This
tour will be of great interest to both the First World War enthusiast
and the newcomer.
Day 1 – travel from the UK to our accommodation
in Chateau Thierry (2 nights).
Day 2 – we visit Bealleau Wood covering
the first actions of the Marines as they fought their way through the
wood in June 1918, eventually routing the German Army. We visit memorials
and the large American cemetery in the village of Belleau. Then on to
the area of Buzancy to cover the actions of the 'Big Red One', before
returning to Chateau Thierry, where the stand of the American 3rd Division
earned them the name,'The Rock of The Marine', to view the magnificent
memorial that dominates the town.
Day 3 – we set off today for the Verdun
area, where we stay for 3 nights. Our first visit is to Fere-En-Tardenois,
where we will see where General John (Black Jack) Pershing billeted and
worked during the battles, the large American American cemetery, and the
crash site of Lt. Quentin Roosevelt the young son of President Roosevelt
(shot down in 1918 and who now lies alongside his brother, Theodore, in
the American Cemetery at Omaha Beach). We then continue our journey through
to Bar le Duc to see where the American Headquarters were during the offensive
around the St. Mihel Salient.
Day 4 – we visit the St. Mihel Salient,
visiting the trench systems, and following the American 1st–26th
Divisions through the battle ending up at Vigneulles, where they eventually
closed the pincer movement around the German Army. We'll visit excellent
panoramic views of the battlefield at Mont Sec, see the Poilu-Doughboy
Memorial at Thiaucourt and also get a opportunity to walk through the
Tranchee du Soif and experience the feeling of being in the trenches of
the day.
Day 5 – we head north of Verdun to the Argonne
Forest Battlefields, covering actions, trench systems, dug outs, fortifications
and the Crown Prince's Bunker. We follow the route of the 'Lost Battalion',
and visit the village of Chatel Chehery to see the memorial to Sgt. York.
We also visit the scenes of actions around Varennes seeing where George
S. Paton and Harry Trueman, who were later to rise to greater heights,
fought as young officers. We will also visit the magnificent Pennsylvania
State Memorial, the impressive American Memorial at Mont Fauucon and the
Meuse Argonne American Cemetery.
Day 6 – departing from Verdun we travel
north and visit the area around the Hindenburg Line defenses to the west
of St. Quentin, cover the action at 'The Knoll', the American Cemetery
at Bony and the American Memorial erected on the Hindenburg Line. Overnight
Cambrai.
Day 7 – we set off for Belgium, where we
pay a visit to Veirstraat to view the American Memorial to the 27th and
30th Divisions, before taking a break in the beautiful town of Ypres and
then return to Calais for our ferry back to the UK.
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WAR 2 >> |