CHAPPIDI ABHIRATH REDDY
C/O COL GKS REDDY
Visit Belgium
Belgium (
i/ˈbɛldʒəm/; Dutch: België; French: Belgique; German: Belgien), officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal monarchy inWestern Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters as well as those of several other major international organisations such as NATO. Belgium covers an area of 30,528 square kilometres (11,787 sq mi), and it has a population of about 11 million people.
Straddling the cultural boundary between Germanic and Latin Europe, Belgium is home to two main linguistic groups, the Dutch-speakers (about 59%), mostly Flemish, and the French-speakers (about 41%), mostly Walloons, in addition to a small group of German-speakers. Belgium's two largest regions are the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders in the north and the French-speaking southern region of Wallonia. The Brussels-Capital Region, officially bilingual, is a mostly French-speaking enclave within the Flemish Region. A German-speaking Community exists in eastern Wallonia. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in the political history and a complex system of government.
Historically, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg were known as the Low Countries, which used to cover a somewhat larger area than the current Benelux group of states. The region was called Belgica in Latin because of the Roman province Gallia Belgica which covered more or less the same area. From the end of the Middle Ages until the 17th century, it was a prosperous centre of commerce and culture. From the 16th century until the Belgian Revolution in 1830, when Belgium seceded from the Netherlands, many battles between European powers were fought in the area of Belgium, causing it to be dubbed the "Battlefield of Europe,"[10] a reputation strengthened by both World Wars.
Upon its independence, Belgium participated in the Industrial Revolution and, during the course of the 20th century, possessed a number ofcolonies in Africa.] The second half of the 20th century was marked by the rise of contrasts between the Flemish and the Francophones fuelled by differences of language and the unequal economic development of Flanders and Wallonia. This continuing antagonism has caused far-reaching reforms, changing the formerly unitary Belgian state into a federal state, and several governmental crises, the most recent, from 2007 to 2011, being the longest.
Being a Student of Military History and an Infantry Officer of Indian Army, I decided to utilise the opportunity to visit the Famous World War I (The Great War) Battle Fields of Ypres Salient in the West Flanders Region of Belgium, which had witnessed some of the fiercest Battles of the Great War on the Western Front right through the war from 1914 - 1918. The Ypres is about 50 Miles from the Bruges Town, towards the North Sea coast. We selected Quasimodo Travels for the Tour, as we heard that it was one of the best Tour operators in Bruges, run by a Wife and Husband Duo, both of whom are well read and well qualified Guides, who take personal care of each tourist, by restricting the Number of Tourists to 15 or 16. And we never regretted our decision at the end of the Tour.
Quasimodo Travels Vehicle. They use Mini Bus, so as to be able to pay personal
attention to each and every member of the Tour
Strategy of opposing Forces at Ypres
The strategy of both the Allied and German armies is not entirely clear. The accepted and mainstream reasoning for the Ypres battle was the British desire to secure the English Channel ports and the British Army's supply lines; Ypres was the last major obstacle to the German advance on Boulogne-sur-Mer and Calais. The French strategy revolved around a desire to prevent German forces from outflanking the Allied front from the north. This was the last major German option, after their defeats at the First Battle of the Aisne and First Battle of the Marne. The Ypres campaign became the culmination point of the Race to the Sea. The opposing armies both engaged in offensive operations until the major German offensive occurred in mid-October, which forced the Allies onto the strategic defensive and limited to counter-attacks.
The Battles of Ypres and the Aftermath
Five Major Offensives took place in the Ypres salient from Oct 1914 to Oct 1918, resulting in Total Allied casualties of 5,80,524 Killed, wounded or missing and German casualties of 4,82,509, thus combined casualties of more than a million ( about 10,63,033 men killed, wounded or missing as per figures available from various sources).
The fighting for Ypres Salient was so intense, that just in the Third Battle of Ypres (Also Known as "The Battle of Passchendaele) fought from 18 Jul 1917 to 06 Nov 1917, the Allies suffered 2, 44,897 Casualties including 78000 dead and the Germans suffered 2, 17,194 casualties ( A combined total of 4, 62, 000 casualties) as both sides were determined to achieve their respective aims at any cost. The entire Ypres Salient is littered with War Cemeteries and Memorials. We started our visit with Langemark German War Cemetery.
The German war cemetery of Langemark (formerly spelt 'Langemarck') is near the village of Langemark, part of the municipality ofLangemark-Poelkapelle, in the Belgian province of West Flanders.[1] More than 44,000 soldiers are buried here.[2] The village was the scene of the first gas attacks by the German army, marking the beginning of the Second Battle of Ypres in April 1915.
During the First Battle of Ypres (1914) in World War I, inexperienced German infantry suffered severe casualties when they made a futile frontal attack on allied positions near Langemark and were checked by experienced French infantry and British riflemen. Contrary to popular myth, only fifteen percent of the German soldiers involved in the Battle of Langemark were schoolboys and students. Legend has it that the German infantry sang the first stanza of what later (1919) became their national anthem "Deutschland, Deutschland über alles", as they charged.
The cemetery, which evolved from a small group of graves from 1915, has seen numerous changes and extensions. It was dedicated in 1932. Today, visitors find a mass grave near the entrance. This comrades' grave contains 24,917 servicemen, including the Ace Werner Voss.[3] Between the oak trees, next to this mass grave, are another 10,143 soldiers (including 2 British soldiers killed in 1918). The 3,000 school students who were killed during the First Battle of Ypres are buried in a third part of the cemetery. At the rear of the cemetery is a sculpture of four mourning figures by Professor Emil Krieger. The group was added in 1956, and is said to stand guard over the fallen. The cemetery is maintained by the German War Graves Commission, the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge.
The Entrance to Langemark Cemetery taken from Across the Road
Inside the Langemark Cemetery
A Tomb Stone near the Mass Grave Containing the bodies of 24,917 German Soldiers
A Memorial Inside the Langrmark Cemetery
The Details of Two British Soldiers, who were buried at the German War Cemetery
during the heat of Battle and continue to lie here
The Rectangular Mass Grave containing the bodies of 24,917 German Soldiers, just behind the
Memorial. To the Right of the Mass Grave, among the Oak Trees lie the Graves
of 10,143 german Soldiers, Incl the two British Soldiers
A view of the Langemark Cemetery from Inside
The Sculpture of Mourning Soldiers by Prof Emil Kreiger. The Group of Four soldiers is supposed
to be standing Guard over the Fallen. To the Left lie the bodies of 3000 Student Volunteers,
killed during the First Battle of Ypres in 1914.
The St. Julien Memorial is a Canadian war memorial and small commemorative park located in the village of Saint-Julien (West Flemish: Sint-Juliaan), Belgium. The memorial commemorates the Canadian First Division's participation in the Second Battle of Ypres of World War I which included the defence against the first poison gas attacks along the Western Front. Frederick Chapman Clemesha's sculpture, the Brooding Soldier, was selected to serve as the central feature of the monument following a design competition organized by the Canadian Battlefield Monument Commission in 1920.
The St Julien Mar Memorial and Park
The Sculpture of the Brooding Soldier by Frederick Chapman Clemesha
Closeup of the Inscriptions on the sculpture of the Brooding Soldier
Signing the Visitors Book at St Julien War Memorial
The Iron Harvest from Flanders Fields
Mustard gas blisters and a daily risk of death: Bravery of soldiers still clearing the 'iron harvest' of World War I shells from beneath Flanders' fields
(a) Belgian DOVO army squad collects and destroys mines and shells still active after a century.
(b) Fields littered with tens of thousands of unexploded shells, some with deadly chemical weapons like mustard gas.
(c) Work to clear as many mines as possible for events marking 100th anniversary of World War I next year
(d) In 2012 alone, 95 years after the Great War, 160 tonnes of munitions unearthed from under Ypres, including bullets, stick grenades, naval gun shells.
The Farmers find the Blinds almost every day while working in the Fields. The Bomb Disposal Unit has Nominated places astride the Roads, for the farmers to dump the Blinds and they are cleared by BDU once a week and defused / destroyed.
Blinds dumped by the Farmers at the Nominated place. These have been dumped on 20 Sep 2013,
a day after the weekly collection
Blinds at the Bomb Disposal Unit, prior to their Destruction (Courtesy Internet)
A central apse in the memorial wall forms the New Zealand Memorial. It bears the names of nearly 1,200 officers and men of the New Zealand Force who died after 16th August 1917 and who gave their lives in the Battle of Broodseinde Ridge and the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele) in October 1917.
New Zealand Forces' casualties who died before this date are commemorated on the Memorial to tbe Missing at Buttes New British Cemetery and Messines Ridge British Cemetery.
New Zealand Forces' casualties who died before this date are commemorated on the Memorial to tbe Missing at Buttes New British Cemetery and Messines Ridge British Cemetery.
New - Zealand Memoral
A closeup of the Insignia on the New-Zealand Memorial
Tyne Cot Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery and Memorial to the Missing is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission(CWGC) burial ground for the dead of the First World War in the Ypres Salient on the Western Front. The cemetery grounds were assigned to the United Kingdom in perpetuity by King Albert I of Belgium in recognition of the sacrifices made by the British Empire in the defence and liberation of Belgium during the war. It is the largest cemetery for Commonwealth forces in the world, for any war. The cemetery and its surrounding memorial are located outside of Passendale, near Zonnebeke in Belgium.
The name "Tyne Cot" is said to come from the Northumberland Fusiliers seeing a resemblance between the German concrete pill boxes, which still stand in the middle of the cemetery, and typical Tyneside workers' cottages – Tyne Cots.
Memorial at the Entry of Tyne Cot Cemetery
Another Memorial almost at the Centre of Tyne Cot War Cemetery
A decorated Dome at the corner of Tyne Cot Cemetery Boundary wall
Graves of Soldiers Astride the Boundary Wall of the Tyne Cot War Cemetary
Formerly the Main Gate of Tyne Cot Cemetery, which has now become the Rear Gate
Closeup of Inscriptions at the Rear Gate of Tyne Cot Cemetery (Formerly the Main Gate)
Polygon Wood is a large wood 1.6 kilometres south of the village of Zonnebeke which was completely devastated in the First World War. The wood was cleared by Commonwealth troops at the end of October 1914, given up on 3 May 1915, taken again at the end of September 1917 by Australian troops, evacuated in the Battles of the Lys, and finally retaken by the 9th (Scottish) Division on 28 September 1918. On the Butte itself is the Battle Memorial of the 5th Australian Division, who captured it on 26 September 1917.
POLYGON WOOD CEMETERY is an irregular front-line cemetery made between August 1917 and April 1918, and used again in September 1918.
The cemetery contains 107 Commonwealth burials of the First World War, 19 of them unidentified. 60 of those buried here served with the New Zealand forces. There is also one German grave within the cemetery.
Polygon Wood War Cemetery, which contains just 107 Graves, which lie in a low ground to the Right side
A walled avenue leads from Polygon Wood Cemetery, past the Cross of Sacrifice, to the BUTTES NEW BRITISH CEMETERY. This burial ground was made after the Armistice when a large number of graves (almost all of 1917, but in a few instances of 1914, 1916 and 1918) were brought in from the battlefields of Zonnebeke.
The BUTTES NEW BRITISH CEMETERY (NEW ZEALAND) MEMORIAL, which stands in Buttes New British Cemetery, commemorates 378 officers and men of the New Zealand Division who died in the Polygon Wood sector between September 1917 and May 1918, and who have no known grave.
The cemeteries and memorial were designed by Charles Holden.
Inscription at the Entrance of Buttes New British Cemetery
Buttes New British Cemetery
Memorial at Buttes New British Cemetery. Fifth Australian Division Memorial
stands on the High Ground, just behind the Cemetery
Australian Fifth Division Memorial
Located in Polygon Wood the Australian 5th Division Memorial - along with Buttes New British cemetery (which includes a panel dedicated to the New Zealand 'Missing') and Polygon Wood cemetery - commemorates 5th Division's role in expelling German forces from the northern section of Polygon Wood on 26/27 September 1917 (having been involved in an offensive launched north-east of Ypres some six days earlier).
The memorial is sited at the crown of the wartime Butte and was designed by Sir Talbot Hobbs, a pre-war architect who served with Australian forces. The wood surrounding the memorial and cemeteries contains to this day well-preserved concrete shelters (built and used by both sides).
The Australians were however obliged to evacuate the wood and their problematic shallow trench lines with the onset of the great German Spring offensive of 1918.
Fifth Australian Division Memorial from a side
A Closeup of Fifth Australian Division Memorial Showing the Insignia
An old snap of the Polygon Wood Area taken in Sep 1917
Troops of Fifth Australian Division in Defense in Sep 1917
Write ups at Polygon Wood Cemeteries Complex
Lunch break was scheduled at Hooge Crater Museum Cafeteria located astride Ypres - Menin Road, approximately 04 KMs from Ypres Town. I intend to continue the post Lunch visits in my next blog
Note:- The information about the places visited has been Extracted from Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia
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