AUSTRALIAN TOURS
Following in the footsteps of the Australians on the Western Front – Including the Visit of Sir John Monash Centre
Daily tours from Amiens, Arras or St-Quentin. For up to 3 people. Starting from 9am and finishing at 4.30pm
(for more than 3 people, please contact us)
The Somme
This tour is including the battlefields of the Somme in 1916 and 1918
Leaving from Amiens, Arras or Saint-Quentin, we’ll start with a visit to Villers-Bretonneux and its surrounding area.
At the Australian National Memorial, where the 11,000 names of soldiers, who died in France and whose graves have never been found, are engraved, we’ll visit Sir John Monash Centre, telling the Australian involvement on the Western Front.
Afterwards, passing through the Red Baron crash site, we’ll drive to the battlefield of the battle of the Somme in 1916,
After visiting the Lochnagar Crater site, a huge crater left by a tremendous mine explosion on 1st July 1916, we’ll have a lunch break (snack, restaurant or picnic).
After lunch we’ll continue the visit to the village of Pozières, where the bloodiest Australian struggle on the Western Front took place. After visiting the site of the 1st Australian Division Memorial and Gibraltar bunker, we’ll stop at the Windmill and Tank’s Memorial offering an amazing overview of the offensive progression from mid-July to September.
We will see the Thiepval memorial to the missing, built in remembrance of some 71,200 British and 800 South African soldiers who died during the Battle of the Somme and have no-known grave. We will also make a stop at Mouquet Farm (Moo-Cow farm), another terrible part of the Pozières battle.
To understand trench warfare, we’ll visit the Newfoundland Park in Beaumont Hamel and in particular its well preserved trench system.
The visit will end either at your hotel or at the railway station in Amiens, Arras or in Saint-Quentin (for another town, please contact us).
This itinerary is subject to change depending on request (relative’s grave visit for example)
The Somme, Fromelles and Bullecourt
The Two day Australian tour is starting and ending from Saint-Quentin. St-Quentin is a pretty small French town with a Gothic and Art Deco heritage, the town, along the Hindenburg Line, has been destroyed at 80% and is a perfect example of the reconstruction and can be easily reached from Paris gare du Nord with daily trains.
Heading first to Fromelles to visit the place of the first Australian battle on the Western Front, on the 19th July 1916. In less than 12 hours, the fifth Australian Division as been destroyed fighting against Elite Bavarian troops. Fromelles includes the visit of Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery where the 250 soldiers discovered in a mass grave few years ago are now buried.
If time allows, the visit of the Museum of the Battle of Fromelles will be included.
And then, driving to the front line, we will have first the German troops perspective against the British and the Australians at the Australian Memorial Park. Along a line of destroyed German bunkers, the Cobbers Memorial will tell us the fate of Sergeant Simon Fraser.
The Australians soldiers still missing during the battle are remembered on the VC Corner Memorial. The Memorial is located in the middle of the nos man’s land. Looking to the Cobbers and Fromelles, you will have the same sight than the Australian troops on that tragic day.
After the visit of Fromelles, we will move to Arras for the lunch to enjoy the Flemish style’s architecture of the Grand Place.
After the lunch, it will be the time to drive to the battlefield of Bullecourt.
As a diversion of the battle of Arras in April 1917, the Australian troops under the command of Gough’s fifth army suffered horrendous casualties during the two battles of Bullecourt.
This battlefield is almost still like over one hundred years ago. In the village, a Memorial beside the new church is remembering the Australian and British troops involved. The Slouch Hat Memorial was inaugurated in 1981, telling the strong link between the surrounding population and Australia.
We will drive behind the German line to the Diggers Memorial, inaugurated in 1992 telling the fate of the 10 000 Australian casualties.
Without forgetting the significance of the village of Riencourt, we will have another stunning view of the battle.
This itinerary is subject to change depending on request (relative’s grave visit for example)
This tour includes :
- Pick up and drop off at the train station or hotel
- Museum entrance fees (if time permits)
- Transportation in a luxurious air-conditioned Mercedes V-Class
- Local experienced English speaking guide
Please contact us for the cost, dates and further information