Those of you that follow me on Instagram and YouTube, Marks English History Channel, will know that since last September I have made a few visits to the continent to explore some of the most famous locations where British and Commonwealth countries have fought over the centuries. A key feature of these trips was to leave my car behind, get out and spread my legs. You may ask yourself why, especially on those larger modern battlefields where a car can seem the only way to visit all the features of the field you want to see.
The first thing I would say is that for all these battlefields that I visited this was not my first trip, I have already done the coach trip tours and so I have visited the traditional stops on these tours numerous times places like Newfoundland Park on the Somme and Tyne Cot Cemetery outside of Ypres. In these walking trips these places were visited only briefly or not at all, this does not diminish these places at all but instead allowed me the time to spread myself further around the battlefield, so and explore more places and visit memorials and cemeteries at are less frequently visited. Also give yourself more time on these trips often we try to cram more in than is necessary, slow down and take your time and take it all in.
To the readers that are familiar whit the 1993 film Gettysburg will remember that much of the early union dialogue is about how the ground is “Good Ground”, yet for the historian whose introduction to these battles most often comes from books it can be sometimes hard to translate the 2-D maps that you read in a book to the 3-D image that you see when on the ground. Even then from certain vantage points on battlefields the terrain can still be hard to appreciate. Then we read about how for example that along the front line of the Western Front throughout the majority of the Great War that the Imperial German Army held the high-ground, however over a frontage of approximately 600 miles the definition of high ground changes dramatically. High ground on the Loos battlefield is remarkable different to the high ground fought over by French and German forces on the Vogue Mountains.
Thus, it brings us onto our walks, rather than going through all the walks I have undertaken on these trips, for this article I will keep it to just four walks that cover a wide range of battlefield.
Agincourt 1415 Walk – Azincourt, France:
The Agincourt battlefield, where Henry V depleted army destroyed the flower of French nobility, lies the Somme Valley and I took the opportunity for a side visit when I visited the Somme area in September. The walk I took lead me from the museum in the village along country lanes parallel to battlefield through the village of Maisoncelle that it is believed the English army camped amongst the night prior to the battle, then onto an observation post that overlooks the battlefield. The walk back was along the verge of the main road that followed the line of the battlefield until it reaches a site known locally as the Cavalrie and is supposedly the location of the French mass-grave, before returning to the village. As can be expected from a medieval battlefield it is very compact, but that is something that we know from the sources. We know the Henry advanced his army towards the French before taking up a defensive position. About a quarter of the way from the observation tower to the cavalrie is a very defined ridge running across the field perpendicular to the line of the French advance. As the forests that flanked the battlefield have long since gone, it is hard to pinpoint the location of the lines, there is even debate as to whether this is even the location of the battle. If though we take it as read that this is the location of the battle then for me that ridge line is the dominant feature on the field with the land dropping both to the front and behind this ridge line and the perfect places to place a defensive line. This feature a mere few metres above the rest of the field is so low that it often does not feature on maps and in the Agincourt book in the series of battlefield books by a well-known publisher the drawing shows the field as flat. However, now having walked the battlefield, it is my view that it upon this narrow ridge line that Henry V formed his army and awaited the French assault.
View of Agincourt Battlefield from observation tower
Grand Waterloo – Mount St Jean, Belgium:
Starting from the cross-roads on the Mont St Jean ridge this walk takes the walker along the ridge line held by Wellington’s Anglo-Allied army, past the farmhouse of La Haye Saint, access prohibited, then along further to the Lion Mound village, where the walker can choose to enter the museum. From the Lion mound the walker follows the ridge line along past the fields where the British Squares famously fought off Marshal Ney’s cavalry charges. Along the pathway the walk passes the memorial to Mercer’s battery who continued firing until the cavalry where almost upon them before taking shelter under the squares. To the left the walker looks out across the field over which both the cavalry charges and the final assault by the Imperial guard took place. The walker then snakes through a modern forested area to approach the farmhouse of Hougoumont, which anchored Wellington right and sits a significant distance from the main British line. The direction of the walk brings the walker to the famous Northgate, following the lane past the west side of the farmhouse you come to the Southgate where you need the code printed on the museum ticket to enter the farm house. Looking at the Southgate the walker can follow the south wall into a small field, this field was a clear area at the time of the battle between the south wall and the Hougoumont woods, the large witness trees to the south of the small parking area the only remnants of this feature on the battlefield, this ground between the woods and the south wall was one of the most significant killing grounds on the battlefield. Following the line of the south wall to its end the walker is then taken along the east wall at the end of the walled garden and in the area of the orchard. After walking to the end of the east wall the walker observes a small gully in which the track that led from the Ohain Road to the farm ran and along which the supplies were sent to the troops defending the farm. The walker now follows the line of the wall back to the track near the south wall, this track takes the walker across the rolling landscape of the valley and the various intermediatory ridges are crossed and observed. Finally, the walker arrives at the French lines. From this position the walker can see how low in the landscape the farmhouse of Hougoumont sits. Also, from this position you can observe the affect of the reverse slope of the Mont St Jean ridge that despite the modifications caused by the construction of the mound, the rear of the ridge is obscured by the ridge line from the French positions. Following the lane the walker is taken to the La Belle Alliance tavern on the Brussels-Charleroi road, where Wellington and Blucher are reputedly to have met after the battle. From here the walker is taken along the main road to view the wounded eagle monument, one of the most impressive monuments on the battlefield. Crossing the road and following a footpath t the end the walker is taken to a small knoll overlooking the eastern part of the battlefield, it is her that Napoleon is reputedly to have observed the latter part of the battle given views to the eastern part of the battle as the Prussians began to enter the battle in the direction of Papelotte and Placenoit. This location also sows how the embankment along which the main road runs obscures the view of the Western part of the battlefield. The walker is then taken along the Placenoit road back towards the La Belle Alliance tavern, just before reaching a tavern the walker is taken along a tack that runs along the ridgeline held by D’Erlons corps, unlike Wellington, Napoleon deployed his army in front of the ridge as a psychological weapon, along the ridge was the initial site of the 1st corp Grand Battery. The track the walker is on winds its way down to the farms of Papelotte and La Haye, the left anchor of the allied position and held by Dutch troops. The land in the area is the most broken of the battlefield and shows why tactics imploded by the French troops where remarkably different to the rest of D’Erlon’s corps. From the farmhouse of Papelotte the walker is taken up the farm track to join the Ohain road. As the walker approaches the ridge line once again, they pass a small lessening of the gradient of the ridge, it is from here that the light cavalry brigade launched a counter charger against the French Lancers in a attempt to rescue the British heavy cavalry of the Union Brigade. In front of a small white house where the track intersects with the Ohain road the viewer observes the ground over which the advance of D’Erlons corps took place and the resulting advance of Picton’s 5th division to met it. It was across the fields that the Union brigade charged. The small ridge where the French guns had been brought up to among which the cavalry managed to reach before being counter charged can be observed from this position. From here the walker follows the road back to the cross road where the walk began. By taking this walk the relief of the land became my main focus, areas of dead ground that I have read about in book come into clear focus, the effects of the reverse slope can be properly understood. The why and how the battle unfolded as it did is now imprinted on my mind in 3-D, and I understand it more than ever.
view of the battlefield from Napoleons observation point
Beamont Hammel – The Somme, France.
This walk takes the walker from the village of Auchonvillers the walk takes the walker down the old Auchonvillers to Beamont Hammel road, a road that many soliders would have taken to reach the tranches at the front. Just before the track meets the new road linking the villages the walker takes the track that leads up onto the Hawthorn ridge. As the walker crests the ridge the walker is met with what I would consider one of the best panoramas. On the far right on the standing on the summit of the Thiepval Heights stands the impressive Thiepval Memorial to the missing. It is the possible to trace the line of the front line as it descends in the direction of the Ulster Tower and down into the Ancre Valley. Obscured from view the line the starts to climb out of the valley through the hamlet of Hammel then up through the Newfoundland Memorial Park, the line can then be traced along the ridge through the Hawthorn Ridge crater before descending into the valley where the new road now runs. Leading off this road is the infamous sunken lane, more on that later before climbing the Redan Ridge beyond. For me though what makes this panorama so special is that in the that view stands eight battlefield cemeteries, Y-Ravine, Hunters, Hawthorn Ridge Number 1, Hawthorn Ridge Number 2, Beamont Hammel and Redan Ridge numbers 1,2 and 3, their white Portland stone Crosses of Sacrifice’s stand out against the green fields or blue sky. From here the walker is advised to visit Hawthorn Ridge number 2, where Major Heaton is buried who holds particular significance to the author. From there the walker is advised to view the crater before retracing their steps back to the old road. From the there the walker is advise to turn right only the new road passing the entrance to the sunken lane and walk a short distance beyond to the Beamont Hammel cemetery. Visiting the cemetery the walker should ignore the instructions in the book for the time being and cross the road and follow it to the new path that leads the walker back up onto the Hawthorn Ridge the path then takes the walker around the crater and even gives the walker the opportunity to descend into it, this new path has been opened since the book’s publication hence its admission from the book. From here return to the road and walk back to the large celtic cross memorial to the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. Here enter the sunken road and the walker is at one of the most recognised areas on the Somme battlefield. Prior to the 1st July 1916 the Sunken Lane at Beamont Hammel was in No Mans Land, however, prior to the battle tunnels dug Russian Saps from the British Front Lines to enable the men of the 1st Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers to take position ready for the assault, joining them in the Sunken Lane was the cinematographer Geofrey Malins, his film of the men in the Sunken Lane in the moments prior to them going Over the Top is one of the most haunting of the War. As you move up the sunken lane it gradually becomes less sunken until it emerges on the Redan Ridge where the next stop is in view to the right front, the Redan Ridge Cemetery Number 1, after visiting the cemetery the walker is to retrace their steps to the intersection with the Sunken Lane, here keep ahead along the track named on the Trench Maps as Watling St, keep along his track with the Sere Road in the distance. At a junction of tracks tack the track to the left and follow it through the area known as White City. Eventually the track leads around the base of the slop through which the Sunken Lane runs. At the base of the hill is a small electricity box. This is the approximate location that Malins filmed the explosion on the Hawthorn Ridge. From here the path leads back to the pull off in front of the Sunken Lane. The Walker can now follow the new road to the right back to the starting location. As well as walking through a number of key positions from the First Day of the Battle of the Somme this walk gives the walker a snapshot of the Somme landscape, chalk rolling downland, scars of the battle and if field conditions are right, it is even possible to make out the ghostly lines of the old trenches. Ultimately though this walk will always be remembered by myself for that panorama.
view of the Hawthorn Ridge from Malins camera position
Passchendaele Walk – Ypres, Belgium
Similar to the Agincourt Walk this was another that was relatively short. The walk began at the Tyne Cot Cemetery, the largest of all the Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries in the world, on the Broodseide Ridge, After leaving the cemetery through the main gate follow the road downhill to the base of the ridge, here turn right and in front of you sitting a top the next ridge is the infamous village of Passchendaele. Through the fields to the left runs the Ravebeek stream, the fields in this area were known as Marshbottom and Waterfields. The bombardment of the area during the war had destroyed the natural drainage in the area and the atrocious weather of the autumn of 1917 had led to his area being a morass of mud and water. The Walker now follows this small road as it slowly climbs the ridge towards the village. I took my trip at the end of February and that winter had been particularly wet in Belgium and so looking across the sodden fields and the rain poured into my face seemed to add to the atmosphere as I climbed the ridge. After about approx. 30 mins the walker reaches the Canadian memorial located at the site of Crest Farm, now nearly almost surrounded by modern houses. Before entering the memorial site, it is advised to turn and look back along the route the walker took. After visiting the monument continue along the road and enter the village, nothing today remains of the pre-war village so instead at the cross roads in the centre of the village tun left and follow the road out of the village towards the Passchendaele New British Cemetery, after visiting retrace you steps into the village and follow the road that follows the ridge line out the other side of the village, just beyond the village there is another memorial to visit Canadian 85 Battalion Memorial, Nova Scotia Highlands. Cross the road and continue it the same direction will lead the walker to the cycle track the follows the old Ypres-Roulers railway line. This will take the walk back to the road that leads to the Tyne Cot car park. Similarly to the Beamont Hammel walk this walk gives the historian an insight into the terrain that dominated the fighting around the Ypres Salient and the fight for these low-lying ridges which despite their low high still dominated the landscape.
Marshbottom, Waterfield and the Passchendaele ridge
These walks then have allowed me to understand these battles far better than ever before and for now on whenever I visit a battlefield, I plan to undertake a field walk to better understand the ground over which the battlefield was fought. After all the landscape is still a historical source that is often over looked by historians. But don’t forget to look down because you never know what you might find. So, my takeaway from these trips, ditch the car, get your boots on and go stretch your legs you never know what else you might understand.
Question: Which battlefield are you going to visit next, and are you going to walk it?
Bibliography:
Agincourt Walk: Free leaflet from the Museum
Esdale, C.J. Walking Waterloo: A Guide. Pen and Sword Books, Barnsley. 2019.
Reed, P. Walking the Somme, Second Edition. Pen and Sword Books, Barnsley. 2011.
Reed, P. Walking the Somme. Pen and Sword Books, Barnsley. 1999.
Comments