The Western Front - October 2014

Sydney to Paris

We left on Thursday morning on China Southern Airlines. Their hub is Guangzhou (previously Canton) hence the name for the Canton route to Europe. Guangzhou is near Hong Kong and we had a long break before our second sector on into Paris. Our flight from Sydney was a daytime flight and I met a guy on board who was travelling back home to Guangzhou after a holiday in Sydney.

He was Chinese and the regional executive for a US cosmetic company making nail extensions and eyelashes. He said they were a high end producer so the eyelashes were all made by hand. His company has three factories in Indonesia making eyelashes for the world market. Each factory employs 6000 employees!  Apparently China labour costs are more expensive than what they need to pay in Indonesia.

Paris

Our friends, John and Maureen Sidoti, kindly hosted us on our first day at their delightful flat in Rambuteau in the Third Arrondisement (the Marais district) of Paris. Maureen is a history scholar and had undertaken the planning for our trip together to the north west of France. On the Saturday the four of us travelled by train to Amiens, a city about one and a half hours from Paris.

Amiens is crowned by a twelfth century gothic cathedral which is the largest in France. Its towering vaulted ceiling and flying buttresses were stunning and must have been even more so in the 1200’s and 1300’s when it would have dominated the landscape for miles around.

We stayed in a nearby little hotel called The Priory which would have been a convent over the centuries. Its tiny winding timber staircase was nearly vertical and you could feel how the handrail had been worn over the centuries by others gripping it as they negotiated the steep stairs.

We picked up our rental car here but as is so often the case in France- things can go wrong! Firstly the rental company had moved premises in the months between me making the booking and arriving to pick up the car; the municipality had not given them permission to erect signage at the new premises so it was quite a challenge to find the new address; then we discovered that the anticipated GPS was not available and there were none available in a 60km radius! We managed our travels without the GPS – but returning the car to Lille Station a week later was not easy!

Amiens

The city is on open flat lands north west of Paris - some of which had previously been marshland. The stately Somme River and tributary canals wind through the town and it has several extensive pedestrian streets and public gardens. There is evidence of damage sustained during the wars although it was behind allied lines for most of WWI. It is a university town and much of the construction is with bricks rather than stone – probably because it is near a ready supply of clay. But the architecture is warm and attractive with intricate patterns on facades. 

Tree dressed in knitted sock during Blanc Nuits Festival Amiens

On the weekend we were visiting there was an arts festival known as White Nights (Blanc Nuits) and everyone got into the swing of it. One notable ‘act’ was a brass/jazz band of about 40 members wearing orange tee shirts marching to various points and playing as they moved around. All ages, terrific ethnic mix, and obvious enthusiasm. They had about six tubas, several euphoniums, clarinets, all the brass and several percussion pieces.

Statue in Somme River Amiens

Dinner that night was in a smart local restaurant – however we were bemused when a young couple came in seeking a table for two – accompanied by a massive St Bernard dog. It would have weighed 70-80 kg! It dutifully settled down on the floor alongside the diners for the duration-but thankfully not near us!

Brass jazz band in full swing - Amiens

World War One

My prior understanding of the First World War was very general. I knew there was a ‘western front’ but, for what I will describe of our travels in this region, it is necessary to know some of the details of wartime history. In the early months of WWI in 1914, the German armies moved east to Russia and west into (neutral) Belgium, and into France.  Their rapid progress was ultimately halted along a long arc of about 1000km stretching from Belgium near the English Channel across much of France down to the Swiss border.

That arc formed the line we now know as the Western Front. It became static as neither side could push through to break that line. The line was continually fortified and defended by both sides and it became a terrible stalemate for nearly three years.

Both sides attempted at various times to mount campaigns to break through this heavily fortified line and these were known as the battles of the Western Front- much of the action was in the region known as the Somme River valley. With much of Britain’s manpower engaged in its navy, it supplemented its land forces from all over the Empire. This is how Australia came to be involved in the various theatres of WWI in France and Belgium. They were also active in the east against Turkey.

At the micro level on the Western Front there was a strip of no man’s land between the enemy trenches laced with dense barbed wire fortifications and sometimes mines to interrupt or deter attacks. Chlorine or mustard gas was also used from time to time.

The defining change in this war was the introduction for the first time of long range field guns, shelling and machine guns. These technical ‘advances’ rendered much of previous military strategy and tactics irrelevant. Some of the military leaders at the beginning of the war had even believed their horse borne cavalry would carry the day!

Armies in their trenches would be subjected to incessant shelling by powerful field guns behind the enemy lines which could not even be seen; if a physical raid was mounted machine guns would pound the advancing forces at close range. It was remarkable that despite this, some attackers made it to enemy trenches to engage in hand to hand combat.

The trenches were usually designed in a zig zag design so that if the attacking forces did make it into a trench they would not have line of sight to shoot many of the inhabitants of the trenches.

Original trenches - unfilled and showing zigzag pattern

This carnage went on for several years until finally the Germans supply lines dried up and America joined the war enabling the Allies to finally push the Germans back in a series of battles. The armistice was declared in November 1918. Despite all the destruction of buildings and infrastructure in the occupied territories of Western Europe, Germany was not invaded at all - as the surrender came before that was necessary. 

However, Germans did suffer severe starvation in its cities as all resources were directed to their armies. The reparations they incurred from the Versailles Peace settlement were crippling – and in many ways sowed the seeds for what led to WWII.

Military Cemeteries

As the shells rained down, and attacks were made across the lines, the casualties from this modern weaponry were devastating. It was not always possible to retrieve bodies except during local truces and usually the enemy would bury the bodies of deceased attackers in mass graves near where they had fallen. This was a hygiene issue as much as anything as the line and trenches were static.

After the war, a Commonwealth War Graves Commission was established to properly honour the fallen. As we drove around we frequently noticed roadside signs in white on olive background identifying Commonwealth War graves.

Pheasant's Wood Cemetery near Fromelles

In the years following the war, the corpses were progressively retrieved and identified where possible and laid in individual plots with a headstone. These headstones are identical in form and include inscriptions which in some cases include references from parents on the other side of the world.

In the area where we drove, these little cemeteries were dotted around everywhere - as were occasional concrete bunkers surviving those horrific years in the trenches.

In addition to the cemeteries there are also special monuments to the nations that came to the aid of France in WWI. The Australian memorial is at a major cemetery in Villers-Bretonneux. The local village was very appreciative of the Australian forces based on the front in that region.

Shelling basically destroyed most of the town and the local school was rebuilt with funds donated from Victoria. There is now a little museum at the school which records much of what life was like for the soldiers on the front at the time. Across the playground in English is a large sign reproduced below:

 School yard in Villers-Bretonneux

On Anzac Day, official ceremonies involving Australia are held at the memorial site. Similar large memorials to the British and other forces are also in the region.

Gate to Australian Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux

Arras

Arras had the dubious distinction of being situated almost upon the Western Front. No man’s land ran through parts of the town and all but 1200 of its citizens had fled as hostilities erupted. There is still evidence of the wartime destruction but most of the city has been rebuilt.

It is in limestone /chalk country and there is a maze of mediaeval tunnels in and around the town that resulted from the limestone being quarried for building over the centuries.

In order to try and break through the seemingly impregnable lines, the Allies decided to tunnel into these underground quarries and join them up. New Zealander soldiers (who had probably been miners in civilian life) set about this project and over several months completed their task. We were able to tour these tunnels which were more than 20 m below the surface.

Tour of Limestone Caves under Arras - these held 24,000 troops for a week

Then an army of 24,000 mainly British and Australian soldiers was moved underground and lived in these tunnels for a week pending a surprise attack just behind German lines. The attack occurred on Easter Monday in April 1917.

Imagine the allied soldiers pouring out of these tunnels but into the ranks of surprised but nevertheless effective German machine gunners. The crude statistics are that 60% of these soldiers were killed in the first two days of that battle.

In the ensuing two months in this precinct 240,000 allied soldiers were killed or wounded.

Ypres

We then headed up into Belgium to the town of Ypres which was again where the Australians were deployed in WWI.

Menin Gate Memorial - Ypres Belgium

This town was virtually flattened during the fighting and has been rebuilt since. The locals insisted that the major medieval buildings like the Cloth Hall and Cathedral would be rebuilt as they were. A very impressive historical Museum – In Flanders Field now occupies the Cloth Hall.

Menin Gate

As part of the rebuilding of the town, a memorial gate was built into the town’s perimeter ramparts. This is the scene each night of a ceremony recognising the sacrifice of the allied soldiers who operated in this precinct. Members of the local fire brigade play the last post at 8:00pm in a ceremony that is well attended by visitors and locals alike. The grandfather of our hotel landlord was a stonemason who worked on its construction during the 1920’s and proudly showed us photographs of his work.

A Family Connection

The bodies of many soldiers from both sides were never recovered. This could be due to many reasons including the shelling, the lack of opportunity to retrieve them or simply that they disappeared. 

At Menin Gate there is a memorial role for all those who were declared ‘missing’ but whose body was never identified or found. It consists of an honour roll chiselled into the walls of the memorial.

My father, Norbert, had an uncle-an older brother of his mother. Norbert Joseph BYRNES was born in 1878 and enlisted in October 1916. There was no conscription in Australia so his enlistment was voluntary. He would have known from news reports how arduous conditions were on the western front.  He would have been under none of the optimistic delusion that the early volunteers displayed as they set off on troop ships from Australia two years earlier. The losses had been so great by 1916 that the recruitment drive in Australia was very active. He was 38 when he left Brisbane and was dead in Belgium in July 1917. He was single and in civilian life was a labourer.

Inscription of the name of my great uncle, Norbert Byrnes, at Menin Gate

Although I never knew him - or my grandmother for that matter, it meant something to have a link with this generation of young men who sacrificed so much. My father would have been 4 when he enlisted and 5 when his uncle was killed.

Sharon's grandfather sustained injuries in WWI as did my mother's Uncle Syl - there were very few Australian families not directly affected by casualties.

The Louvre at Lens

The northern part of France had been a major mining and industrial sector – but, as in many other countries, it has become a rust belt as lower cost alternative suppliers cause mine and factory closures.

One initiative to stimulate the local economy has been to build a beautiful new gallery at the industrial city of Lens (funded by the EU). Its exhibits come from The Louvre in Paris and it has an unusual display regime in that it takes a chronological view.

Thus from 3,500 BC when writing began we see artefacts from that period and then on through the Greek, Phoenician, Roman periods on through each era up until modern times. The exhibits are from the various cultures at the relevant period and it is a very compelling way of curating some magnificent sculpture, painting and writing from the vast collection of The Louvre.

Only a small percentage of the Louvre collection is ever on display so this initiative presents a new outlet to display its treasures.

Admission to the Gallery is free – however you have to collect the free admission ticket from a counter staffed by three people; you then walk 15 m to the entrance where your free ticket is scanned and then taken from you by another employee and binned. It is not entirely clear what this process achieves.

Pheasant's Wood Cemetery

While we saw many military cemeteries the Pheasants Wood cemetery is of particular interest. More information is at: http://www.army.gov.au/Our-work/Unrecovered-War-Casualties-Army/Fromelles

In summary, a mass grave was discovered in 2008 and a process of identification and reburial has occurred at a new cemetery near the village of Fromelles. The bodies were mainly Australian servicemen who participated at the battle of Fromelles on 19 and 20 July 1916 which was Australia’s first major engagement on the western front.

The battle occurred in daylight and the allies were outnumbered 2:1 by Germans in heavily fortified emplacements. The objective was to create a diversion and occupy German reinforcements who were needed at a major battle 80 km away. It failed to achieve that goal because the Germans found the attack plans on the body of an allied officer killed early in the action. So the Germans continued with their planned troop movements anyway and 5,533 Australians were killed in those two days of pointless fighting.

We inspected the cemetery and again there were many unknown soldiers buried there. But via DNA testing many had been identified nearly 100 years after their death.

We noticed two headstones alongside each other named brothers who were killed on the same day in the Fromelles disaster. The setting is serene and beautiful countryside and no visitor can fail to be moved as they read the inscriptions and the description of this particular attack.