As I said, we didn't stay long in Dieppe, we woke up the next morning bright and early and took the train to a city near the Vimy memorial. From there we took a taxi and arrived around 9:30am where we found 500 students on a school trip. As you can imagine this made for a much busier day than they are used to but we still got to see everything we had wanted to see. The ground remains virtually unchanged since the end of WWl. You can see easily see the immense changes in elevation from artillery fire as well as underground mines (they leave massive craters). The only difference is that there is now grass and trees growing in the area. When we arrived we stood in line for the tour of the underground tunnels and the front line trenches. The battle of Vimy Ridge was a battle of Canadian innovation. A tactical masterpiece. With the help of the French and the British, the Canadians built tunnels into no mans land. These tunnels were used for the transportation of materials and men before the battle of Vimy Ridge. The Canadians would use heavy artillery fire on the German front line, which was fairly normal but instead of the soldiers running out of their trenches across no mans land they came out of the tunnels and surprised the Germans. This helped the Canadians gain Vimy Ridge and gave Canada the respect of other countries. After the tour, we went and saw the beautiful Vimy memorial. The Vimy memorial has the name of all the missing soldiers whose names did not fit on the Menin Gate. We were fortunate to meet a couple from Calgary (Neil and Helen) who gave us a ride back to the train station where we made our way to Paris.
We made it to Dieppe but we only stayed for a short time. There is not as much in Dieppe as you would think considering it was one of the bloodiest battles of WWll. We walked along the beach which is not sand but rather stones. We then walked around the city and found a few memorials for the soldiers that lost their life in 1942 in Dieppe. Although so many Canadians lost their life in 1942 (in a battle that was doomed to fail) the Canadians were given the opportunity to free the city in 1944 after the D Day invasion. As I said, we didn't stay long in Dieppe, we woke up the next morning bright and early and took the train to a city near the Vimy memorial. From there we took a taxi and arrived around 9:30am where we found 500 students on a school trip. As you can imagine this made for a much busier day than they are used to but we still got to see everything we had wanted to see. The ground remains virtually unchanged since the end of WWl. You can see easily see the immense changes in elevation from artillery fire as well as underground mines (they leave massive craters). The only difference is that there is now grass and trees growing in the area. When we arrived we stood in line for the tour of the underground tunnels and the front line trenches. The battle of Vimy Ridge was a battle of Canadian innovation. A tactical masterpiece. With the help of the French and the British, the Canadians built tunnels into no mans land. These tunnels were used for the transportation of materials and men before the battle of Vimy Ridge. The Canadians would use heavy artillery fire on the German front line, which was fairly normal but instead of the soldiers running out of their trenches across no mans land they came out of the tunnels and surprised the Germans. This helped the Canadians gain Vimy Ridge and gave Canada the respect of other countries. After the tour, we went and saw the beautiful Vimy memorial. The Vimy memorial has the name of all the missing soldiers whose names did not fit on the Menin Gate. We were fortunate to meet a couple from Calgary (Neil and Helen) who gave us a ride back to the train station where we made our way to Paris.
2 Comments
Ma
5/12/2015 09:07:38 am
I love the silhouette photo of the two of you walking along the beach of Deippe! When we went with Papa I brought home some of those stones because I was so astounded by the beach. The tanks couldn't get any traction because of the stones, and they were under attack from above. The Canadians certainly knew what they were doing at Vimy!! The monument is beautiful. Thanks so much for the history lessons, love reading about your learning! Love and miss yas ox
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mom
5/13/2015 12:11:19 am
What an opportunity to visit such a historical spot. It is hauntingly beautiful. I agree with your mom, Travis, the picture of the two of you is lovely...definitely a keeper since we haven't seen many of the two of you lately. John and I won't need to take a guided tour when we finally follow in your footsteps because you have taught us so much. Keep safe! Love you.
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AuthorTravis & Katherine Archives
August 2015
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