June 29: back on track. Nice people and Zero kilometre trail

Today I hated yesterday even more. Walking was wasteful, I got bad, painful sunburn, my back hurt after the night in the not-fit-for-tent-sleep place and I was without a drop of water due to lack of fountains. But the people I met due to that wasteful day was totally worth it and the memory of it made my heart and face smile.

I walked across Saint-Louis towards the circle where I planned to start hitchhike to Pfetterhouse and have a second start. Hesingue was my first encounter with the First World War monuments.

"La Commune de Hesingue a ses enfants
Victimes des Guerres
1914 - 1918
1939 - 1945"

                                    ____

23:52 French time

I'm sure I need to shorten my walk. First of all, because I am worried about my knees, even though they are doing quite well now. I think the knee supports are doing a great job - I know that I wouldn't have been able to walk all those kilometres with that load without them. I will do a second walk to make up for the area I will skip. I will hitchhike to Saint-Mihiel tomorrow, because that's the place that has a mark on the Harvard map. And from there I will try to walk.
Another bad thing - it's really hard to walk on the front line. I tried to do that on the Zero kilometre, but here everything is grown up with forests (I expected that), where one needs to climb or bend a lot to pass through trees. And also the highly developed underwood does not make walking any easier.
Because the front line was so wide, basically every step you make is on the trenches, shell holes, dig-ups or something else. Therefore walking every centimetre of the front would take a lot of time (even though it would be very interesting).
On a physical note, my shoulders are hurting as if they were and still are being beaten to a pulp. And my feet aren't taken so well this heat in my boots.

Part 1: nice people

Sebastian was the person who took a lot extra steps for me. I was so impressed and touched by his kindness, how nice he was. He asked if I had enough water, food. He even asked if I had painkillers! He returned few times asking me where will I sleep, where will I go, how long will I stay. He's one of the best people I have met. I wish him and his fiancé all the best. It makes me happy that there are people like Sebastian, but it makes me also sad that not everyone is like him, and therefore I feel a bit strange. I think it should be common sense to act like him.
War should be prevented because we lose nice people, good people, creative people. We lose inventors, writers. We lose farmers. Overall, it doesn't matter what they do - they're nice people. And we lose them because of war. Because of someone's ambition to show that they are superior to others. To some imperialistic force that drives them to rule others. For some overly grown ego. Wars should be fought by those, who want it. By the generals, the commanders, the state leaders, who wants the war. There was big excitement before the "war to end all wars". People were happy to fight for the noble cause, for their country. Germans were fighting for freedom and motherland. Brits were fighting freedom. Strangely, everyone was fighting for freedom. However, in order for one to fight for freedom, someone needs to fight for possession. And that's personal ego and ambition that does not take into account the well-being of the country it's interspecies population. The Christmas truce showed that solders didn't want to fight any more. They were tired of it. All the noble causes were gone. They just wanted for it to be over. At least some of them. But the commanders didn't like the truce. They wanted the solders to kill each other, to die while trying to kill each other. Other times solders would hurt themselves, so they would be able to leave the front lines and not have to fight any more. Or they would refuse to go "over the top". And then they were killed by their fellow comrads ("killed for example"), because someone, who even isn't there, gave an order to do so. Someone, who is comfortably sitting at the desk and is seeing numbers, not living beings with their history and their robbed future. Someone, who's not seeing the carpenter, the farmer, the dreamer, or just simply the good fellow. Or course, since war is an indiscriminate culling, a lot of scumbags die too. But not all. Yet, can this be used as a justification for the dead of the good ones..?

 P.S. this day was a great start celebrating the living ones.

Part 2: Zero kilometre circuit trail

          

Map of the trail.
(Welcome to the Kilometre Zero circuit at the Southern end of the Western Front of the Great War. From November 1914 to November 1918, the German army confronted the allied French, British and Belgian armies along a front of some 750 km which ran from the Swiss border to the North Sea. Here you are close to the most southerly part at this front at the place where the firing line was fixed at the Swiss border, at Km 0 of the Front.
This 7.5 km-long circuit lets you discover the German front (points 1 to 9), the Swiss front (points 10 to 12), and finally the French front (points 13 to 18).
Please stay on the signposted path and follow the security instructions. The Friends of Km 0 and the municipalities of Pfetterhouse and Mooslargue wish you a pleasant and instructive visit)

Sebastian dropped me of next to a private cabin. I looked at my GPS - the blockhouse I was trying to reach so hard was 600 metres away. I took the nearest path towards it.

           

The surroundings were sedative: the birds were singing, the green trees, the fresh air and the forest smell - there probably can't get any better. My eyes were wondering around trying to soak everything in. I was looking at the surroundings for some signs of the history too. The forest here isn't natural - it's planted. I wondered if the purpose of tree planting was related in any way with the First World War...

The sings of the recent history were still present and very visible (not that much in the pictures though). I could distinguish lines of trenches, shell holes.

Few steps of the path deeper into the forest

It was interesting feeling stepping on these places. Sometimes I managed to look at these places just as simple historical witnesses. Until my head started to recreate the possible view that was at the same place a hundred years ago: people standing by next to trench walls, wanting a cup of warm tea in cold winter days and nights.

Then some random days artillery fired. Shells falling around. Maybe even above the head.
My steps got slower and I was standing there for few minutes.

           

After some time of wondering around, I accidentally stumbled across this:

"Infantry blockhouse. This concrete infantry blockhouse (for military units consisting of foot soldiers) controlled the area in front of the first German position. Its state of conservation is remarkable. It could hold a maximum of two men who were highly protected by it. It was designed to make up for the low number of guards on the surveillance line."
Picture: "Observation trench providing access to the concrete position. Largwald sector, 1916."

I was happy as a child accidentally spotting Santa putting presents next to the Christmas tree - finally! Something of the reason I am here. I put my "big" and "little" brother and ran to see the blockhouse.

It wasn't big in any kind of way (I'm about 170 cm): the path leading to the entrance is narrow, the entrance itself is low.

Inside is of pentagon form with observation (machine gun?) holes.

Machine guns usually needed two people for operating them, so I'm not sure if these were really used for machine guns, or just for observation.

The inside was way higher than the entrance itself. It was wet and not very spacious. Two people during winter with all the clothes and gear would be a crowd.

While getting in (and out), I bumped my head. But once inside, there is enough space to stand up straight

The way to the entrance (the bags are filed with cement)

Along the way, these signs are put on some trees pointing to the direction to walk (however, not always are they very accurate or placed as often as, in my opinion, should be)

I followed the signs of "Circuit du Km Zero". I followed them in the forest hoping to find point 7 (machine gun post). I wasn't able to find anything very clearly standing out as a post. There also wasn't any description post, so I just guessed that the ruins I bumped into, was the machine gun post.

My hand is resting on the concrete perimeter of the structure. The camera case is lowered to show the depth, but it's still not at the bottom

The surroundings here was completely different from the previous blockhouse (point 8). It was wet here and there were a lot of ferns (Pteridophyta). I almost broke my leg walking here. The ruins were grown up with vegetation, there were dry branches lying around and every step was almost guessing, since the ground wasn't visible. There were few structures of similar layout here. All rectangular, deep and built one next after another 90 degrees of the ridge towards the no man's land

The good thing about all that moist - wood sorrel (Oxalis acetosella). Eaten some of them - greens are good. And both my body and my brain appreciated the "vegetable".

I walked looking for the point 6 (destroyed machine gun post), but I wasn't able to find it very clearly. So I guessed again where it might have been.

Other points were much easier to spot.

"Barrage command post on the Moos road (South of the road: constuction No. 2, 3 and 4). This part of the barrage command post, in fron of the main German defence trench, is reinforced by three concrete posts. Construction No. 3 (the one in the middle) dates from autumn 1915, and takes the form of a caponier projecting from the trench. The two others belong to a series of four similar structures installed later. This reinforcement of the position, probably dating back to late 1916, coincided with the appearance of a new danger : tanks. The one on the right (construction No. 4) was restored in 2012 by the Friends of Km 0 who recreated its ceiling by cutting up railway track."

This should be construction No. 3

Entrance

Again pentagon shape. Only the holes are bigger.

I'm not sure if it's possible to walk in and out without bumping the head - I didn't managed to do that even once.

Reconstruction is on the way:

The elevated place was used for solders to have some sort of sleep. It was better protected from the water. Although the danger from shells were still present. But this is still better than trying to get some rest in a mud. Some solders got to rest in an underground shelters. However, these were usually small and there weren't enough of them for all. Also, a solder sleeping here could get into service faster.

The trench "bed". These are the places were regular solders got their rest time.

"This concrete defence and observation outpost communicates with the dam position via a rectiliniar trench. the front doors opens onto a trench descending towards the Largue river bed. To avoid being spotted by the enemy, this passage was covered with wooden chassis-shuttering (traces of which were found during the restoration of the site). The covered trench allowed soldiers to draw water from the river or make incursions into No Man's Land without being seen."

Entrance

Entrance up close (big enough for crawling only)

Looking towards the no man's land

The way to the water (my back is facing the channel. So this entrance was covered and the troop were able to walk 

"Barrage command post on the Moons road (north of the road, construction No. 5, 6 and 7). The barrage command post established in 1915 in advance of the front line extends on each side of the Pfetterhouse to Moos road. On both sides of the road, the trench is reinforced by three small concrete structures for infantry. Post No. 6, the ceiling of which was not reinforced with rails, was saved from the vandalism of scrap dealers. The position was camouflaged with small pine trees, notably planted near the concrete blockhouse. One of them is still there!"
Picture: "Typical layout of a Largue valley trench with walls covered with a pallisade."

           

  

German infantry outpost at the Largue river bridge (construction No. 3). This observation and defence pill have controlled the entry to the road bridge on the Largue river. It had 5 firing holes with a firing arc of 180 degrees. It was built in the autumn of 1915, upriver from the barrage command post at the Moss bridge. The roof of the building was destroyed after the war when the celling rails were salvaged. the external appearance was treated by rounding all the surfaces above ground level. Notice the front door which opened onto a covered trench leading to the abutment of the road bridge over the Largue river. The stone-arched road bridge was destroyed in 1917 because of fear of attach from French tanks.

  

           

"German machine gun outpost at the Largue river bridge. This exceptional defensive position, dating from autumn 1915, was installed to control the entry to the road bridge on the Largue river and to respond to the French machine gun post which has been built in autumn 1914. This large position includes a central concrete emplacement for the machine gun (construction No. 9), flanked by two observation and defence posts with a single firing hole. A shelter, 15 metres back, also built of concrete (construction No. 10), was for the use of soldiers manning the post. Because they were visible to the French, the four constructions were linked by underground galleries. Prevalent ground water was drained by 3 sumps. The position was faithfully restored by the Friends of Km 0."
Picture: "Carriage-maunted Maxim Maschinengewehr 08 machine gun in firing position on the parapet of the firing hole."

  

Not all of the blockhouses had description. Maybe it's because there were too many of them. Or maybe they were part of a blockhouse chain.

Phone used for scale Nokia 6230. Notice the diameter of the steel - that's the real deal.

This is another unnamed and undescribed blockhouse. Most probably another observation post. Could also be used as a shelter from artillery fire

Part of the trial is a very impressive structure Villa Agathe. While walking to this structure, I saw a roe. She was gracefully jumping across a rye field on top of the hill. The sun was setting down and the field dyed gold. Nobody was chasing the roe, so I just imagined that she was going home. To sleep.
After visiting all the small blockhouses, the size of this villa seems enormous. It's had few rooms and an access (entry forbidden) to underground. It was quite humid there and the temperature was lower than outside. Perfect conditions for bats and they are using them (run into them while walked inside).

"Villa Agathe. Built by the 26/53 Company of Engineers and partly by French cement workers in 1918, the concrete shelter known as Villa Agathe was the first concrete structure on the French front after the Swiss border. This structure served as a double machine gun nested and as a superstructure for underground installations. Many of the walls are made of local limestone masonry covered with thick plaster. The ceiling as well as the floors above the foundations are made of reinforced concrete. The small room situated near the surface entrance was for the immediate defence of the structure through the use of rifle-launched Vivien-Bessiere anti-personnel grenades. Firing was carried out through the orifice in the middle of the veiling. Such an arrangement is very rare in concrete structures."
Picture: "French Vivien Bassiere rigle-mounted anti-personnel grenade launcher"

All floors were wet. Water was up to 1.5 - 2 cm.

This was probably the main room. It's floor was drier. It had two observation (machine gun?) holes. The niche between the holes might have been used for immediate ammunition storage (just a guess).

Passage to the underground. Wasn't looking very inviting.

On the left: the entrance to the main room

Diagrame of "Villa Agathe"

In the evening, when I was lying in my tent, I still felt all the excitement going through my body. I couldn't wait for tomorrow to walk the other half of the trail. To stand at the point, where the three frontiers met. To burn my candle. And then I felt guilty. How can I be excited about something like that? I don't know if the world now would be better if the First World War didn't happen. There would probably be much more people (and we already have problems related to that). But maybe the development would have been more slow and we would have had time to adjust our lifestyle according to the possibilities we are given by the industrialization and technology.

I fell asleep without finding any answer. There are too many alternative roads and maybe none of them matter now. Maybe all we have to do, is try to fix the mess we made and try not to repeat the mistakes. It's our responsibility after all.
As water reflected the colourful sky, my mind was reflecting on almost everything.

While walking from one blockhouse to another, stumbled across this: