July 25: a bunch of rabbits, new museum and the most important Canadian monument-battlefield

(take two.)

 

Open letter in the light of Vimy Ridge Centennial:

In the light of so many Known unto God, I don't feel that my name is important. I am a Lithuanian, however, I travelled here to Vimy from China - Vimy is just too important to miss. I was asked why I feel the need to go here on this day, especially since there is nothing that ties me to it and the travelling in many ways is quite costly. I could not find any rational reason: my family is not connected to any wars or Canada in any way. The only connection I have with this place is the one I established in the summer of 2015 when I decided to walk across the Western Front in an attempt to better understand war in general and also this war in particular as it is the crucial point that shaped our world as it is now.

I arrived at Vimy in the evening. The sunlight was falling right at the gravestones; the sunrays stressed the devastated land, full of shell-holes and all I could see was again bloody mud and body parts scattered around. Soon the moon was up. Its light gently grazed the sculptures. I stood under the manifestations of the highest virtues: Justice, Truth, Knowledge, Gallantry, Sympathy, Justice and Peace. I felt how those colossal manifestations were observing me. Us. What did they see? What were we showing to them? Did we really lived up to all the hopes and dreams of those, whose bodies were still here? Is the world we created a good enough monument for them?
If I was to be honest, the answer would not be in our favour... "When you go home, tell them of us and say: For your tomorrow we gave our today." I could not stop myself from weeping. All I felt was shame and failure. We failed them. We took their today but is the tomorrow we created proved to be worthy..?

I hope I will be able to walk the front again in autumn next year - armistice year. And once again sing all the songs that the soldiers sung when they were on the road. To trail the Western Front is emotionally very hard and draining. You walk and wonder how many of them are still there... The former battlefields are now taken over by corn. We turned the land of death into the land of life. After all, all you need to survive is water and bread. It might seem disrespectful or indifferent, but it might also be one of the greatest ways to give meaning to what the land and people experienced.

While trailing the frontline, one starts to see the bodies in the shell-holes, which now are overgrown with green silky grass or barley, gently shaken by the wind. The more you see, the more you start to think that the only outcome of a war are endless seas of crosses and never-ending list of names, which, after a while, begin to be just a random set of letters. Eventually, the memory of the lost ones and their effort, their reasons, fade away from the living ones. We forget how many potential scientists, engineers, writers, painters, inventors and artists were lost in the mud, evaporated in mine warfare or torn to pieces by shells. We say that we need to honour their sacrifice, and yet we rage new wars, we destroy the land we have stolen from the locals for profit and move on to another site just to do the same all over again. We lie, hurt, steal and behave in our most egoistical way, fully disappointing the virtues that are overlooking us at Vimy memorial, which are expecting better from us, expecting that we have learned. At certain days, we stand next to the monuments of the lost ones and we stress how important it is to honour them and their sacrifice properly, how we appreciate everything they did. I believe that the way to do this is to live life honourably, be kind to everyone, help others, do what is right and whatever you can to improve the world rather than pushing it and us to destruction. I hope that I am living my life in a way that honours those, who never came back, who suffered and who lost. And I hope that at least in this way they truly will not be forgotten.

I stand will all Canadians to whom this battle became the beginning of their fully independent country. Like my homeland, you are relatively young and therefore still unspoiled, not too proud to admit mistakes and not repeat the mistakes that other countries did. I wish You to carry and live by the values that are represented here at Vimy and to never have the need to set up another monument like this one again.

 

 

______________________________________________________________________________

 

 

 

Route: Albain Saint Nazaire -> Souchez -> Vimy

 

I know that this entry is not chronological (skipping 16 days), but after starting my studies, I really did not have much time to sit down and write. Honestly, I don't have it right now as well, but April 9th was coming and I could not just let it pass. By now, it already passed and I made my effort to attend the Centennial even if I had to take two planes, a bus and find a place where I could leave my Fat Brother. Even though the security measures caused some trouble (mostly where to leave the Big Brother), I highly appreciate all the security people and all Gendarmerie officers, who kept everything nice and quiet, and were very humanly. It was a nice day, which brought everyone together. Although the amount of trash, which was left by the attendees, was very surprising. When one attends a commemoration ceremony of such a horror, I would expect that one would try to be at his best. But apparently this is not for all or maybe "the best" for each is different. Very different...

The ceremony with some comments as well as more video about Vimy can be found here

The canons shot few memorial rounds

The Memorial Cup - the highest Canadian Junior league hockey trophy awarded since the end of The Great War

The boots, symbolizing all the Canadian corps that fought here at Vimy

The donated boots were placed on both sides of the Memorial as well as all around it

There were about 25 - 30 thousand people (as far as I heard) at the ceremony. A lot of them were school students from all around Canada.

Part 1: " If any question why we died / Tell them, because our fathers lied"

Albain Saint Nazaire  (or Notre Dame de Lorette)

Battle of Lorette was one of the first battles during the "race to the sea" ant took place between October 1914 and October 1915. Both parties wanted to have their hands on this high (165 metres (500 feet)) ground, which resulted in fierce battles with thousands of casualties and devastation to the area.

Entrance to the biggest French military cemetery

The Lantern that lights the way to the fallen and the living in the night.

 Inscriptions in the Lantern

The Lantern was designed by Louis Cordonnier. The construction started in 1921 and inaugurated on 2nd August 1925. The tower is 52 meters (150 feet) high and it takes 200 steps to reach the top. However, it was closed for public few years ago due to safety reasons (too bad, because one cannot really capture the size of the cemetery and the site from the ground level). The beacon can be seen from about 70 kilometres (45 miles) away and it sure invites to walk towards it.

At the second floor of the lantern, a lot of pictures, authentic objects, historical descriptions can be found.



Top picture: "Oblique arial view of Lens in 1918: The "mining capital" was practically annihilated by the artillery bombardment and the German dynamiting"
Bottom picture: "Ruins of the mining town of Lievin (Pas-de-Calais), in April 1919"

"Fragments of stained glass from the former chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Lorette. Devoted to worship at Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, the former chapel was constructed on this site in the XVIIIth century. It was extended in 1870 and was an important place of pilgrimage prior to the First World War. Located on the top of the hill, the chapel constituted a strategic position for the belligerents in 1914. It was completely destroyed in 1915 under the violence of the fighting and shelling. The fragments of stained glass were collected on 9 May 1915 by a young French officer, Marcel GAUTIER, among the ruins of the chapel where he lay injured. Kept safely after the war, these "relics" were entrusted to care by Colonel GAUTIER before he died, so they could be returned to the site of Notre-Dame-de-Lorette. The fragments were therefore deposited at Notre-Dame-de-Lorette on 4 July 1974 by Mr Daniel MILLEQUANT"

 

Top: "French shellers at the foot of the Notre-Dame-de-Lorette ridge in November 1915: in chalky areas, digging in was the only effective protection against artillery"

            Bottom: "The decision by the German commanders to adopt a defensive strategy between 1914 and spring 1918 was evidently accompanied by longer-term political objectives. In fact, in the Nord and Pas-de-Calais regions under its occupation, the German army set up large military cemeteries obviously designed to last... The impression is strengthened by the erection of impressive stone memorials in homage to the fallen soldiers."

Picture: "The ruins of Albain-Saint-Nazaire church in September 1917. In the background is the plateau of Notre-Dame-de-Lorette. In some communes in the Nord and Pas-de-Calais, the scale of destruction was such that, for a moment in the aftermath of the conflict, there was a temptation to keep everything in the same state as proof of the extent of the ordeal and "barbarism" of the enemy. Finally, only a few symbolic monuments were left in ruins as "...witness to the German vandalism": this was the case in the Pas-de-Calais, for Albain-Saint-Nazaire chuch and Mont-Saint-Eloi abbey, both listed in 1920 for this reasons by the Commission of Historical Monuments."

Shelf: "Self of everyday object (a paper knife, lighter, etc.) and objects of devotion (a crucifix, medal, etc.), made by the soldiers during the Great War. Confronted with long periods of waiting and relative calm in the trenches or the rear lines, soldiers of all nationalities have often fought the monotony and hazards of their existence by making objects that would be useful in their daily life or would serve as souvenirs, using materials they had recuperated (copper shell cases, aluminium rockets, etc.). Other objects taken from enemy soldiers who had been taken prisoner or died, such as the pointed or metal helmets, or this end of a fabric strap, can be seen as spoils of war. The trophies were sometimes used for bargaining with officers or civilians to improve the combatant's daily life."

 "The uniform of second lieutenant Marcel MOREAU (36th RI)

            Born on 7 December 1890 in Niort, Marcel MOREAU come from a military family. His father, originally from Phalsbourg in Lorraine, was a captain in the cavalry and a Knight of the Legion of Honour. After his studies at the secondary school in Caen, young Marcel MOREAU also opted for a military career. In July 1912, he joined the 5th Hussards and planned to prepare for the cavalry school in Saumur. He was integrated into the 15th regiment of chasseurs in 1913 and was a sergeant when war broke out in August 1914. He took part in the fighting in Belgium, the Marne and northern France. He was attached to the infantry at his request and appointed to the rank of second lieutenant in the 36th RI. Marcel MOREAU died in the attack on the Plateau de la Folie on 25 September 1915. His body was discovered in 1925 and buried in Notre-Dame-de-Lorette. Marcel Moreau was cited by the army as being an "excellent officer, brave and energetic. Fatally injured on 25 September 1915, at the head of his section he was leading in the attack", and he was decorated with the Military Cross and the Legion of Honour. There objects and documents were donated by his sister."

 

"Commemorative funeral plaques. Now gone from the site of the necropolis, many funeral plaques in the past were left by the families at Notre-Dame-de-Lorette. As symbols of private commemoration in memory of the deceased, these plaques often constituted a visible trace of the loved one's pilgrimage. They were in very varying shapes and sizes, with or without attributes (decorations, praise, religious symbols, etc.), more often than not they mentioned the name of a lost father, husband or son. In a sign of cruel destiny, a single plaque may have given homage to various members of the same family: "In glorious memory of OUR SONS who died for their Country". The presence of a portrait of the decreased, reproduced on a china medallion or enamelled plaque, reinforced the memorial impact still further. Some epitaphs remind us of the dead soldier's young age "To our beloved brother killed in Souchez on 1st October 1915 at the age of 20", while others are less conventional, for example this anonymous plaque flanked by a military medal and a Military Cross, with the simple words: "TO MY FATHER - We sacrifice ourselves for World peace, we die for the cannon merchants".

 

 
 

Notre Dame de Lorette is the largest French military cemetery in the world. 40 057 bodies are laid to rest here, of which 39 985 are French from the Great War, 6 French from the Second World War, 1 unknown soldier from French-Indochina war, 1 unknown soldier from French-North African war, 64 Russians, 1 Belgian and 1 Romanian.

There are seven ossuaries in the cemetery that houses 19 998 casualties.

 

An eighth one (with additional 6 000 soldiers) is situated at the base of the Lantern. There is also a crypt that is guarded by guards of honour at the Lantern base. The Honour Guards are representatives of the families of the dead who are buried in the cemetery. They stand guard each day of the year from Palm Sunday to the Remembrance day on 11th November. Although I did a lot of things that I would not usually do in an attempt to document everything, I could not force myself to take pictures of the guarded crypt.
The Chapel of Rest houses 32 coffins with three of them being of unknown soldiers from Second World War, one from the North African war and one from Indochine war. There is also a reliquary with soil and ashes from the concentration camps of World War II.
 

The cemetery indiscriminately included Muslim soldiers from 1st Maroccan Division who fell during the battles on 1915 here and at Vimy. Also, a special grave marker was honouring General Ernest Barbot - commander of The French 77th Mountain Division, who was killed at Souchez on 10th May, 1915. The cross was made by his soldiers from shell casings, but it was stolen in 1952 and was replaced with the one, that marks all the French fallen ones.

 

Chapel of Notre Dame de Lorette

With the Chapel and the Lantern. And suddenly, the sky cleared out

The first chapel here was built by painter Florent Guilbert in around 1729. Guilbert travelled to House of Loreto in Italy and miraculously healed his problematic leg. He brought back a statue of Virgin Mary and built a chapel to house it. The chapel was destroyed in 1794 and rebuilt in 1815 just to get destroyed again about 100 years later, when fierce fighting for the ridge broke out during the Great War.

The modern chapel was started in 1921 and opened to service on 5th September, 1937. It was rebuilt in a Romano-Byzantine style, which makes the interior look more fancy than, my personal opinion, Faith would require.

 

 

 

 

 

For my taste, all this gold makes the chapel closer to an investing broker's house than God. But that is Byzantine style... Nevertheless, one should question whether this kind of posh was needed or even suitable for a humbling and full of suffering place like that.

 
 

Circle of remembrance

 

Designed by Philippe Prost and inaugurated on November 11, 2014, it might be considered an open book of the soldiers, who fell in Nord and Pas-de-Calais.

  

 

 

The monument lists all the soldiers, indiscriminately of their nationality, who fell in the region during the Great War. And, by doing so, to me, it is a list of Peace.

 

More than one "Peace" fell on the frontline...

The size of the circle is overwhelming. Especially since it was dictated by the amount of names that needed to be listed here. This again shows the scale of the tragedy that the Great War was. Some of the people that have their names inscribed in here are: Francois Faber - winner of Tour de France in 1909, son of poet Rudyard Kipling - John, grandson of Indian chief Sitting Bull Joseph Standing Buffalo, Hans Dulfer - a German alpinist. I think I mentioned that before - the amount of names makes it sometimes hard to see people behind them. It is even more profoundly sensed at the Ring, where under the enormous amount of letters, stories of 579 606 people hide.

 

 

 

 Outside the ring:

Not sure what this is. Still not so fluent in French

Souchez and a great the Great war museum Lens'14-18

Unlike the name implies, Lens'14-18 museum is not situated in Lens. At that time, it was very new, just a bit more than a month older, museum. It's free and has an amazing display. To be honest, this was one of the best museums I have visited, with the aura and surroundings perfectly fitting the exhibition and the story. Currently, to commemorate Vimy Ridge battle and people who were forced to lose their lives there, the museum has a special temporary exhibition "Vimy 1917, Canadian underground war". It will be open from April 8th to November 12th, 1917. The display includes video 3D model display of one of the tunnels, various carvings, stories of some of the soldiers. It is definitely a "must see" while visiting the area. And it is only about 1.5 km away from Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, about 5 km (depending on what road and mean of transportation one takes) from Vimy memorial.

 

The German loss

I know that when it comes to talking about the Great war, Germans are often seen as the "bad guys". From a simplified point, they kind of started the war (from more complicated view, we would ask "why" and then there will be a discussion for at least few hours dating back maybe at least two hundred years back, because past is always influencing the present and future). However, there are no winners in war. At least not when it comes to the survivors and the fallen ones (maybe that is why for me it would be nice to see German leaders standing at the memorial ceremonies next to the others).

It seems that French did understand this very quickly after the war when they decided to establish the largest German Cemetery in France near Neuville-Saint-Vaast. It houses 44 830 bodies making it twice as large as Vermandovillers cemetery at the beginning of Somme, where storm raged during my night there, and similar in size to USA cemetery at Romagne-sous-Montfaucon.

More about the cemetery at the entrance

Cross of peace at the entrance

There is also a landscape model of the area at the entrance:

Sea of crosses. Death does not care

...and they are never ending

The day was bright, but the darkness, sorrow and sadness without a drop of glory, that radiates USA or even British Commonwealth Cemeteries, was making air so dense, that it almost could cut the face.

Monument for some of the infantry regiment soldiers

The cemeteries did not change a lot. Maybe just gained some trees, which makes the space look smaller, with leaves covering some of the horizon.

As it was before 1939

On the way from Albain Saint Nazaire to Vimy, there are many monuments, cemeteries and other footprints of what happened here. Most of the cemeteries are British Commonwelth, some - French. But in between them there are some others that really shows the "World" part of the "World war".

Czechoslovakian memorial and cemetery

Even the description of the cemeteries is in Czech

Czechoslovakian cemeteries

Czechoslovakia at that time was part of Austria-Hungary Empire. Although most of its troops fought at Eastern front or Balkans, some of them did reach the Western Front.

The Cabaret Rouge

Not far from the Czechoslovakian cemeteries, one of the probably most famous British Commonwealth cemeteries can be found - Cabaret Rouge. It is named after a house, that once stood in this place. It houses 7 655 people of which more than half (i.e. 4 500) are Known only to God.


Entrance to the Cabaret Rouge cemetery

The cemetery itself is impressive. It feels wrong to say "beautiful", because it does not seem fitting to describe such a place like that. Nevertheless, the semi-circular headstones surrounding the Stone of Remembrance and the Cross of Sacrifice at the end with some of the headstones facing it in straight lines. 

 

  

The cemetery was first used in March, 1916 with intervals up until September, 1918. Current Plots 1 to 5 consists of the original burials, while others (6 to 31) were constructed after the Armistice. The current cemetery was designed by Sir Frank Higgins, whose ashes were scattered here after he died in 1958.

 

It is also here that the son of the Jungle Book author R.Kipling rests. And it also here, that the body of an unknown Canadian soldier was taken closer to home and now rests in front of the Memorial in Ottawa.
  

Vimy

Vimy Ridge during the war

I must say, for long time I had difficulty understanding why Canadians would voluntarily enlist to go fight a foreign war on a land, which is over the ocean. I now think that this inability to understand was highly influenced by my national history of prolonged occupation. I could not imagine people from my country going voluntarily to defend the "owners" or fight for them. But reading some statistics helped me to figure out why so many Canadians went on this "adventure", as I believe numerous of them thought. I read that about 2/3 of all the volunteers were recent immigrants from British Isles (of two million people who emigrated to Canada between 1901 and 1914).
The Canadian troops joined the fight in February, 1915. They fought at Ypres and Somme (Beaumont-Hamel, Battle of Flers-Courcelette, Battle of the Regina Trench, the 100 day campaign).

Vimy Ridge was a place of high importance for the Allies, but even more for Germans, who held it since the "race to the sea" in 1914. From the Ridge, the entire Douai Plain was visible. German protection in this area highly depended on Vimy Ridge. If it was to fall into the Allied forces hands, it would expose their defensive fortifications, including the Hinderburg line. German positions forced the Allies to settle on a gradual slope. With that, Germans had a clear view on everything that was happening, while the only way to view the German lines for the Allies was reconnaissance planes or balloons. German lines were fortified with barbed wire, machine guns and artillery. In addition, they developed a vast network of underground tunnels, to keep the troops and all needed facilities (e.g. medical) from ground dangers.

Before Canadians, both British and French forces tried to take Vimy, but failed losing 130 000 - 150 000 men in the attempts. French tried to retake the strategically important high land in 1915, but failed to do that. With everything that was happening in Verdun and Chemin des Dames, British, together with French, was designated to take some pressure of these places as well as try and retake some land at Artrois. British commonwealth were the primary force in Artrois and Somme, while the French forces were concentrated in Verdun and Chemin des Dames.

Preparation work started during winter 1916 - 1917. To lower the troop force loss to the artillery before even stepping onto no man's land, 11 tunnels were dug that lead from rear lines to the front, some of them were as long as 2 kilometres. At 05:30 in the morning on April 9, 1917, Canadian troops emerged from the tunnels on a 7 kilometres wide front. They needed to advance 500 meters. On 12th, Canadians celebrated rare victory when they successfully captured Vimy highland taking 4000 German prisoners. However, the attack cost 3 600 life loss and about 7 000 injured (of 170 000 with 97 184 of those being Canadians).

Canadian success to high degree might be attributed to Lt.-General Sir Julian Byng and Major-General Arthur Currie, who decided that the offence need to change in order to succeed. This command combo was working together at Hill 62, Sanctuary wood, Mount Sorrel, so they knew each other pretty well. They learned from the past that the old fashioned attack, where men are sent straight forward to machine gun fire with hopes that some of them will make it through and take the trench, was doomed to fail. Their troops had precise targets, which they needed to take down. They indented to use machine guns for indirect attack and taught the attack plan to everyone so that even if the officers fell, the attack could be carried out according to plan. The idea was to encircle the machine gun nests and neutralize them. However, one thing did not change: three weeks before the attack, the Allies bombarded German lines with 250 heavy guns and about 600 lighter ones, launching on average 2 500 tons of shells daily (!). The artillery destroyed German transportation and communication lines making it hard to deliver food, medicine and troops. One more novelty that was introduced was "man-shell dance". Usually, the artillery shelled the positions and then the troops moved over the no-man's land. During this time, German machine gunners were taking shelter and waited for everything to end, then, after everything was over, moved to their guns and shoot everyone who was in the no-man's land. Canadians applied artillery fire to cover their troops. Although this meant and increased risk of "friendly fire", this also meant that the German gunners would not be able to operate their machine guns out of safety concerns for themselves and because they did not expect that kind of bald move.

After three days of fierce fighting, the Canadian troops managed to take over the set up area, including the Lens plain (110 meters above sea level) and Hill 145 (145 meters above sea level). Vimy attack was the only successful attack of Allied forces on the front at that time, with the most painful defeat at Chemin des Dames in Aisine. The victory might be seen more impressive known that the four Canadian divisions were fighting together for the first time. This shows how crucial and good the tactics and command of general Byng was.

Vimy after capturing the Ridge.

 

Sadly, Allies did not manage to capitalize on the victory... 

Vimy battle for Canada was important for many reasons. Vimy was the start of Canadians showing their fierce determination, good command and creativity. Their input into overall war outcome earned them a separate signature on Versailles Treaty after the war and was their opening road to (full) independence.

Honouring the Fallen. Canadian Cemetery 2

The memorial site is big. Big enough to include Canadian Cemetery 2, which was started hundred years ago. Most of the soldiers buried here died on the 9th of April, some - in the following days.

Sea of Graves. Once again

Here, 2 241 British, 693 Canadian, 2 Newfoundland, 19 Australian, 7 New Zealand, 2 South African and 1 Indian soldier found their resting place. There are a lot of headstones with "Known Unto God" inscription as there are only 820 identified soldiers. This is because a lot of them resting here were moved after the Armistice from smaller cemeteries or isolated graves.

 Evening light falling straight onto the front of the headstones

When the headstone is removed, the soldier is not forgotten

For those willing to read more and wanting to see authentic pictures

Another part of memorial park - trenches. When the park was constructed, Major Unwin Simson, who was the principal engineer, suggested to preserve some of the trenches. He had some of the workers fill sandbags with concrete and rebuild a section of both Allied and German trenches.

Not possible to pass under with my Big Brother

 Sniper's spot? Machine gun post? Observation post? Not sure

I am almost sure that this was machine gun post

 All trenches are a maze

Shelter from shells?

The front of the trenches was lower than the back. This was done so that the peaking heads of the soldiers would be harder to spot. Although spotting anything few meters or several tens of metres away was probably not a problem

Preserved vs. not preserved trenches

Trench soldier "bed"

Trench mortar?

This is what separated the Allied and the German trenches

The preserved trenches are surrounded by the left-to-nature trenches. Although weather and vegetation took its share, the zigzag of trench labyrinth is still very visible:

Mine warfare wasn't fully employed, but still there were few mines that were blown by the allies during the battle of Vimy Ridge

Evening sun stressing the devastated landscape

Due to safety and site preservation reasons, only sheep are allowed to wonder outside the paths

 This sign is found in so many places over the Western front

Trenches and mine hole

The never-ending view is overwhelming

Some of the tunnels are also preserved and accessible for the visitors with a Canadian student guide. In 1920s Major Unwin (the same man who proposed to preserve the trenches) organized the rebuilding of the entrance to Grange Tunnel - one of the Allies tunnels. It was rebuilt with concrete and, after electric lighting installation, it was opened for visitors. The tour lasts about 40 minutes.

One of the entrance/exists to the Grange tunnel

Tour through the tunnel with Canadian student guide

Some sections are closed for tourists

Only selected soldiers were allowed to live underground. Those usually were of high importance: commanding officers or messengers. Despite their "privileged" livelihood, the messengers usually lived around two weeks after taking their position. That was because the opposing side was targeting messengers, since taking them out meant disrupted communication and, most probably, attack

Vimy after the war

"It has often been said that Canada's sons left their home as young colonials but returned as Canadians. Vimy is indeed the birthplace of "Canadian Nationhood"." The price of Canadian losses is honoured and remembered at eight sites in France and Belgium combined. Although the primary idea was to have all memorials of the same importance, with the area of 117 hectares and the only one to have the winner memorial design, Vimy is probably the most well known Canadian memorial and also the one, that houses the most ceremonies and one of only two national historic sites of Canada that are outside Canada (the other one being Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial).

At this page I found the following letter:

"Pte Leo Kelly, Fulham M. Hospital 
London W., 6, H.1.W. 

Mr. P.M. Kelly;

Dear Father,

            I am writing to you a short story on what took place in the great battle won by the Canadians on Easter Monday on Vimy Ridge.

            On the morning of April 9th between the hour of five-thirty or six o’clock was the time selected for the Canadians to make the big drive on the Germans at Vimy Ridge. All day Easter Sunday and all that night the boys worked hard preparing for the awful work which they had before them still they never faltered but I laughed and sang as if nothing was going to happen.  We all spent the night in a tunnel about forty feet in the earth.  It was the only safe place around Vimy Ridge then for it was about as much a hell hole as one would want to be in.

            About three o’clock that morning we had breakfast which was a very good one.  It consisted of bacon, bread, butter, tea and oranges, a meal we do not get very often out here.  I guess the cooks opened their hearts for once.  They knew the boys would have a hard day and that it would be the last meal for quite a few of them.  Never the less our Battalion was very fortunate in the line of casualties, which I think was quite light.

            After breakfast we got our issue of rum, which was rather small, but we don’t need rum to fight, all we need is grub and cigarettes.  Well, Father, it was getting near the time for work.  We got the order “ get ready” which we were not long in doing.  We had a heavy load to take across.  I was in the Machine Gun Section and had to carry ammunition for the gun.  We then lined up in the trench, got into position, fixed bayonets; everything was as quiet as a mouse.  The Huns knew we were going over but little did they expect us on that morning.  We did not have long to wait.  Out engineers blew two mines that ran under the Hun’s front line.  This was a signal for the artillery. The explosion was hardly heard when many thousands of guns both large and small opened a terrific barrage on the Hun front line.  The boys waited no longer, they went over the top in a moment, making their way bravely across “No Man’s Land” to meet the Germans.  To our surprise when we got there we found the line quite empty as the enemy could not stand our terrific artillery fire and fled for shelter to their dugouts and were taken prisoners.  The barrage was now playing on the German’s second line, which was our objective, so we pushed over the shell ploughed ground, mud and water to the waist.  Men were falling here and there but still the boys kept on.

         Our gun crew got scattered.  The man who carried the gun and I we were alone and we did not go far when he fell.  I turned him over but he did not move.  I could not wait so I picked up the gun hoping to get it to the second line safely, for a machine gun is a great weapon against the enemy.  It fires six or seven hundred rounds a minute.  But luck was against me for I did not go very far when it was smashed to pieces on my shoulder; it had been struck by sniper fire.  I was not hurt and I did not mind the gun only I now had no weapon.  I had thrown my rifle away when I had picked up the machine gun.  All I had was a revolver but it would not work for mud.  I reached the second line safely, I seen Jack and Leo McGuire and they were O.K; they said it was great sport. 

        Well father, I was looking for souvenirs when I got hit with shrapnel in the left hand.  One of our officers sent me out to a dressing station, so they kept me going until I finally arrived in a London hospital.  It was a beautiful place and the people were so kind especially the young nurses.  Well Father, if the town people of Pembroke had seen the Pembroke boys of the 130^th battalion (now the 38) go through the Hun that morning they would not say that they were Kitchener’s last hope.  There are quite a few Pembroke boys in the 38 Battalion.  

       Well father, I guess I will ring off, wishing you all had a Merry Easter and eat some eggs for me.

Your loving son, 
Leo Kelly"

 

 

Monument

 

The size..!!!!

Monumental, enormous, impressive, press-ive. It is probably the most impressive monument I have seen on the Western front. Or maybe ever. Design by Walter Seymour Allward it was chosen out of 160 works that took part in the competition, set up in 1920s for the memorial design. At first, the idea was to set up the same memorial design at all of the sites designated for Canada (five in France and three in Belgium). However, the winning memorial turned out to be too expensive (Vimy Memorial cost 1.5 million Canadian dollars at that time). The memorial was opened in 1936 on the land, that was given by French government to Canada for their paid price during the war (overall, 60 000 Canadians did not came back from the front) it also has the names of 11 285 missing soldiers are inscribed and lit through the night (19 660 Canadians who took part in the Great War do not have a known grave).



Standing on the highest point of the Ridge (Hill 145) and situated on former German positions at the eastern edge, it overlooks Douai Plain - one of the battlefields where some of the fiercest fighting happened. It took 11 years to complete the monument and during the unveiling, more than 50 000 Canadian and French veterans with their families were present. The monument rests on 15 000 tonnes of steel reinforced concrete. Like in all battlefields, which witnessed fierce fighting, live munition was (and still is) presented a great danger and difficulty for the construction process. Limestone (6 000 tonnes of it) for the two pylons was brought from current Croatia and it is the same stone that was used by Roman Emperor Diocletian for his palace. The sculptures are not added to the pylons, but they are carved from the same stone block. Although designed to last, only after 60 years since construction, the monument started to crack and needed to undergo major renovation from 2001 to 2007 (reopened during the 90 years Battle anniversary).

The two pylons represents Canada and France. The sculptures on the pylons represent Justice, Peace (both at the top), Truth, Knowledge, Gallantry and Sympathy. They are surrounded by shields of Canada, Britain and France. In the centre, at the base, the Sprit of Sacrifice sheds light to comrades.

At each side of the stairs, there is another group of sculptures - Defenders. At the bottom of the stairs on the left is "Breaking of the Sword" and "Sympathy for the Helpless" on the right. Canons are draped in laurel and olive - symbols of Victory and Peace.
 

 

 

 

Part 2: long and wet morning and unexpected sadly-magical evening

Spent the night in a school yard. The night, as I guessed, was very rainy and even with some lightning. I was lucky to find the gates unlocked. In the morning, the guard came and asked when will I get out. "...so I packed my things and ran...". It was cold, windy, wet and still raining, so I just moved my tent and wet stuff to dry at the front gate of the church, which was situated right across the town hall, as the bus stop was too small for my tent and the bus stop bench.

Drying out and taking shelter from the wind

After some hours (and "breakfast"), I packed my stuff and went to a drugstore. I did not want to climb to the monument of Albain Saint Nazaire with my big fat brother. However, I was told that they do not have this kind of service... So I left. I started climbing to the monument, where, the day before, I saw the lighthouse. The road was wet, but it made the air smell fresh and light. It was also beautiful and reminded of all the fairytales - the big, exuberant trees, narrow path and the church (i.e. what's left of it) somewhere at the bottom.

 

Although I did climb a substantial way up, I did not want to carry my fat big brother all the way. So I turned to the bushes and hid it there praying, that I will not ran out of luck and will find it where I left it. After all, by this time I learned that French are like the old fashioned people, like Scandinavians - have respect for others' property and it doesn't matter where it is. Together with all the people that touched and changed my heart, this was the trait I liked the most about France.

Half way through to the monument. Looking back at the village with the ruins of the church

On my way, in less than two minutes, I managed to count 12 different rabbits running around or foraging in the grass near the path. I was so surprised of the amount! The thought of catching one and calculating that it would be enough for few dinners and breakfast crossed my mind... And I am not a hunter or a big meat consumer... 

Friend or food..?

Last few steps on the small path and a view of chapels, lighthouse and a strange big ring opened up. Immediately I was overwhelmed (and it wasn't for the shortness of breath). It was hard to chose which object to visit first, so I just tried to calculate the route using Marginal Value Theorem. 

I spend at least two or maybe even more hours in the area, but it still felt rushed. Afterwards, I went back to my big brother (was so glad to find it patiently waiting for me) and started to walk to Lens'14-18 museum stopping at the destroyed church first.

 

the pure size of it...

 

 

 

 

Lens'14-18 museum was love from the first sight. Everything about the museum seemed fitting: the building, the interior, the exhibition, the people. There were two girls at the reception, both of whom were extremely nice and interested in the work they do. We talked about the war, its importance, influence today and short memory of so many people. Of course, I showed them The Map of the trenches I got from Harvard University.

Reconstruction of soldier camp during Vimy centennial days

 

Lens'14-18 museum on the left

 I spent again about two or more hours there (until closing time). Afterwards, one of the ladies (Christine), asked where I was going. "Today plan minimum was Vimy." After hearing that, she offered to give me a ride to Vimy, even after I told her that I need to stop at at least two places (German and British cemeteries). Despite that, she did not withdraw her offer. Although I love to walk and feel the place, sit alone and talk to the dead in the cemeteries, monuments or battlefields, I also enjoy talking to the living. Especially interesting and intellectual, the ones, that can teach you something you don't know. I carry each of those persons in my heart and my mind and each day remember them. Christine is one of those people.

When we arrived to  Cabaret Rouge British Commonwealth cemetery, she told me that it is here, that the son of Rudyard Kipling is buried. I understood, that I had to learn a lot before going on this trip...

 

Vimy

After a short stay there, we drove to Vimy. At that time, I would not have guessed that this would be one of my soul places among all of the Western Front and up until this day, I have no idea why.

Christine dropped me at the visitor's centre. Before leaving, she gave me a wonderfully tasteful (I know this is not correct wording, but that's how it felt) sandwich and a real French éclair. I was humbled yet again, as many times before during this trip by the kindness and goodness of people towards some weird strangers with big backpacks.

Having a mouthful of the most tasteful sandwich just minutes later - no self control at all

Right at the parking lot, there was a map of all (as I assumed) Canadian memorials. It was interesting to see that memorials for New Foundland were marked differently. I could not understand why.

Even parking lot is surrounded by the historical act footprints

I wanted to look at the site, as I knew that Canadians leave the historical scars to be seen, which is always interesting. The pines surrounded the area and I realised how much I feel for those trees... In my hometown, I have "my pine". It's not my in any way, as it is a pine that grows in a public park in the city centre. However, it is a pine I have connected with and spend each day at least an hour sitting by with my back leaning on it. It was my safe place. Maybe that is why I feel the best around pines...

Vimy was the first place with pines that I saw after starting the trip. While typing this, I think, that this also might be a reason of why Vimy had such a strong effect on me...

I wanted to set up my tent under one of those pines so badly... But I couldn't. They were "beyond reach".

 

What stroke me while walking in the cemetery and talking to the dead that rested there, were trees. They were so taken care of.

Tree in the cemetery at Vimy

While slowly wandering the memorial area, I found an almost too perfect place to sleep for the night. Something, that resembled the 7 dwarfs house without the Snow-white. 



 Perfect shelter for the night

This house also reminded me a lot of the same small one for the security I saw at Beaumont Hamel. There were a lot of cars coming, turning around and driving out. So this did not make it very cosy. I had no idea about the rain, so a solid roof was definitely a nice insurance. Nevertheless, I abandoned the dwarf house and went to the memorial as well as to look for The place to spend the night (at this point, I still wanted to sleep in the restored trenches, even though I expected that in the morning, if people would have seen me, they might not be very happy and even see this as disrespectful. And disrespect was the last thing I wanted to show to this Event and everyone who is related to it. With some exceptions that is, but this is another topic...)

To sleep or not to sleep - that is the question. Although very tempting the idea to spend the night just as They did, I abandoned it due to the concerns about the living ones that might catch me in the morning

After getting an emotional impact from mourning Mother Canada, I went back to the visitors centre, crawled under it and set up my tent there. Not that it fitted very well, but it was enough. And the stones added additional massage. Although the knees did not like it at all.

Night time. "dinner" and sleep to let everything settle. Although I did not expected to have a lot of the latter. The emotional rollercoaster of the day was battling with the physical tiredness, which, eventually, won

 

My bed near Lens'14-18 museum before the Vimy Centennial ceremony (just add warm clothes and 5 degrees Celsius temperature is ok). And a special bonus - meeting Christine Virginie again.

 

This is my favourite picture I have ever taken. It captures everything about war so well. "Mourning Mother"


 

P.S. As I write this, I am sitting about fourteen - fifteen thousand kilometres away from my family for several months now. And as I plan to go to the memorial ceremony, I also managed to squeeze in a visit Home. The thought of my sister coming to the airport and picking me up, our road trip back home and the surprised faces of my parents and grandparents... the thought of them brings tears to my eyes. What it was for those, who went to the dirt, cold, mud, rats, fleas - I can only imagine from their diaries. As well as the pain of their families. Am I grateful to them? I'm not sure. The First World War brought independence to my country just as much as it brought occupation. But I do feel indebt to all of them to cherish my life and the life of others. All others who radiate respect towards life. Without the prejudice to the colour, culture, race and species.

P.P.S. As I rewrite this, I am using my mother's computer, preparing to go visit my grandparents and surprise them. All of it after the Vimy Centennial.

 

Approximate route: