Ypres Salient: The Essential Battlefield Tour

Service Description

Min. 2 persons or payment equivalent. Discover the history of the Ypres Salient on this half-day battlefield tour, visiting some of the most important sites of the First World War. We'll begin by looking at how the war started and why Ypres became such an important part of the Western Front. As we travel through the former battlefields, I'll explain how the fighting developed, from the first trenches and the German gas attacks of 1915 to the terrible conditions of the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917. Along the way, we'll visit Essex Farm, where John McCrae wrote his famous poem In Flanders Fields, explore Yorkshire Trench and Dug-out, and stop at the Brooding Soldier memorial, which commemorates the Canadian soldiers who fought during the first large-scale gas attack. At Langemark German Military Cemetery, we'll look at the war from the German perspective before continuing through the battlefields of the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917. Here, we'll explore the events of the battle, the terrible conditions faced by the soldiers and the enormous human cost, before finishing at Tyne Cot Cemetery and Memorial. Throughout the tour, I'll share the stories of the men who fought here, explain how wounded soldiers were treated and evacuated, and explore the work of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and what happened to the battlefields after the war. Sites visited: Essex Farm Cemetery and Dressing Station Yorkshire Trench and Dug-out Langemark German Military Cemetery The Brooding Soldier Memorial, Vancouver Corner The Battle of Passchendaele battlefields Tyne Cot Cemetery and Memorial