My trip to Ieper (Ypres) and the First World War

[rob63]

I will admit up front that there are going to be way too many photos and tidbits of information in this thread. However, I don't know anybody that is even the least little bit interested in the First World War so I have no one else to share these with. I am sure that there will be other INGO'ers that will appreciate all of this as it isn't really on the typical tour of Europe.

I recently visited the city of Ieper, pronounced Eep'er, in Belgium. It is a city that was once known as Ypres and it became a center of the fighting on the Western Front for 4 years.

I landed in Brussels, and drove a rental car to Ieper. The first stop along the way was the American cemetery near Waregem, Belgium. There are slightly over 300 American soldiers buried here and although it is small, it is very well maintained.

 

[rob63]

Ieper was destroyed during the war, but it was rebuilt to be almost identical to the way it had been. This is the "Cloth Hall" and the cathedral in the center of town

How it looked at the end of the war.

A soldier was added when it was rebuilt.

A memorial nearby.

 

[rob63]

This is the hotel where I stayed.

The intersection where the hotel is now is the one at the far right center of this aerial photograph of Ieper taken after the war.

 

[rob63]

The city is surrounded by a rampart wall that was begun in the 14th century and greatly improved in the 1600's.

 

[rob63]

The city was a center of the fighting because it was surrounded by a bulge in the Allied lines that became a focus of offensives launched by both sides.

 

[Coach]

Really cool photos. I do not know nearly enough about WWI. WWI is the topic for the IASP Academic Super Bowl next year. So the kids and I will be reading up on the topic. I like the before and after pictures. If folks had paid more attention about the size and scope of WWI some better decisions might have been made 20 years later.

France has never been the same and to a smaller degree that is true of England as well.

 

[GregD]

Thanks for your picture!
I do like the then and now pictures! Very nice!

 

[rob63]

One of the original gates in the ramparts has been replaced by a memorial to British Commonwealth soldiers that were killed, but whose bodies were never recovered. There are nearly 60,000 names etched on the walls of the memorial Menin Gate, soldiers that never received a burial. A simple ceremony to honor those soldiers is held every night at 8:00pm and it is very well attended. This ceremony has taken place every single night since it began in 1926, except for when the German's banned it during the WWII occupation.

What the road into town from the site of the memorial looked like at the end of the war.

 

[rob63]

The Memorial Museum Passchendaele is located just east of Ieper, in Zonnebeke. It is an outstanding museum that includes reconstructed trenches and dug-outs. You could spend all day here.

This is how British trenches were constructed.

This is how German trenches were constructed.

 

[rob63]

The British Commonwealth cemetery at Essex Farm. This is the location where the famous poem "In Flander's Field" was written.

There are 126 cemeteries like this in the vicinity of Ieper! You pass one after another as you drive around the area, it is really quite astonishing.

The grave of a 15 year old Canadian that lied about his age to join up.

The field hospital located at the same place. The kids in red shirts are a school group that was visiting, I ran into groups of school kids at 3 different cemeteries.

 

[rob63]

The canal near Boezinge, this was the objective of the first German gas attack of the war.

A nearby monument to a French division that was at the center of the first gas attack.

A larger memorial to all of the victims of the first gas attack. It originally had a statue, but the Germans destroyed it during the WWII occupation so it was rebuilt with a simple cross.

This set of locks in the canal was captured by the Germans as a result of the first gas attack, this was to be their deepest penetration in the area.

 

[rob63]

Another cemetery near the location of the first gas attack. This is just north of Ieper.

A German bunker in the same general vicinity. It is used as storage by a Belgium farmer.

The battle for Pilckem Ridge took place near here.

 

[rob63]

Heading east is the town of Langemark, there is a large memorial to Canadian victims of the gas attack near here. The wreaths at the base of the monument give an indication of the size of it.

The Steenbeek River was the site of another offensive.

 

[Leadeye]

Great pictures, thanks for posting them.

 

[rob63]

The town of Langemark was occupied by the Germans for most of the war, so it became the site of a large German cemetery.

Each marker has the names of multiple German soldiers.

 

[rob63]

There are bunkers and small memorials all over the place. This is near the German cemetery.

 

[rob63]

The city of Passendale (Passchendaele) was also destroyed during the war. The area was eventually captured by Canadian troops, this is a memorial to them near town.

The same intersection after the war.

 

[rob63]

Nearby Tyne Cot Cemetery is the largest British Commonwealth cemetery in the world.

The center memorial surrounds a blockhouse that was especially difficult to capture.

 

[rob63]

A few hundred yards from Tyne Cot is a railroad cut that was known as the Battle of Broodsiende. Australian troops captured this area. It is a walking and biking trail today.

Another monument near here.

 

[easy]

Cool pics, thanks!