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

[rob63]

There is a really old museum near Hill 62 that includes original trenches in a sort-of preserved condition with a lot of interesting relics.

 

[rob63]

A pillbox at nearby Hill 60. Hills 60 and 62 are just a little southeast of Ieper.

A destroyed bunker.

 

[rob63]

Not far away is a very large German bunker that was a command center.

 

[rob63]

The city of Mesen (Messines), located just south of Ieper, has a memorial to the Christmas truce of 1914 which took place near here.

This city was also destroyed during the war.

The crypt of the church was used as a field hospital by the Germans. Supposedly, this is where Hitler was treated after he was a victim of a gas attack.

 

[rob63]

A memorial to New Zealand troops near Mesen.

Another nearby bunker.

 

[rob63]

The Battle of Messines Ridge opened with the detonation of explosives packed in mines placed beneath the German lines by British miners. There were 25 mines dug and they contained up to 100,000 lbs. of high explosives, 19 of them went off. The sound was heard in London!

This is a memorial to Irish troops near one of the mine locations.

 

[rob63]

The craters from the mine explosions are still visible.

Not all of the mines went off. This is one of the craters in the foreground, however, the farm in the background still has an un-exploded mine underneath it! One of the un-exploded mines was set off by lightning in the 1950's, the other 5 are still there.

 

[rob63]

Most of the 126 military cemeteries are easy to access, this one is located in the middle of a farmer's field!

There is even an American monument just outside of Ieper.

This roundabout on the edge of town was a road junction known as "Hellfire Corner" during the war due to constant German shelling.

That is the end, thanks to all for the positive comments.

 

[SmileDocHill]

WOW, just WOW. Thread of the year so far! Thanks for taking the time to post this.

 

[femurphy77]

MAN I love this historical stuff!

 

[Hop]

Wow, stuff you never ever see in school!

 

[jdude]

Very interesting ! Thanks for sharing !

 

[Cldedhnds]

Very cool pictures, thanks for sharing. I'm sure the feeling of walking around and knowing the magnitude of what occurred there has to be pretty amazing.

 

[spec4]

Thank you for sharing. Beautiful and sad. War is so senseless.

 

[Ben Nelson]

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 . . .

Superb post, Rob. Thanks for posting the pix, and for your appreciation of WWI.

 

[rob63]

I just saw this in the news, the British royal family has been in Belgium visiting many of the same places that I went to.

Passchendaele centenary: Last Post played at Menin Gate - BBC News

 

[Fordtough25]

Great thread and pics OP, thanks very much for sharing what most of us won't see!

 

[Nazgul]

Thank you.

Don

 

[Bigtanker]

Awesome pictures!

I've recently listened to Dan Carlins Hardcore History series called Blueprint for Armageddon. It's all about WWI. Good to put some pictures, modern and old, of the palces he was discussing.

 

[Wolfhound]

I don't know how I missed this back in June. Thanks for posting!