The ground has been left undisturbed at the Newfoundland Memorial Park, and the front line trenches of both sides can be clearly seen, along with shell holes. There were some exceptions, such as Thiepval (now the site of the imposing Memorial to the Missing). However, this was not implemented, and the villages were rebuilt in most cases. After the war ended, there was a proposal to make the Somme battlefields a Zone Rouge – an area where the land was considered so devastated that rebuilding and resettlement of villages was deemed impossible (as was the case at Verdun). Several, such as Serre, were made into fortress-villages as part of the German lines and so suffered greatly from artillery fire. ![]() Many of the villages were destroyed by the massive artillery bombardments. Obviously, modern roads and housing developments have appeared, but if you are prepared to get away from the roads and walk around the lanes and tracks, then in many cases you can get a real feel for what the battlefields must have looked like then. Whilst over 100 years have passed since the Battle of the Somme, the region is relatively unchanged. The Somme Battlefields today, and Battlefield Tours The original World War One Battlefields pages covering several of the areas can still be found here, although the pages are being migrated to the new site. ![]() Pages covering specific areas can be found in the drop-down menu above under the heading ‘Somme’.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |