WW2 locations to visit
Discussion
I've got the itch to get back over to the continent and explore some more WW2 locations. I did Normandy march last year and thoroughly enjoyed it.
I have been looking at Foy in Belgium due to the Band of Brothers episode that is set there but it's a good old stint down.
Where else do people recommend? Im more interested in places rather than museums.
I have been looking at Foy in Belgium due to the Band of Brothers episode that is set there but it's a good old stint down.
Where else do people recommend? Im more interested in places rather than museums.
Foy. Isn't much there but what there is is interesting. Or was before BoB came out on TV.
The slit trenches were still visible 10 years ago that E/506 occupied during the Bastogne encirclement. Not sure now though with all the tramping abuout.
Highly recommend Oosterbeek & Arnhem for the Market Garden Op. Arnhem centre was battered during the battle for the bridge so is all post war, but the outskirts & Oosterbeek village are all generally as were with all the key landmarks there.
I doubt there are still, but until the early 80's there was still wreckage in the Ardennes forest from the German withdrawal after the Bulge. A King Tiger used to lie in the ditch on one side of one of the main roads. Buggered if i can remember which though.
The slit trenches were still visible 10 years ago that E/506 occupied during the Bastogne encirclement. Not sure now though with all the tramping abuout.
Highly recommend Oosterbeek & Arnhem for the Market Garden Op. Arnhem centre was battered during the battle for the bridge so is all post war, but the outskirts & Oosterbeek village are all generally as were with all the key landmarks there.
I doubt there are still, but until the early 80's there was still wreckage in the Ardennes forest from the German withdrawal after the Bulge. A King Tiger used to lie in the ditch on one side of one of the main roads. Buggered if i can remember which though.
So good info and suggestions on this site.
http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/ww2-battlefields-toda...
Bastonge. ?.
http://www.trabel.com/bastogne/bastogne-battleforb...
There is also Peipers route during Wacht am Rhein. Muesum at Le Gleize?.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_SS_Division_Leibs...
http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/ww2-battlefields-toda...
Bastonge. ?.
http://www.trabel.com/bastogne/bastogne-battleforb...
There is also Peipers route during Wacht am Rhein. Muesum at Le Gleize?.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_SS_Division_Leibs...
Anywhere between Berlin and Moscow is pretty much a WW2 battle location 
TBH, unless you want to visit Museums or preserved sites (forts, gun batteries etc), then you really need to do some research. Get some books with photos and maps of battles and engagements. There isn’t much to see when it’s just fields and rebuilt towns, unless you know what happened, to whom and how. But you if you’ve read up then you can picture the scene and relive what happened. For instance, you could follow the route of the American’s break-out of the Cherbourg peninsular to Falaise. Or the route attempted to capture Arnhem. Find some stories, regiments or individuals that interest you and try and find the places where the actions took place. Do you have any relatives that fought? Maybe try and research their regiments and trace where they were deployed. There are of course lots of museums and such like to visit which you can include on your trip.
Alternatively, if that sounds like a lot of work, try some of the organised tours like St.Leger Battlefield walks or similar. If you wanted to stay in a relatively small area, you could combine WW1, WW2 and Napoleonic (and even further back) battlefields. The British, French and Germans have been slugging it out for hundreds of years in the same place, it’s called “Belgium” now
With regards to BoB, the series does give you some inspiration but I’ve never been particularly drawn to visiting any of the locations as I don’t find it that relevant. Or rather, I have no connection to it. I’m not American (or German for that matter!) none of my relatives who fought were American. It doesn’t seem very personal to me. There are other companies and groups that I find far more interesting and probably deserve more recognition (and preservation of their memory) than one particular company that an historian chose to write about, that was later made into a TV series. No disrespect to anyone from Easy company intended.
TBH, unless you want to visit Museums or preserved sites (forts, gun batteries etc), then you really need to do some research. Get some books with photos and maps of battles and engagements. There isn’t much to see when it’s just fields and rebuilt towns, unless you know what happened, to whom and how. But you if you’ve read up then you can picture the scene and relive what happened. For instance, you could follow the route of the American’s break-out of the Cherbourg peninsular to Falaise. Or the route attempted to capture Arnhem. Find some stories, regiments or individuals that interest you and try and find the places where the actions took place. Do you have any relatives that fought? Maybe try and research their regiments and trace where they were deployed. There are of course lots of museums and such like to visit which you can include on your trip.
Alternatively, if that sounds like a lot of work, try some of the organised tours like St.Leger Battlefield walks or similar. If you wanted to stay in a relatively small area, you could combine WW1, WW2 and Napoleonic (and even further back) battlefields. The British, French and Germans have been slugging it out for hundreds of years in the same place, it’s called “Belgium” now
With regards to BoB, the series does give you some inspiration but I’ve never been particularly drawn to visiting any of the locations as I don’t find it that relevant. Or rather, I have no connection to it. I’m not American (or German for that matter!) none of my relatives who fought were American. It doesn’t seem very personal to me. There are other companies and groups that I find far more interesting and probably deserve more recognition (and preservation of their memory) than one particular company that an historian chose to write about, that was later made into a TV series. No disrespect to anyone from Easy company intended.
Edited by TEKNOPUG on Wednesday 22 February 17:08
Edited by TEKNOPUG on Wednesday 22 February 17:08
Pixel Pusher said:
Maybe a little further than you had planned but Monte Cassino.
Never been myself, but always wanted to. I will one day.
Mrs. PP has always wanted to visit the site of Auschwitz, but I'm not so sure about that one.
Monte Cassino never been but will be going in the near future.Never been myself, but always wanted to. I will one day.
Mrs. PP has always wanted to visit the site of Auschwitz, but I'm not so sure about that one.
The Monastery has been completely rebuilt but you can still have the cemeteries and the hills to visit. Again, I don’t know how much one would get from a visit without a decent understanding of the events that took place there and the locations.
Have you looked here?
http://battlefieldseurope.co.uk
Have you looked here?
http://battlefieldseurope.co.uk
Edited by TEKNOPUG on Wednesday 22 February 17:32
can you expand to include WW1?
Beaumont Hamel where some short stretches of trenches were preserved - so close to each other, I was actually quite surprised.
Thiepval memorial to the missing dead.
Beaumont Hamel where some short stretches of trenches were preserved - so close to each other, I was actually quite surprised.
Thiepval memorial to the missing dead.
C2james said:
I think you can't go wrong with places from band of brothers, it would be quite cool if you combined it with a mini driving tour.
Before departing "This Sceptred Isle" on your Band of Brothers tour (if you choose to do that) make sure you visit Aldbourne in Wiltshire first.... the village Easy Company were stationed prior to D-Day. If you want a guided tour of my workshop, the last surviving WWII Nissen hut used by the troops, let me know in advance
Arlen said:
Oradour-sur-Glane is a good place to visit. Remains of burned out buildings and cars after a massacre of the whole village by the Germans in 1944
But very, very eerie and moving. It is well worth seeing, but it is quite upsetting. The back story is available on Wikipedia IIRC.Gassing Station | Holidays & Travel | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff