Western Front Pilgrimage

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 Arrive at Haute-Picardie TGV Station by 12 midday. I will meet you there for the short drive to our base at Corbie. Depending on your previous location, you might also arrive at the station in Amiens or even Corbie or Villers-Bretonneux.

A short walk this afternoon to stretch the legs and discover the Sir John Monash Centre. Back to Le Macassar for a shower and welcome dinner with our host Deborah. 

 Today we discover the Australian involvement in the Battle of the Somme in 1916 at the small village of Pozieres. Then walk up to the British Memorial on the high ground at Thiepval. Lunch at a very nice auberge followed by a short drive to Vignacourt and visit the wonderful photographic exhibition Vignacourt 1914-18 where thousands of glass plate negatives of soldiers on leave were discovered recently. 

 Today we walk the ground of the two Battles of Bullecourt that the Australians fought in in the first part of 1917. The armoured tank was in its infancy as a weapon of modern war and Bullecourt was the Australians' first encounter with the machine that would change warfare in the 20th century. Tragically, it wasn't a good start for the Diggers. You will learn why as we walk the ground where the men fought and died. After lunch we will visit the famous Caves of Naours where soldiers on leave left their autographs on the walls of these man-made caves.

 This morning we visit the battles of the German Spring Offensive when the Australian divisions were   rushed down from Belgium in March 1918 to help stem the German breakthrough at Morlancourt, Dernancourt, and Villers-Bretonneux. We walk the battlefield through Dernancourt, Mericourt-Abbe and finishing at Heilly Station Cemetery. 

Lunch at Auberge Fouilloy.

After lunch visit Le Hamel and the Australian Corps Memorial, the scene of General Monash's famous battle on 4 July 1918.

  We leave France today and  relocate to Belgium. On the way we will stop at Pozieres and learn about the   Australian involvement in the bloody Battle of the Somme in 1916. 

Light lunch in Ypres and check-in to our accommodation. 

Collect our bikes from Biking Box and take a short ride out of Ypres to discover Hill 60 where the Australian Tunnelling Company under command of former Mount Morgan Mine engineer, Oliver   Woodward, were responsible for the massive underground explosion as part on   the June 1917 Battle of Messines.

 Today we ride south to discover the battlefield for the June 1916 Battle of Fromelles. 5,533 young Australian men became casualties here on the night of the 19/20 July 1916. The 5thAustralian Division were mostly raw troops and this was their first major battle. We will look at the ground and discuss why it became Australia’s worst military disaster. 

 Our final day on two wheels and we retrace the steps of the British and Anzacs in the Third Battle of Ypres from September to November 1917. We visit Polygon Wood, Tyne Cot Cemetery and the German Cemetery at Langemark. Lovely riding on quiet country roads and rail trails. We hand our bikes back this afternoon. 

  We travel 100 km east today as well as going back a century in time and walk the Waterloo Battlefield. The famous battle here brought the end to Napoleon and French hegemony in Europe. Our walk starts at the Allied defensive lines and we walk to Hougoumont farm where savage combat took place throughout the day. We continue from there to the French positions and follow their main attack past La Haye Saint and back t our starting position. 

 All good things must end and so our tour ends here. We will transfer you to Lille railway station where you can catch fast trains across Europe or to London.