Despite the weather forecast predicting (guessing) a warmer day, it was bitterly cold when we left Nueve Chapelle for the relatively short walk to Armentieres, our final stop in France before crossing the border into Belgium. We were spurred on in the knowledge that our new friends, Richard and Marc, who we have been in touch with via the blog, were rapidly catching us on their bikes.
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Checking our Linesman trench map we followed the German front-line from Aubers to the Australian Memorial, 2km north west of Fromelles. Here, in mid-July 1916 the British and German lines were separated by just 200m of no man’s land, as marked by signs at the side of the road. The Fromelles Australian Memorial Park marks the site of the worst day on The Western Front for the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). Less than 100km south, the Battle of the Somme was in its third week, and although territorial gains were being made German resistance was robust. Therefore, in order to divert German resources from the Somme, First and Second British Armies were directed to prepare diversionary attacks to relieve the pressure on the Fourth Army on the Somme. XI Corps was given the task of attacking the German line at Fromelle, a position known as the Sugarloaf, with the 61st Midland and 5th Australian Divisions. A force in the attack should have a 3:1 advantage over the defender; at Fromelle the German defences were significantly underestimated, and they had 2:1 advantage over the attacking British and Australians. The attack took place on a narrow front with German Flanking forces able to enfilade the attacking force. The result – slaughter, with the Australians suffering over 5000 casualties. The Memorial ‘Cobbers’ movingly commemorates the sacrifice made by the 5th Division AIF, but in particular Sergeant Simon Fraser, who returned repeatedly to no-mans land after the attack to recover the wounded. Many of those killed are buried 100m from the memorial in VC Corner cemetery.
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Walking on, after a short time we happened upon the Letrou Aid Post Cemetery. Approached over a small bridge bordered by lavender and surrounded by a shallow moat with weeping willows marking the perimeter, this quiet corner of France felt quintessentially British. Letrou was originally a casualty clearing station in 1914, with the cemetery established at that time. After the Armistice, bodies were moved here from the smaller battlefield burial sites, which was designed by Sir Herbert Baker, also responsible for Tynecot (Ypres) and Delville Wood (Somme). It may seem a slightly odd thing to say, but this has been our favourite cemetery to date.
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Conscious that Richard and Marc were hard on our heels, we pressed on to Armentieres, stopping briefly in Fleurbaix for a coffee (shock horror we had finally found a Tabac open on a Monday!). We finally crossed paths on the outskirts of the city, and, delighted to meet others who had also embarked upon The WFW (albeit on two wheels) we happily chatted away as they wheeled their bikes with us to our accommodation. Having planned to meet up for a beer in a few hours’ time, we checked into our final French B&B on the top floor of a large townhouse and enjoyed few celebratory cups of tea, joyful in the knowledge that in the morning we would finally be packing up for the last time.
Handily, cyclists seem to work up a similar level of thirst to walkers, which was also easily satiated by the consumption of a beer or two, on this occasion in Bar “Le Sporting,” the best of an uninspiring bunch, before we moved on to dinner. Thankfully, good company is never reliant upon a decent venue for a cracking night out, and this certainly proved the case with Richard and Marc, who were great dinner companions, and a fun (if rather late!) night was had by all.
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A cracking night indeed. I’m delighted we found the only restaurant open on a Monday night and it was a fun ride home in the dark.