Battle of the Somme

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Today I moved from looking at WWII sites to looking at WWI sites. The Somme River and the battles that took place here, especially in 1916, have come to epitomize the futility of WWI trench warfare. My first stop was the excellent Historial de la Grande Guerre, a museum in Péronne, France that clearly and concisely lays out the history of WWI. It does not indulge in patriotic boosterism, but instead presents a balanced view of the war from all sides (see picture). As I drove cross country from there, I couldn't help thinking that today's peaceful Somme River and the gently rolling fields are a far cry from the way they looked 100 years ago (see pictures). By contrast, I next visited the Canadian National Vimy Memorial where the ground has been left as it was at the close of hostilities, ie cratered from explosions (see picture). Although it is now covered in grass and trees, I hope the picture conveys the fact that there are craters everywhere - and the ground is still unsafe to walk on. There is also a small section of reconstructed trenches that was interesting to see (see picture). About this time I was thinking that I should do something besides look at battlefields on this trip, so I headed to Lille, France. I arrived in time to spend an hour in the fine art museum here. The Palais Des Beaux Arts looks like a fine arts museum should (see picture). Tomorrow I have another art museum in mind and some other non-military activities before I get back to seeing battle sites.

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