Right then (a Jane saying), we are now definitely in the slow mode. We can't possible get to the Black Forest today, so a gentle journey through gentle countryside and forest seems like a good idea. 'Twas a day of giant orange slugs, fungi and World War I sites. The slugs were truly enormous, probably because they were feeding on the tremendous selection of fungi.
We managed to get as far as Mandres-aux-Quatre-Tours, SE of Verdun. Many more First World War cemeteries, British, French, American and German. I am embarrassed to confess that I had forgotten that the Americans were involved in the First World War, but this was the area that they fought in. They obviously were still wealthy after the war and built absolutely huge monuments to their fallen or, more likely, to the glory of their victory. They were not built by the cemeteries, but in different places, at strategic places that they gained, on hills or ridges with fantastic views. The monument are truly monumental, beautifully constructed in stone and totally dominating the local countryside. In contrast, we came across the 'Abris du Kronprinz' (underground bunkers) and trenches where countless lives were lost over a four-year period, for gains of only a few metres. Later in the day, we came across a monument to Alain Fornier (French author) and his 21 one comrades who were killed in the First World War. Their graves were only discovered in 1991 in the middle of a forest after a long and complex investigation. Mystery surrounds their deaths – they appear to have been executed by the Germans, with many bullet wounds and, in all cases, a final bullet to the head. They were all buried in a single grave.
Mandres-aux-Quatre-Tours was another municipal site and, again, very reasonable at €9.05.
We managed to get as far as Mandres-aux-Quatre-Tours, SE of Verdun. Many more First World War cemeteries, British, French, American and German. I am embarrassed to confess that I had forgotten that the Americans were involved in the First World War, but this was the area that they fought in. They obviously were still wealthy after the war and built absolutely huge monuments to their fallen or, more likely, to the glory of their victory. They were not built by the cemeteries, but in different places, at strategic places that they gained, on hills or ridges with fantastic views. The monument are truly monumental, beautifully constructed in stone and totally dominating the local countryside. In contrast, we came across the 'Abris du Kronprinz' (underground bunkers) and trenches where countless lives were lost over a four-year period, for gains of only a few metres. Later in the day, we came across a monument to Alain Fornier (French author) and his 21 one comrades who were killed in the First World War. Their graves were only discovered in 1991 in the middle of a forest after a long and complex investigation. Mystery surrounds their deaths – they appear to have been executed by the Germans, with many bullet wounds and, in all cases, a final bullet to the head. They were all buried in a single grave.
Mandres-aux-Quatre-Tours was another municipal site and, again, very reasonable at €9.05.
Photo - The Abris du Kronprinz
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