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Other related pages:
Other related photo galleries:
Photo Gallery:
The United States in WW I
Detail from US Memorial at Sommepy (Champgane)
The "Kronprinz's Shelter" in the Argonne forest
Above: Looking out over the Meuse-Argonne battlefield from Vauquois Craters
Right: The U.S. Memorial at Chateau-Thierry
Detail from US cemetery chapel at Belleau Wood
Day One - St Mihiel sector
Travel from start point: Canterbury / Channel Tunnel - 35 minute Tunnel crossing, then 3 hour 45 drive from Calais
Paris - 3 hr drive
Lille Eurostar station (trains from London in 1 hr 30 mins) - 3 hour 15 minute drive
Arrive St Mihiel (south-east of Verdun) mid-afternoon: tour taking in the American Monument (September 1918 battle), and the network of preserved trenches (in the woods) - barbed wire, concrete and shell holes remain, accessible on short walking trails through the woods. 40 minutes north to our hotel in a village north of Verdun (2 nights).
Day Two - Meuse-Argonne *: Vauquois, Varennes, Sgt York, the ‘Lost Battalion’,
U.S. Cemetery
A tour of the Argonne area (20 miles west of Verdun) taking in Vauquois, site of a hilltop village destroyed by underground mining in 1915-16 (massive overlapping craters remain: spectacular views), Chatel-Chery and the Sgt York monument, the 28th Division Memorial at Varennes, the ‘Lost Battalion’ marker in the woods, and the U.S. Cemetery at Romagne - the largest U.S. military cemetery in Europe.
Day Three - Belleau Wood, Chateau-Thierry, Fere-en-Tardenois [or Hindenburg Line]
I hr 45 minutes west to Belleau Wood (where the Marines made their name) and nearby Chateau Thierry, where U.S. forces stopped the German advance to the Marne in June 1918. After lunch in Chateau-Thierry, the options depend on your finishing point:
(i) Channel Tunnel - 3 hour drive to Calais (back in the UK we will put you on a train to London, arriving there around 8.15 p.m.) plus a 1 hour visit to the Hindenburg Line near St Quentin: US 27th & 32nd Divs. Memorial - tour the site of September 1918 battle, fought alongside British & Australian forces
(ii) Lille Eurostar station - as above, but 30 minutes shorter drive
(iii) Paris - tour U.S. sites in Fere-en-Tardenois area (Quentin Roosevelt crash site & memorial; American Oise-Aisne Cemetery & Memorial) before heading back to Paris - 90 minute drive.
Check out our prices here.
* Meuse-Argonne Day Trip from Paris by train:
If you are staying in Paris, take the high-speed train from Gare de l’Est - we would meet you at the new Lorraine TGV station, which is just over an hour from Paris; this station is only a half hour drive from Verdun. A day trip would give around 7 hours to see the Meuse-Argonne sites (Day Two above).
(& sample private tour itinerary)
Left: Map in US Cemetery showing Infantry Division deployments in the battle of Meuse-Argonne
Sample private tour itinerary: U.S. forces were involved in six months of serious fighting from May to November 1918; by Armistice Day, 11 November 1918, there were two million Americans in France - as many as there were to be in 1944. Their tales of Belleau Wood, Chateau Thierry, St Mihiel, Meuse-Argonne and the Hindenburg Line are inspirational still, after nearly a century. Here is a 3-day (2 nights) tour suggestion to cover many of the most famous locations.
These are private tours for family / friends groups of up to 5 people, offered by Dr Thomson’s Tours – see Introduction and More About Us for details about us and how we operate our tours. Do get in touch to discuss possible dates.
Traveling in a comfortable air-conditioned Citroën C8 or rental vehicle, tours can start either on the continent or in England - with a choice of a night in historic Canterbury (90 minutes by train from London), or of getting the first train of the day down to Ashford International Station to meet your guide.
Staying in comfortable hotels in the region, we will explore the battlefields on foot, by car, and through museums. The history, context, and significance of all we shall see will be clearly explained by your Guide Dr Andrew Thomson.
On all our trips we are of course happy to accomodate specific requirements, and to adjust the schedule depending on weather, circumstances and preferences.