Tag Archives: WW1 Battlefield Tours

Travel Tips: Noyers-Pont-Maugis French and German Cemeteries, the “Race to Sedan” and more History

March 29, 2019 by Randy
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Few American battlefield visitors drive as far north as Sedan, because it is approximately one hour (55km / 35 mi) north of Romagne-sous-Montfaucon.  However, for those with the time, it is worth the drive because Sedan and vicinity is steeped in military history.  On 2 Sept. 1870 Prussian troops captured Emperor Napoleon III and a large number of his troops there during the Franco-Prussian War.  (Thereafter, Imperial Germany celebrated Sedan Day annually as a major holiday.)  In August 1914, the Imperial German troops of the Continue reading →

News & Events–Over There: Space Still Available on 1918-19 Meuse-Argonne Reconstruction / Occupation of Germany Tour

February 27, 2019 by Randy
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Spaces are still available for the 1918-19 Reconstruction / Occupation of Germany Tour that Markus Klauer and Randy Gaulke are offering in late September, 2019.   We have mentioned before that the Moselle River Valley is one of the most beautiful areas of Germany, in our opinion.  Webmaster Randy Gaulke’s family vacationed there in 2016 and he has taken several clients to the region in 2017-18.  This post shows a few photos from the Facebook Page of Weinhaus Fries, one of the hotels that the Continue reading →

People of the Meuse-Argonne: Lee S. Anthony, Ph.D.

February 12, 2019 by Randy
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Even today French locals, other Europeans and Americans find themselves drawn to the Meuse-Argonne region of France.  Once drawn there, many return time and again; often working on a multi-year research or preservation projects.  In this irregular series, the Webmaster hopes to introduce readers to some of these individuals and their labors of love.   Through these interviews the Webmaster has met many wonderful and unique personalities.  He was thoroughly impressed by the 86-year-young Lee S. Anthony; who was touring the Meuse-Argonne independently late September Continue reading →

La Vie en France #39: What Comes Next? Serendipity and the New York Travel Show

January 26, 2019 by Randy
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Regular readers know the “La Vie en France” blog posts talk about the Webmaster’s cultural experiences in France and/or the process that led to his sabbatical to pursue his passion as a freelance tour guide for the AEF battlefields on the Western Front.  This post covers the latter topic.  Specifically, what direction should the Webmaster’s next career take?  His first career was as a financial analyst; but in the world of finance one only gets re-hired at age 55 if one was “the best thing Continue reading →

La Vie en France #38: “Where Words Leave Off, Music Begins”

November 15, 2018 by Randy
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    This quote by German poet Heinrich Heine seems appropriate as my final days in Lorraine, France wind down in 2018 and that melancholy feeling (of leaving France) begins to set in.  During the last two years I have had the great experience of being able to live in France for eight months as freelance tour guide!  I plan to continue offering tours in 2019; but I have to balance my tour plans with the realistic need to find a real job again too.  Continue reading →

Travel Tips: On the Road (Autoroute) Again

November 13, 2018 by Randy
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    Autoroutes are one of the things that work well in France. (See “La Vie en France #28:  What Works in France.”)  However, they are absolutely terrifying to most first-time drivers–largely because of the toll booths.  This post will extol the virtues of the French autoroutes; provide a few basic rules; and explain the toll system.     The Virtues of France’s Autoroute System There are virtually no potholes.  The Webmaster believes that there are several reasons for this:  First, construction starts with a Continue reading →

Travel Tips: Walking in Their Footsteps Should Mean More Than a Cemetery Stop or a Day Trip From Paris

November 13, 2018 by Randy
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Griffin Group Photo AM322.  Cross-Roads at Le Chene Tondu.  The Deutscher Soldatenfriedhof is just to the left of this photo.  Most American tourists know only this part of the plateau; but there is a German Camp (the Borrieswaldlager), a German concrete signal bunker (aka Blinkstelle) and a 100+ year-old tree within a few hundred meters?  Also, one can see the foxholes in which the German two battalions of Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 125 held off the 111th and 112th Infantry Regiments, 28th Division for more than a Continue reading →

News & Events–Over There: The Allied Terms of the Armistice

November 11, 2018 by Randy
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    As the Centennial of the Armistice approaches, it is fitting to spend a little time reviewing and understanding the thirty-five terms of the Armistice.  After millions of deaths and the destruction of hundreds of miles of French and Belgian territory, Marshall Foch and other Allied leaders dictated the terms with no room for German negotiation.  The German representatives received the terms on 8 November and reluctantly signed the terms at 05h00 on 11 November.  The Armistice went into effect at 11h00 on 11 Continue reading →

La Vie en France #37: The Beauty and the Sorrow of the Armistice Centennial

November 9, 2018 by Randy
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As 11 November 2018–the Centennial of the Armistice–approaches, I find myself having very mixed feelings.  One hundred years ago the combined economic and military might of the Allied powers finally put an end to more than fours years of fighting an industrialized war–the likes of which had never been experienced before.  Certainly, for those soldiers that day was a wonderful day–once they got used to the deafening silence.  This “beauty” of the Armistice is reflected in these carefully staged photos of 5th Division soldiers near Continue reading →

La Vie en France #36: Telling the AEF Meuse-Argonne Story

November 9, 2018 by Randy
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    On a recon trip before the Western Front Association USA Branch 2007 tour I penned the following forward:   25 February, 2007 Hotel du Commerce, Aubreville It’s 23h30 and I cannot fall asleep.  The countless sites, roads, experiences of the past two days run through my mind. This area of France has been calling me since my first visits in the early 1990s, yet how do I tell the story of American participation in 1918? I reenact, but I’ve never experienced the terror Continue reading →