Ypres Salient - Four-Day Tour

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Prior to July 1916, the Somme was a relatively quiet sector of the Western Front. However, in the build up to the 1^st July and the launch of one of the largest battles in history, this area was shelled for a solid seven days with the aim of shifting the Germans from their well dug trenches. At 7.30am the soldiers of the British army went over the top to what they assumed would be certain victory and the beginning of the end of the war. But by the end of the day British and Empire losses had totaled 19,240 dead and 57,470 casualties. It was indeed the bloodiest day for the British Army.

 

On our tour of the Somme you will visit the Historial Museum at Peronne to set the scene for the coming tour. We will then move on to the Devonshire Trench, a place that is forever England and then stand in the Sunken Lane where the 1st Lancashire Fusiliers waited to advance on the morning of the 1st July 1916. Later we shall pay our respects to the missing of the Somme at Thiepval Memorial.

 

 

At Ypres we will take in the haunting Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate and visit the many cemeteries and memorials in the salient. From Tyne Cot, the largest British War Cemetery in the world with 11,908 graves, to Vancouver Corner (scene of the first gas attack) and the magnificent Brooding Soldier Memorial.

 

Stay in the beautiful town of Ypres at a 3 star family run hotel (B&B basis) just minutes from the Grote Markt and a short stroll from the Menin Gate. Dine in the evening at some of the fine restaurants surrounding the market square. Afterwards enjoy the renowned Belgium beer in the local bars. 

 

This tour includes tour day lunches, executive coach/minibus travel, museum entrance fees and the services of a top class guide and tour manager.

 

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The Battle of the Somme is famous for the casualties taken on the first day. However the battle raged for a further 141 days and saw these casualties increase to a staggering 420,000. The Somme also had far reaching effects on other areas of the Western Front namely Fromelles. This diversionary attack by a British and Australian Divisions incurred over 6,200 casualties and was described by the Australians as the 'worst 24 hours in their entire history'.

 

This tour starts with a visit to Fromelles and then moves on to the city of Arras where we are based in a 3 star hotel.

 

Day two of our tour starts with a trip to the northern sector of the Somme at Gommecourt where the 56th and 46th Divisions of the Third Army were to launch a diversionary attack in order to draw the Germans away from the main attack in the southern sector. We will then move on to Serre which witnessed the death of the Pals battalions notably the Sheffield and Accrington Pals before taking lunch at the Ulster Tower. The afternoon then sees us enter the southern section and visit the Thiepval Memorial and the largest crater blown on the Somme: Lochnagar.

 

Day three takes us to the Historial Museum at Peronne to look at its many exhibits before we move off to take a look at the remainder of the battle from Mametz Wood and the 38th Welsh Division Memorial to Caterpillar Valley and Contalmaison. We also visit Pozieres which was the scene of fierce fighting by the Australians and starting point for the first tank attack.

 

On our final day we will visit Vimy Ridge where the Canadian Corps attacked three German Divisions holding the ridge and successfully captured and held it. Today the impressive Canadian Memorial stands on the ridge as a monument to the Canadians of the CEF who died in the First World War.

 

This tour includes tour day lunches, executive coach/minibus travel, museum entrance fees and the services of a top class guide and tour manager. 

 

Click here for tour price, date and availability >>>

 

Contact for full itinerary itinerary >>>

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prior to July 1916, the Somme was a relatively quiet sector of the Western Front. However, in the build up to the 1^st July and the launch of one of the largest battles in history, this area was shelled for a solid seven days with the aim of shifting the Germans from their well dug trenches. At 7.30am the soldiers of the British army went over the top to what they assumed would be certain victory and the beginning of the end of the war. But by the end of the day British and Empire losses had totaled 19,240 dead and 57,470 casualties. It was indeed the bloodiest day for the British Army.

This short tour travels the battlefield concentrating on the events of this terrible battle that cost the British army over 57,000 men. Our first stop visit is the Historial Museum at Peronne to set the scene for the coming tour. We will then move on to Delville Wood and then the Devonshire Trench, a place that is forever England. Laterwe will stand in the Sunken Lane where the 1st Lancashire Fusiliers waited to advance on the morning of the 1st July 1916. Later we shall pay our respects to the missing of the Somme at Thiepval Memorial.

This tour includes tour day lunches, executive coach/minibus travel, museum entrance fees and the services of a top class guide and tour manager.

 

 

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Mons and Ypres Salient - Four-Day Tour

When the First World War broke out in August 1914 the BEF (British Expeditionary Force) sailed for Europe and gathered its forces at the town of Maubeuge south of Mons.  It was 80,000 strong and consisted of two corps and one cavalry division. It was a small army when compared with the German and French.  However, it had one advantage; it was an army of professional soldiers.

On the morning of the 23^rd of August elements of the German First Army collided with the BEF’s II Corps on the canal in front of Mons.  It was here that the British army would fight its first battle of the war.  This action cost the British and they eventually had to withdraw. But, the expert British rifle fire took its toll on the German columns extracting a loss of over 5,000 men.

After becoming involved in a series of flanking maneuvers the BEF finally come to rest in the town of Ypres. The Ypres sector saw fighting every year of the war which included three major battles (First, Second & Third Ypres). Known as ‘Wipers’ to the British troops, Ypres was more or less destroyed during the four years of war. The Cloth Hall ruins standing as a defiant iconic landmark to the passing troops on their way to the front.

At Mons we will see where the first shots and last shots of the war were fired.  We will also visit the canal where Dease and Godley held off the advancing German army with their Vickers machine gun, an act that won them both the Victoria Cross. We shall also visit St Symphorien Cemetery and pay our respects to the first and last soldiers killed in this terrible conflict.

At Ypres we will take in the haunting Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate and visit the many cemeteries and memorials in the salient. From Tyne Cot, the largest British War Cemetery in the world with 11,908 graves, to Vancouver Corner (scene of the first gas attack) and the magnificent Brooding Soldier Memorial.

Stay in the beautiful town of Ypres at a 3 star family run hotel (B&B basis) just minutes from the Grote Markt and a short stroll from the Menin Gate. Dine in the evening at some of the fine restaurants surrounding the market square. Afterwards enjoy the renowned Belgium beer in the local bars.

This tour includes tour day lunches, executive coach/minibus travel, museum entrance fees and the services of a top class guide and tour manager.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loos and Ypres Salient - Four-Day Tour

The Battle of Loos opened on 25 September, with the British breaking through weak German defences and capturing the town of Loos. However, the inevitable supply and communications problems, combined with the late arrival of reserves, meant that this breakthrough could not be exploited. A further complication, was the failure of their artillery to cut the German wire in many places in advance of the attack. Advancing over open fields within range of German machine guns and artillery, British losses were devastating. When the battle resumed the following day, the Germans were prepared and repulsed attempts to continue the advance. The fighting subsided on 28 September, with the British having retreated to their starting positions and suffering 20,000 casualties, including three divisional commanders.

While touring the battlefield we will visit Dud Corner and the Loos Memorial, its name being derived from the large number of unexploded bombs found in the neighbourhood.  There are excellent views of the battlefield including the Double Crassier, the two slag heaps that dominate the view of the surrounding area and from where brigades of the 47th Division attacked.  We shall also visit the Hohenzollern Redoubt, one of the Germans formidable defensive positions.

At Ypres we will take in the haunting Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate and visit the many cemeteries and memorials in the salient. From Tyne Cot, the largest British War Cemetery in the world with 11,908 graves, to Vancouver Corner (scene of the first gas attack) and the magnificent Brooding Soldier Memorial.

Stay in the beautiful town of Ypres at a 3 star family run hotel (B&B basis) just minutes from the Grote Markt and a short stroll from the Menin Gate. Dine in the evening at some of the fine restaurants surrounding the market square. Afterwards enjoy the renowned Belgium beer in the local bars.

This tour includes tour day lunches, executive coach/minibus travel, museum entrance fees and the services of a top class guide and tour manager.

 

 

 

 

Be part of the Armistice Day Ceremonies on the 11th November. There is a special commemoration held at the Menin Gate which is relayed to the main square via video link. Join in the Poppy Parade from the main square and attend the ‘Great War Remembered’ concert at Saint Martin’s Cathedral. We complete this day of remembrance by attending the special Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate at 8.00 pm in evening.

 

On day three we will conduct a Behind the Lines tour visiting the many Battlefields and memorials of the Ypres Salient starting with Tyne Cot Cemetery, Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery as well as Essex Farm where John McCrae wrote 'In Flanders Fields'. We also spend time in Popperinghe visiting Talbot House and the Death Cells where many met an unjust end.

 

This tour includes tour day lunches, executive coach/minibus travel, museum entrance fees and the services of a top class guide and tour manager. 

 

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Visit the infamous beaches of Sword, Gold, Juno, Utah and ‘Bloody’ Omaha as well as the sites of some of the most dramatic events from both the British and American sectors including: Pegasus Bridge, Merville Gun Battery, Pointe du Hoc and Ste Mere Eglise. Also Brécourt where ‘Easy Company’ silenced four guns on the morning of the 6^th June.

 

Rifleman Tours comprehensively covers this stretch of coastline bringing the events of that longest day  of the 6th June 1944 alive.

 

Our exclusive tours cater for small groups thus creating an informal relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

 

 

 

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On 14 May 1940 the Germans burst through the Ardennes, advanced west and then turned towards the English Channel effectively flanking the Allied forces. A series of counter attacks were initiated, notably the Battle of Arras, but all failed to stop the German spearhead which reached the coast on the 20 May and separated the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) from the French and Belgium Armies. Once at the coast the Germans swung north threatening the ports and trapping the British and French Armies.

 

On the 25 of May the War Office gave the order to evacuate British Forces from Dunkirk; codename ‘Operation Dynamo’. In nine days from 27 May – 4 June, 338,226 British and Allied troops escaped in what became known as “The Miracle of Dunkirk”.

 

Be a part of this special battlefield tour which retraces the steps of the BEF as they retreat to Dunkirk after the Battle of Arras. Touring days will see us wind our way back to the coast taking in the sites of the various defensive actions that took place, as well as the scene of the massacre of 97 British soldiers at Le Paradis.

We will be staying at the 3 star family run Albion Hotel on a B&B basis in the centre of this picturesque city of Ypres. The hotel is situated just minutes from the Menin Gate where of an evening you can witness the haunting Last Post Ceremony and then dine at the excellent restaurants surrounding the famous market square.

 

 

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