Perhaps they had heavier thoughts on their minds. French 15cm shells.
-
pseudo-expert -
German 77mm shells.pseudo-expertComment
-
And so it goes. What a harvest of death they had here.pseudo-expertComment
-
For those wondering I'll just say we didn't dig anything up here. The fresh dirt was caused by the foresters driving a tracked backhoe thru to do some work. I wonder if the driver ever walked back up to see what he drove over?pseudo-expertComment
-
Now onto Fleury. The village was destroyed in the war and never rebuilt as were 14 or so other ones. All that remains is a walking path where the main street once stood.pseudo-expertComment
-
The village and its surrounding countyside was hotly contested. Evidence is everywhere. This heavy minenwerfer round is just off the parking lot to the museum. Remains of trenches and dugouts little the landscape as do shell craters and trenches.pseudo-expertComment
-
Its hard to imagine that men once huddled in these holes seeking salvation from the storm of steel they were under.pseudo-expertComment
-
All that remains of many are the memorials to those who fought, died, disappeared or were maimed for life in this titantic struggle.pseudo-expertComment
-
Just down the slope from Fluery is an old French ammo bunker that the Germans had captured. The French counterattacked and retook it. Chris, one of the guys with me has the award document to a Bavarian soldier who earned the Tapferkeits medal in silver, the second highest award a bavarian could get and argueably the highest a lowly enlisted man could dream of receiving for actions here which I will briefly describe to illustrate how much more significant a tour can be when you know some of the actors.pseudo-expertComment
-
The Germans were using this ammo bunker as a shelter from fire and a staging area for operations when the French attacked from the uphill sides of the ravine catching the Germans by surprise. The Germans scrabbled for cover into the magazine, Chris' man slamming the grated door in the very faces of the French soldiers. They then fled down this hallway as the French stuck the nozzle of a flamethrower between the grating of the door and gave them a burst. More than one man was singed to say the least.pseudo-expertComment
-
This magazine is horseshoe shaped and they fled down and arround the bend to escape the flames and bullets. Making their way to the other entrance/exit they found it blocked by the French as well and sent a couple of men out to surrender before they ended up toasted. The French thought they were sallying forth and shot several of them before they understood and accepted the surrender. Knowing this is one of the events that played out here makes it a much more special place than it might otherwise appear.pseudo-expertComment
-
And now a quick look at the museum of Fleury. It was broken into some months ago and many valuable artifacts stolen. Luckily the thieves in France are just as dumb as the ones here and they started listing things on ebay and other online auction sites and were caught. Sound familar?
The museum entrance.pseudo-expertComment
-
The displays inside cover all aspects of the fight, from weapons to the soldiers and their personal effects.pseudo-expertComment
-
More.pseudo-expertComment
-
...pseudo-expertComment
Comment