Erected in 1927 by René Quillivic, in memory to the soldiers who died for France during the wars waged in the 20th century.

In homage to these men, the small defensive fort has been turned into a cenotaph where everyone can congregate in their memory.

A place of remembrance for the victims and past conflicts, this funerary space , handed down from generation to generation, is sure to affect and speak out to all its visitors.

The two crosses: these two neighbouring steles mounted with a cross, today known as the “monks' gallows”, have been adorned with religious insignia since the iron age.

Set in the ruins of the Benedictan abbey, the lighthouse dates from 1835. Standing 58 metres above sea level, the top can be reached by the 163 steps and makes the perfect spot from which to admire the splendid panoramic view from the Crozon peninsular to Ouessant. Don’t think twice about mounting the stairway, the unspoilt view of the islands is more than worth the small effort.

The Abbey

Listed as a Historic Monument in 1867, the Abbey, which dates from the 6th century and is now in ruins, continues to attract admiration still today. Every year on the first of August, the Abbey hosts amidst its ruins the Pardon of St Matthew celebration, a traditional religious ceremony that has survived the decades.

The Maurist convent and cellar. The museum of the Abbey of St Matthew: This museum, set up in the centre of the Abbey grounds, presents the site, the monastic life of its former inhabitants and the Abbey through history.

A 17-minute video explains to visitors why this site is so unique.

The chapel: Once the church of St Matthew's parish, today it contains ancient statues and engravings that evoke the past of the saints venerated on this site.

Museum

Tel: +33 (0)2 98 89 10 52

“The Friends of St Matthew” association

Tel: +33 (0)2 98 48 35 73

Tourist Information Office

Tel: +33 (0)2 98 48 30 18

Lighthouse visits

Opening times

From 7 April to 30 April: Every day except Tuesday (closed) from 2.00 to 6.30 pm

May and June: Saturday, Sunday and public holidays (also open 7 and 18 May) from 2.00 to 6.30 pm

July and August: daily from 10 am to 7.30 pm

From 1 to 16 September: every day except Tuesday (closed) from 10.00 am to 12.30 pm and 2.00 and 6.30 pm

From 17 to 30 September: Every day except Tuesday (closed) from 2.00 to 6.30 pm

From 27 October to 7 November (also open 8 to 11 November): every day except Tuesday (closed) from 2.00 to 5.30 pm

From 22 December to 6 January: every day except Tuesday (closed) from 2.00 to 5.30 pm (also closed 25 December and 1 January).

Ticket with abbey museum €3 for over 10s, €1 4 to 9 years, free for under 4s

In summer: St Mathieu and Trézien (Plouarzel) lighthouse visitor pass €4 for over 10s, €2 for 4-9 years

Site officiel de la commune de Plougonvelin

The House of the Last Cartridge "Thanks principally to the actions of Captain Aubert, the house was quickly readied as a last line of defence; taking a rifle, this brave officer positioned himself by one of the windows, and thanks to his wonderful example, his men kept their heads and followed his lead.

However, despite suffering heavy losses, the enemy continued to advance. Seeing that our house was about to be surrounded and being unable to walk, I tried to persuade the officers who were with me to leave me with a few men and to withdraw the majority of the division. Not a single one agreed and they all declared that they would remain with me to defend to the end... After two hours we were completely surrounded by the 15th Bavarian Regiment.

Our house was soon in a most piteous state; gaping holes in the doors and windows; our roof was half taken off by a shell that wounded four or five men. Despite this, the fight continued relentlessly. It only ended when our ammunition ran out." Commandant LAMBERT, Rapport sur la bataille de Bazeilles ("Report on the Battle of Bazeilles"), in HABENECK Charles, Martyr Regiments, Paris, Pagnerre, 1871.

The museum at the House of the Last Cartridge is one of the most striking sites commemorating the war of 1870; it recalls the two days of fighting between the two brigades of General de Vassoigne's Blue Division of Marines and the Bavarian soldiers commanded by General Von der Tann. The battle got properly underway around noon on 31st August when General Martin de Pallières's second brigade received the order to retake the strategically important village of Bazeilles, which had just fallen into enemy hands. After a day of fierce fighting and thanks to the reinforcements from General Reboul's 1st Brigade, which arrived around 4pm, the village was completely retaken by nightfall. But at dawn on 1st September, General Von Der Tann's soldiers attacked Bazeilles once again. Despite many assaults that enabled the enemy to be driven back several times, at the end of the morning the Marine Division - overwhelmed by the Bavarian numerical advantage and firepower - was forced to retreat towards Sedan. It was at this time that the episode known as the House of the Last Cartridge took place.

In a burnt out village, destroyed by artillery fire from the day before, around thirty officers, NCOs and men from the Marine infantry took cover, alongside Commandant Lambert, in the modest two-storey inn belonging to the Bourgerie family - the last house in the village of Bazeilles on the road to Sedan. Here, for almost four hours, they put up fierce resistance to the Bavarian troops. At last surrounded and out of ammunition, in mid-afternoon Captain Aubert fired the last cartridge from the window of the master bedroom on the first floor. A white handkerchief tied to a rifle then announced the marsouins' surrender with Commandant Lambert, wounded in the foot, the first to leave the house. Throughout the hours of the battle, the Marine Division lost 2,700 men including around a hundred officers.
The Bavarian soldiers lost more than twice that number; the day after the fighting they began a series of horrifying reprisals against the population of Bazeilles, some of whom had taken the side of the Marine Troops; the village was set on fire, with some inhabitants shot, burned alive or arrested and deported. Civilian victims from the village numbered more than forty. For this heroic resistance, Bazeilles was awarded the Légion d'honneur in 1900, an emblem still found today on the town's crest, alongside the anchor of the marine troops and a house in flames. Following the defeat, the town also became an important site of remembrance and pilgrimage. Thus, on 19th March 1875, the Courrier des Ardennes published an article in which a museum in Bazeilles was announced: "Mr Bourgerie and his son, along with others, have collected a considerable number of objects, which together form an extremely interesting museum. Objects were exhibited in one of the ground floor rooms of the house. In May of the same year, General de Vassoigne visited the ruins of the House of the Last Cartridge and an initial monument was erected there in November opposite the church. But the first major ceremony took place on 31st August 1895, 25 years after the events, attended by the former Commandant Lambert, who by then was a General.

But it wasn't until 1899 that Arthur MEYER, director of Le Gaulois newspaper, launched a public appeal to finance the purchase of the house in order to "convert it into a modest museum dedicated to the memory of the heroes who died there". On 1st August 1909, the paper finally handed it over to the French heritage organisation Le Souvenir Français. Nevertheless, it was not until 3rd September 1950 that the first national commemoration of the fighting of 1870 was held. That same year, with the agreement of le Souvenir Français, the upkeep, administration and management of the Bazeilles museum was placed in the hands of National Committee for the traditions of the Marines, which also owns museum collections. To this task was added the management of the ossuary, built between 1876 and 1878 a hundred or so metres from the museum that contains the remains of 3,000 German and French soldiers

The House of the Last Cartridge, which receives 2,000 visitors a year on average, is currently closed, following the decision of the National Committee for the traditions of the Marines to restore it. Part of the work will be to upgrade the facilities and make them safe. The museum-related work carried out by specialists Mostra Conseil, will enable the house to retain its authentic feel and moving character whilst making it more attractive through the use of new technology. On the ground floor, visitors will find a reception area and the first museum exhibition room, called the Lambert room, dedicated to the 1870 war and the role of the Marines in this conflict. On the first floor, the Delay Room presents the Battle of Sedan. But the museum's most significant exhibits will be found in the Aubert and Lambert Rooms. The former will recount the fighting over Bazeilles whilst the latter, including the bedroom from where the final action was fought, will honour the memory of The Last Cartridge. In this room visitors will find Alphonse de Neuville's famous work painted in 1873, entitled "The Last Cartridge". Eventually, the Marines' Museum will form part of the "Remembrance Centre" that the Sedan regional authorities hope to establish in Sedan itself, and which will enable the main remembrance sites of the area to form a network.
The issue of accepting disabled people was studied and partly resolved by the construction of a specially adapted toilet block. However, those in wheelchairs are unable to visit the first floor. To allow them to do so would have involved demolishing the house and rebuilding it around a specially adapted staircase. Eventually, the Marines' Museum will form part of the "Remembrance Centre" that the Sedan regional authorities hope to establish in Sedan itself, and which will enable the main remembrance sites of the area to form a network.
 

Nota (1) - This division, composed of the four infantry regiments (1, 2, 3 and 4) and the 1st Marine artillery regiment, had originally been assembled with a view to carrying out a deception manoeuvre in the Baltic sea. The disasters suffered in the Alsace and in Lorraine during the initial battles forced the French high command to regroup its available forces at the camp at Chalons sur Marne in order to lend a hand to its Eastern army (Bazaine) trapped in Metz. Christened the "Blue Division" because of the colour of their uniforms, it was part of the 12th Army Corps (General Lebrun), making up its 3rd division (the two others, having been hastily cobbled together from staff picked up in warehouses and enlisted or conscripted young people, did not constitute solid units). It comprised of soldiers, the majority of whom were enlisted and experienced and had undergone severe training in distant campaigns and were already hardened. Its officers had earned their stripes under fire and the upper ranks had acquired sound fighting experience. The civilian population was well aware of this, giving them a warm welcome wherever they went.
 

La Maison de la dernière Cartouche

12 rue Dernière Cartouche - 08140 Bazeilles

Tel: 03 24 27 15 86

http://musees-de-france-champagne-ardenne.culture.fr/musee_bazeilles.html

A tableau of a heroic episode during the 1870 war depicting the Marine division known as the "Blue Division" Now completely renovated, the museum tells the story of the battles from the 31st August until the 1st September 1870, with pictures, armour and uniforms of the time.

The museum is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Closed annually from the 20th December until the 15th January.

Museum tours from the 15th June to the 30th September from 10 am to 12 pm and from 1.30 pm until 6 pm

From the 1st October until the 14th June 10 am to 12 pm and from 1.30 pm until 5 pm

Fort Penthièvre is located at the base of the Quiberon peninsula. It was once called the Palice headland and was responsible for controlling access to the peninsula. Most importantly, it overlooks the 15 km or so of the Penthièvre beach, which is suitable for landing. Several forces had indeed landed there over the centuries: the Dutch in 1674 and the English in 1746. It was the pillaging of the peninsula by the latter which raised awareness of the vulnerability of its defences. In 1747 the construction of a fort was approved. This was to take the form of an enormous bastion built on a rocky promontory, blocking the only access to the peninsula. At this point, the lagoon bar was only a few dozen metres wide. During the Revolution, Fort Penthièvre would become a battleground of violent confrontations: 6,500 royalists, landed from the English fleet, seized it in an attack on 27 June 1795. It was recaptured by General Hoche's troops on 20 July. Left more or less abandoned, Fort Penthièvre was modernised and reinforced from 1800 onwards, under the impetus of the engineer General Marescot and on the orders of Bonaparte. In 1917 the fort was used as a prison for German soldiers. They carried out resurfacing work on the road. In 1933, it was entrusted to the navy and then fell into disuse. During the Second World War, it was occupied by the Germans and incorporated into the Atlantic wall. It housed various blockhouses, but was mainly used by the infantry. In July 1944, some resistance fighters were tortured and buried alive there. A pillar mounted on a Cross of Lorraine stands there in memory of them. Nowadays, Fort Penthièvre is a training base for the land army.

This historic monument, property of the Ministry of Defence, was included in a Culture and Defence protocol signed on 17 September 2005. Click here to see the list of other buildings ...

Located just six miles northwest of Lens, this cemetery was started in August 1915 during the Battle of Loos-en-Gohelle, when the chateau was used as a medical clinic. This site contains the bodies of over 2,000 fallen soldiers, 200 of which were never identified; special memorials were erected to six soldiers from the United Kingdom, known to be buried among them. Seven French soldiers are also buried here.

At the entrance to the cemetery, the chapel of Notre Dame de Lourdes built before the war by the Bréhon family has been reconstructed in its original spot.

MINDEF/SGA/DMPA Northern territory

In April and May 1917, some 10, 000 Australian soldiers were killed during the battles of Bullecourt. And from May 1917 to March 1918, the battles raged and the village changed sides almost 20 times.

Today, in the memorial park, the memory is sustained by the statue of the Digger, made by Australian sculptor Peter Corlett, the son of a fighter in the 'Great War’. The Digger is an Australian soldier who symbolises through his uniform and badges the four Australian infantry divisions engaged in the field: the 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th.

In Dury Mill, 16 kilometres southeast of Arras, Dury Memorial preserves in stone the memory of the violent operations that culminated in the breaking through of the Drocourt-Quéant Line.

Erected in the centre of a park planted with majestic maple trees, a familiar block of granite bears on one side an inscription in French: The Canadian corps 10,000 strong attacked at Arras on August 26th 1918 stormed successive German lines and here on Sept. 2^nd broke and turned the main German position on the Western Front and reached the Canal du Nord.

The attack that enabled troops to cross the Canal du Nord is today commemorated by the Bourlon Wood Memorial, erected on land donated by the Count of Franqueville, then Mayor of Bourlon.

This large stone block, standing on the top of a hill and which can be reached by stone steps bordered by terraces, bears the following inscription: The Canadian corps on 27th Sep. 1918 forced the Canal du Nord and captured the hill. They took Cambrai, Denain, Valenciennes & Mons then marched to the Rhine with the victorious allies.

Hundred-year-old lime trees form an arch over the steps. These are the same trees that stood here at the time and were torn apart by shells, yet which have become tougher over time. The terraces have been planted with a wide selection of conifers and plants that enjoy shade. The memorial is located past the village of Bourlon, just south of the Arras-Cambrai road, three kilometres from Marquion.

Most of the Portuguese servicemen have been laid to rest in the Richebourg military cemetery (Pas de Calais). The land was purchased in August 1924 and the Portuguese War Graves Commission undertook the task of finding and regrouping the bodies in conjunction with the French government (department of ex-servicemen and the 1st military region).

Between 1924 and 1938, the Richebourg cemetery received 1,831 bodies from various cemeteries in France (Le Touret, Ambleteuse, Brest etc.), Belgium (Tournai) and Germany for prisoners of war. It was extended in 1939, bringing its surface area to four thousand three hundred square metres. This cemetery contains 500 steles, each bearing the Portuguese coat of arms. Once through the wrought iron gate with its heart motifs, follow the alley of pine trees leading to the Memorial and the remembrance museum. The vegetation here is Mediterranean. Opposite is the Notre Dame de Fatima Chapel, built in 1976 in memory of the Portuguese soldiers who bore the brunt of the German offensive of April 1918. At La Couture, where they had valiantly withstood the German advance, the France-Portugal association had a monument built to the soldiers of the Portuguese expeditionary corps. The famous Christ of the Trenches, a cross damaged by shellfire and retrieved by Portuguese soldiers, was rebuilt at Neuve-Chapelle after the war. At La Couture, the monument, in stone bronze, is the work of sculptor A. Teixeira Lopez and was erected by Portuguese workmen. On one of the walls of the gothic church ruined by the war, an allegorical figure representing the Homeland brandishes the sword of Nun'Alvares, the supreme commander whose victory in 1385 over the Spanish at Aljubarrota marked Portugal's independence. It is shown coming to the aid of a Portuguese foot soldier trying to strike down Death with the butt of a rifle.
The Memorial of le Touret resembles a cloister with vaulted corridors in Portland stone. The square courtyard enclosed by three full walls and a colonnade forming a long gallery. The names of the 13,479 soldiers who died before 25 September 1915 are engraved on walls of the courtyard and the colonnade. There are small pavilions at each end of the gallery in the western corners of the courtyard. Today, in the cemetery itself, 900 dead are commemorated.
The hamlet of Saint Vaast is situated between the village of Richebourg and Goix-Barbee. A clinic was started in May 1915 during the Battle of Festubert and then used in the years that followed. A railway nicknamed "Tramway of the Trenches" transported men and ammunition. The cemetery currently contains about 800 British, Indian and German bodies, few of which have been identified.
At the beginning of March 1915, through their daring exploits, the allied air forces paralysed all German telephone communications in Menin (Belgium). In revenge, the enemy shelled Neuve-Chapelle, leaving it in ruins. For the Allies it was vital to take back Neuve-Chapelle. On 10 March 1915, British troops attacked the sector.
They were helped in their task by Indian troops. Sixteen thousand Indian soldiers, of whom 5,000 were never to be found, fought side by side. Three successive attacks came up against the fiercest resistance. A fourth resulted in the taking of 2,500 metres of trenches, before Neuve-Chapelle was taken back. Indians, English, Portuguese and French symbolised the friendship that united the soldiers. These men fulfilled their duty before they died. After them and in memory of their death, there remains this Memorial built to the glory of the 10,000 dead. The construction of this Memorial was ordered by the President of the Republic on 11 August 1926. (official gazette). The land on which it was built was purchased in perpetuity by the Imperial War Graves Commission. It is dedicated to the memory of those killed from the Hindu units and in particular to those "missing in action". It is built on land belonging to the commune of RICHEBOURG. In 1915 the place was known as"PORT-ARTHUR" The Memorial, whose architect was Sir HERBERT-BAKER, well known in India as one of the creators of the Delhi modern, is circular in shape and on its façade is a column (reminiscent of the pillars of ASOKA) about 16 meters high surmounted by an imperial lotus, the imperial crown and the "Star of India". It is flanked by two tigers. This column and the tigers are supported by a "podium", on which is engraved India 1914-1918. From the base of the "pedestal", a wall with cross-hatched ornamental apertures extends in a semi-circle and at each end of the semi-circle, there are two small "Chattri" domes, towards the East and the West. On the opposite semi-circle, which is solid, the names are engraved. In the middle of a lawn is the remembrance stone. The names on the Memorial are classed by units; within each unit by rank and within each rank in alphabetic order. There are 4,847 of them. They represent all English and Indian social classes. They share the same spirit expressed on the monument: IN HONOUR OF THE ARMY OF INDIA WHO FOUGHT IN France AND IN Belgium, 1914-1918, AND TO PERPETUATE THE MEMORY OF THEIR DEAD IN UNKNOWN GRAVES WHOSE NAMES ARE ENGRAVED HERE. In 1964, it was decided to add a special bronze panel to this monument on which are the names of 206 soldiers whose graves were in ZEHRENSDORF (East Germany) and could no longer be maintained. Work was completed in June 1966. IN MEMORY OF THOSE MEN WHO DIED IN CAPTIVITY AND WERE BURIED IN ZEHRENSDORF NEAR BERLIN.

The Canadian Memorial of Vimy, stands as an impressive tribute that Canada paid to all those who served their country in fighting or gave their lives during the First World war. It majestically overhangs the Douai plain and the mining area at the foot of the Artois hills. It indicates the location of the operation of which the Canadians are proudest, during the Second World war. It represents a homage to all those who fought during four years for their country and in particular to all those who paid with their lives.

On the pedestal of the Monument the following words are engraved:

TO THE VALOUR OF THEIR COUNTRYMEN IN THE GREAT WAR AND IN MEMORY OF THEIR SIXTY THOUSAND DEAD, THIS MONUMENT IS RAISED BY THE PEOPLE OF CANADA.

Inscribed on the ramparts of the Memorial are the names, of a thousand two hundred and twenty five Canadian soldiers who were posted "missing and presumed dead" in France. The soil of the park of this battlefield, measures a surface of 91,18 hectares (two hundred and fifty acres) and "is a gift of the French nation to the Canadian people ", as a plaque indicates at the entrance of the Monument. The Memorial rests on a bed of eleven thousand tons of concrete and masonry. For the pylons and the sculptures five thousand five hundred tons of limestone have been used and brought to the site from Yugoslavia. The construction of this gigantic work started in 1925. The Canadian National Memorial of Vimy was unveiled eleven years later by King Eduard VIII on July 26th 1936.

The park surrounding the Vimy Memorial is the work of horticultural experts. It is adorned with many Canadian trees and shrubs, in order to remember the forests and woods of the country. The memorial is surrounded by a green hillside that leads to a vast wood. At the sight of the perfectly restored trenches and tunnels, the visitor can imagine the enormous task the Canadian army corps had to achieve during this historical morning, many years ago.

November 9th 1997, representatives of the Canadian government proceed with the inauguration of the Interpretation Centre of the Canadian Memorial in Vimy. This Monument became one of the only national sites of Canada situated in a foreign country. The Centre is a complement to the guided tour of the tunnels and the trenches. The visitors can better understand the sense and importance of this Memorial. Furthermore they can better place the history of the Vimy Battle in the context of the Canadian participation at the First World war. The war, day after day, Vimy, a well planed battle; Vimy : the captured crest; and Canada remembers the war.

Thanks to photographic reproductions and banners (brown and ochre colors), artifacts, maps, graphic representations, an audiovisual multimedia presentation, explanatory texts, the exhibition allows the visitors to live the atmosphere which reigned in that period. The Interpretation Centre of the Canadian Memorial in Vimy is situated 200 meters from the Canadian Memorial in Vimy, near the main parking area. The Canadian Memorial in Vimy is located approximately 10 Km from Arras. Very close to Thélus, the Canadian cemetery and the monument honouring the Canadian artillery is situated in Zivy Crater. Here, a mine explosion dug a crater in the ground.

Monument and Memorial Park of Canada at Vimy

62580 Vimy

Tel : 03 21 50 68 68

Fax : 03 21 58 58 34

E-mail : Vimy.Memorial@vac-acc.gc.ca

Open every day except 25 December and 1 January From May 1 to October 31 :

10H à 18H November 1 to April 30 : 9H à 17H 

Par sa masse écrasante, par le caractère souterrain de ses installations, par la souffrance des travailleurs forcés qui l’ont édifié, le site constitue un lieu symbolique de la folie nazie.

Il s’agit de l’une des « constructions spéciales » édifiées par l’armée allemande, en 1943-1944, pour permettre la mise en opération de nouveaux systèmes d’armes V destinés à frapper l’Angleterre.

Cet immense bunker, construit par l’organisation Todt en 1943-1944, était destiné à stocker, préparer et lancer vers le centre-ville de Londres l’arme secrète de Hitler : la fusée V2.

Ce furent les bombardements, puis la percée des troupes anglo-américaines en Normandie, à la fin juillet 1944, qui incita les Allemands à abandonner le chantier de La Coupole, à quelques semaines de son achèvement. Ainsi, aucune fusée V2 n’a pu décoller d’un site conçu comme la première base de missiles stratégiques de l’Histoire.

Réhabilité en 1997, le Centre d’Histoire présente deux circuits de visite : « Les Armes secrètes d’Hitler : V1 et V2 » et « Le Nord de la France dans la main allemande » sur les grandes périodes de l’Occupation : l’invasion, l’exode, la vie quotidienne, la Résistance, la collaboration et la Libération.

Vous découvrez également que derrière cette arme, il y a le parcours d’un jeune ingénieur allemand, Wernher von Braun, inventeur de la fusée V2, récupéré par les Américains au lendemain de la guerre et qui mettra au point, l’immense fusée Saturn V qui enverra l’Homme sur la Lune….

La conquête spatiale débute donc bien ici sur les traces des premiers pas de l’Homme sur la Lune et elle se poursuit au Planétarium où vous serez plongés dans l’univers en totale immersion grâce à une technologie 10K-3D unique au monde !

Munis de lunettes actives dernière génération vous serez plongés parmi les étoiles grâce à l’écran à 360° de 15 mètres de diamètre.

In the forest of Saint-Michel-en-Thiérache, near Hirson, there is a line of blockhouses built starting in 1936 and which were not part of the Maginot Line. Along the Belgian border, they form the connection between the fortifications of Maubeuge and those of the Ardennes. At first, only block shelters were built.

In 1940, although not yet completed, they provided support for two lines of combat positions: the front line – Ligne Principale de Résistance (LPR – Main Line of Resistance), and the rear line – Ligne d'Arrêt (LA – Stop Line), where the reserves in charge of the counterattack were located.

An anti-tank ditch and a network of anti-personnel barbed wire rounded out this double line.
The LPR and the LA contained imposing blockhouses equipped with cannons and machine guns.

On 18 May 1940, the Germans slipped between these two lines and took control of these positions.

A marked forest path is being set up. Furthermore, there is currently a project for a monument commemorating the fighting. Once the project is completed, some sites will accessible by car and hikers will be able to enjoy marked trails with explanatory signs for understanding the sites.