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 

Maubeuge, located at the intersection of railway lines that, coming from Brussels and Liège, converge towards Paris – was a major strategic goal for both the French and the Germans.

In accordance with the Schlieffen plan, German troops entered Belgium on 4 August 1914, and Maubeuge was on their way there. On 29 August, the Germans set off a powerful bombardment. After eight days of siege, Maubeuge was still resisting, but the situation turned highly critical from 6 September. On 7 September, General Fournier, the Governor of Maubeuge, had to capitulate. The Germans took 450,000 prisoners and 450 guns and 80,000 shells.

During the war, Maubeuge was controlled by the German military administration in occupied Belgium. It was only released on 9 November 1918 by British troops.

The Assevent National Cemetery, located 5km from Maubeuge, is home to the bodies of soldiers who died for France during the Siege of Maubeuge in August 1914.

Established in 1916 by the German army, the cemetery was redeveloped in 1923 to gather the bodies of other soldiers killed during the battle that were exhumed from temporary cemeteries in the Nord department or from Ypres in Belgium. The cemetery holds 1,819 bodies, including 364 in individual graves and 990 in four ossuaries, which is likely to include a large number of Moroccan infantrymen. There is a German military cemetery on the other side of the railway line. It was built in 1924 and comprises of 998 bodies of soldiers who fell in September 1914 around ​​Meaux (Seine-et-Marne).

The Assevent National Cemetery was established by the Germans during the war and seems to reconcile German, French, Russian and British soldiers in death.

Clearly visible from Place des Centenaires, the ramparts of Maubeuge, which date to Vauban's time, are an ideal site to visit. Only one gateway remains, the Mons, but its drawbridge and pediment have many interesting features. Nearby is the guardroom, which is similar to those on some of Vauban's other ramparts and structures.

Website of the regional tourist board for the Nord

Quizz : Forts and citadels

Nicknamed the Belle Inutile (the useless beautiful), the citadel is a Vauban structure built between 1668 and 1672. Pentagonal in shape, it is flanked on each corner by huge bastions protected by free-standing fortifications, part of which is preserved. The white stone Porte Royale faces the town and emphasises the power of the new sovereign. The buildings necessary for life in the Citadel surround the esplanade. Aligned with the Porte Royale, the arsenal, whose openings are emphasised by the stone décor, has a privileged place in the fort's spatial organisation The chapel, a gem of Baroque architecture, still has a brick façade richly decorated with fluted engaged columns, medallions, flame ornaments, etc.

The Chemin des Douves path takes visitors on a trail around the Citadel, to the Crinchon, a stream that was used to fill the ditches with water. The citadel itself is owned by the French Army. It can be visited as part of a tour organised by the Tourist Information Office in the Town Hall. Despite the modifications over the centuries, the Arras citadel is still testimony to Vauban's art.

There is a memorial in the Faubourg d'Amiens cemetery, not far from the citadel. It commemorates the deaths of 35,000 men – British, New Zealand and South African – who fell between spring 1916 and 7 August 1918 and who do not have their own tomb. The names of the dead are engraved on stone slabs affixed to the walls of the cloister with Doric columns, built by Sir Edwin Luytens. Faubourg d'Amiens cemetery on Boulevard du Général de Gaulle also has 2,652 identified tombs.

Opposite the Memorial, on the wall of the cloister is the "Flying Services Memorial", engraved with the names of the Royal Naval Air Service, the Royal Flying Corps, the Royal Air Force and the Australian Flying Corps.

Part of the Arras Memorial, erected in the Faubourg d'Amiens cemetery, is considered a homage to the first aviators who lost their lives in combat. The Aviators' Memorial is noticeable as soon as you enter the cemetery; it consists of a raised base surmounted with a globe.
The names of all the airmen who fell on the Western front and whose tombs are unknown are engraved on each side. These include the names of 46 Canadians. The Canadians were particularly distinguished in the air war. Twenty-five thousand of them served as pilots, lookouts, and mechanics in the British Forces. Canadian airmen received over eight hundred decorations and citations, including three Victoria Crosses, for their bravery. Out of the "aces" of the RAF, five were Canadian. Pilots like W.A. "Billy" Bishop, W.G. Barker, Raymond Collishaw and A.A. McLeod were famous for their boldness and their feats.

The New Zealand tunnels form a complex system of underground shafts and caves which extend from Arras to Bapaume and Cambrai. In 1916 and 1917, the New Zealand company of tunnellers extended an existing network of old caves with shafts to reach No Man's Land, under the German trenches. The site was rediscovered in 1996.

Website of the regional tourist board for the Nord

Quizz : Forts and citadels

Apart from the architectural masterpieces of the old hospital and the collegiate church, the town of Seclin also boasts a Séré de Rivières Fort that was part of the fortifications designed to protect the City of Lille and the surrounding area. But it could not keep pace with the development of late 19th century artillery and could not withstand the effects of the new projectiles. Occupying a commanding position in the Mélantois area, overlooking the valleys of the Marque and the Deûle, to the West it could rely on support from the Englos Fort above the Deûle and to the East on the fort at Sainghin en Mélantois that overlooked the Marque; but the distance of almost 10km between each of these forts was less than ideal in putting this principal effectively into practice. However, intermediate fortifications were supposed to link these forts and form advance strongpoints outside the Lille area: Enchemont, Vendeville, Noyelle, Houplin, Haubourdin (Moulin Neuf). To complete the system, mobile and fortified batteries were to be installed above the intermediate batteries that were protected by earth fortifications. The final fortifications were built in 1894. None of the required modernisation and finishing touches were carried out. This led, on 4th August 1914 to Lille being declared an open city.

After 1918, Seclin Fort was used to store artillery ammunition. Bondues was used as a barracks, and Englos as a fuel depot. In 1939, an anti-aircraft battery was stationed at Englos. Throughout the Second World War, these forts were the scene of resistance operations against the occupying forces, the history of which are recorded on stele. Seclin Fort has now been gradually and skilfully restored by the private owners, who have built up a collection of artillery and gun carriages.

Fort Seclin F-59113 Seclin Tel: +33 3 20 97 14 18 e-mail: museum@fortseclin.com Open: Weekends except holidays 2-6pm Other times by appointment (min. 5 people) Prices: Children €4, adults €5 Seclin Tourist Office Tel: +33 3.20.90.12.12