The town of Loos-en-Gohelle suffered huge losses during the war of 1914-18. Invaded on 10 October 1914, it was not liberated until August 1917 at the cost of thousands of lives. French, English, Scottish, Welsh and Canadian men all perished on the town’s soil, hence the number of memorials and groups that continue to preserve a trace of its history today.

The association “Sur les Traces de la Grande Guerre” (In the footsteps of the Great War), whose role is to preserve, safeguard and share this legacy, invites people to visit the Musée Alexandre Villedieu where all the objects on display come from the Loos battlefields. There were three major battles in Loos-en-Gohelle, within the triangle of hills of Artois (Vimy and Lorette) and the Douai plain.

The first battle took place on 9 May 1915. A diversion to the Battle of Lorette Hill, it was a deadly massacre for both French regiments.

The second battle began on 25 September 1915, and is more commonly known amongst the British as the Battle of Loos. This battle claimed many victims (among the British, 15,800 lives and 34,580 men injured; among the Germans, 20,000 killed or wounded). This battle is very dear to the British many of whom come to meditate at the graves in three British cemeteries in Loos-en-Gohelle. This battle liberated two-thirds of Loos as far as Hill 70 which remained under German control for a further two years.

The third battle took place on 15 August 1917. After the liberation of Hill 145 in Vimy, the Canadian soldiers arrived in Loos in mid-July to seize the remaining part of German-occupied Loos. Until 15 August 1917, 12,000 Canadians moved around in a network of underground tunnels planning the liberation of Hill 70.

The Loos footpaths (Sépultures path and Lone Tree path) are public ways where Great War fanatics and interested visitors can learn all about the historic past of Loos through the former World War I battlefields.

Musée 14/18 Alexandre Villedieu

Association "Sur les Traces de la Grande Foyer Omer Caron"

First floor, Place de la République 62750 Loos en Gohelle

Tel: +33 (0)3 21 70 59 75 or +33 (0)3 21 28 99 82

E-mail: a.villedieu@wanadoo.fr

Mairie de Loos en Gohelle (town hall)

Place de la République 62750 Loos en Gohelle

Tel: +33 (0)3 21 69 88 77

Fax: +33 (0)3 21 69 88 79

E-mail: contact@loos-en-gohelle.fr

Opening times: 9-11 am and 2-5 pm

N.B. Reservation only for afternoon visits.

Set at the foot of the hill of Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, Lens’ 14-18 presents the First World War on Nord-Pas-de-Calais soil.

The contemporary building, designed by architect Pierre-Louis Faloci, is comprised of black concrete cubes called ‘chapels’.

Using innovative museological techniques, this international interpretation centre has an outstanding collection of iconographic documents (maps, archives photographs, film footage from the period) and emblematic objects from around the world, which reflect the viewpoints of all the protagonists (French, Germans, British, etc.). There are nearly 400 large-format photos on display. Dynamic maps illustrate the different offensives, and some 20 archive films immerse visitors in the Great War.

The permanent exhibition, designed by an international scientific committee chaired by French historian Yves Le Maner, offers the keys to interpreting and appropriating the themes and chronology of the First World War. It establishes a coherent account of the events that took place in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region between 1914 and 1918. The major stages of the conflict presented are: the mobile war and the trench system; the bloody offensives and the occupation of the Nord; the 1918 offensives and death on the front; and ruins and reconstruction.

The display at Lens’ 14-18 makes the history of the First World War in the Nord and Pas-de-Calais departments accessible to the general public. The events are presented in summarised form, and visits take approximately two hours. The high-quality photos, objects from the collection and dynamic maps are exclusive to the centre, and help give visitors a rapid overview of the conflict.

Nearly 580 000 soldiers of 40 nationalities died along the 60 miles of front line spanning French Flanders and Artois. Their names are remembered at the Ring of Remembrance, the International Memorial of Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, 1500 metres above sea level, and their army data sheets can be consulted free of charge on digital tablets in the remembrance area of the Lens’ 14-18 museum.

Set at the foot of the hill of Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, Lens’ 14-18 presents the First World War on Nord-Pas-de-Calais soil.

The contemporary building, designed by architect Pierre-Louis Faloci, is comprised of black concrete cubes called “chapels”.

Using innovative museological techniques, this international interpretation centre has an outstanding collection of iconographic documents (maps, archives photographs, film footage from the period) and emblematic objects from around the world, which reflect the viewpoints of all the protagonists (French, Germans, British, etc.). There are nearly 400 large-format photos on display. Dynamic maps illustrate the different offensives, and some 20 archive films immerse visitors in the Great War.

The permanent exhibition, designed by an international scientific committee chaired by French historian Yves Le Maner, offers the keys to interpreting and appropriating the themes and chronology of the First World War. It establishes a coherent account of the events that took place in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region between 1914 and 1918. The major stages of the conflict presented are: the mobile war and the trench system; the bloody offensives and the occupation of the Nord; the 1918 offensives and death on the front; and ruins and reconstruction.

The display at Lens’ 14-18 makes the history of the First World War in the Nord and Pas-de-Calais departments accessible to the general public. The events are presented in summarised form, and visits take approximately two hours. The high-quality photos, objects from the collection and dynamic maps are exclusive to the centre, and help give visitors a rapid overview of the conflict.

Nearly 580 000 soldiers of 40 nationalities died along the 60 miles of front line spanning French Flanders and Artois. Their names are remembered at the Ring of Remembrance, Notre-Dame-de-Lorette International Memorial, 1500 metres above sea level, and their army data sheets can be consulted free of charge on digital tablets in the remembrance area of the Lens’ 14-18 museum.

Sources: © Lens’ 14-18 - Centre d’Histoire Guerre et Paix

Local tourist office: Office de Tourisme et du Patrimoine de Lens-Liévin, 58, rue de la Gare - 62300 Lens

Tel.: +33 (0)3 21 67 66 66

 info@tourisme-lenslievin.fr

www.tourisme-lenslievin.fr

After visiting the battlefield of Verdun, whose scars still visible 100 years on remind us of the horrors of war, a visit to the World Centre for Peace is a must. A symbol of the Great War, Verdun as the “Capital of Peace” offers a better understanding of how a regional crisis can deteriorate into a major conflict, how Franco-German relations have succeeded in overcoming the horror and the hatred born of the conflicts, how day after day the protection of human rights and freedoms is the best defence against a crazy world capable of the worst acts of destruction and madness.

Visitors will appreciate the outstanding charm of Verdun’s Episcopal Palace, a listed building from the 18th century, which for the past 30 years has been home to the Centre Mondial de la Paix, des Libertés et des Droits de l’Homme. In the 18th-century gardens, which can be visited free of charge, you can see a section of the Berlin Wall and discover its history, as well as enjoy one of the finest views of the town of Verdun.

The Centre presents a number of permanent exhibitions, on such varied themes as the First World War, Franco-German relations, contemporary conflicts and human rights.

Schoolchildren will enjoy the activity packs and workshops prepared by the education team and Canopé Meuse, while the scientifically inclined will be fascinated by the centre of excellence in First World War and Franco-German remembrance, which is the result of close cooperation between the different organisations housed in the Centre. 

Visitors will love the shop, with its more than 500 books to suit all ages.

Intended from the outset as a meeting place, the Centre Mondial de la Paix, founded in the presence of the UN Secretary-General, hosts a large number of events in its function rooms (which seat 20 to 300 people and include a film room). Conferences, film club, book fair... Not a week goes by without an event, usually with free admission to the public.

Since mid-April 2016, a group accommodation capacity of 56 beds means that parties visiting Verdun have somewhere to stay.

Sources: ©Centre Mondial de la Paix, des libertés et des droits de l’Homme

Zeitenlick French military cemetery in Thessalonika, Greece, is the resting place of 8,309 soldiers killed in action for France on the Eastern front during the First World War.

In autumn 1915, the French-British expedition of the Galipoli Campaign (also called the Dardanelles Campaign) intended to cut off the Turks from the Central Powers, was an Allied failure. Bulgaria entered the war in October and soon overwhelmed the Serbians. The Entente troops landed in Thessalonika, in an initially neutral Greece, divided between Entente supporters rallied around Prime Minister Vénizélos and the sympathisers of the Central Powers represented essentially by La Cour.

This front remained immobile until the offensive in Macedonia launched on 15 September 1918. General Franchet d’Espèrey then compelled Bulgaria to request an armistice, on 29 September. Belgrade was liberated on 1 November, the catalyst for the collapse of the Austrian-German forces.

In 1923, in anticipation of the clauses of the Treaty of Lausanne, the Greek authorities conceded land close to Thessalonika to the Allies as the site of an international cemetery. The French section shelters the remains of French soldiers interred in various cemeteries in Greek Macedonia and regrouped in the new cemetery. This site also regroups the temporary graves of Italian, Serbian and Commonwealth soldiers killed in action. The inter-ally cemetery of Salonika thus came into being.

The French part covers some 3,500 square metres and contains 8,309 individual burial places, of which 208 hold the bodies of unidentified men.

An Ottoman-style chapel stands in the centre of the square.

Upkeep of the Zeitenlick military cemetery is the responsibility of the Consulate General of France. Renovations were carried out in 2012.

The soldiers are honoured twice a year: during a ceremony in late September, attended by the French association "Memorial of the Eastern Front" and official representatives of the Allied powers, and then during the Armistice commemorations on 11 November 1918.

Information

French General Consulate in Thessalonika

8, Mackenzie King

54622 Thessalonika

Tel: (+30) 2310 244 030/031

Fax: (+30) 2310 282839

www.consulfrance-salonique.org

Email: consul@consulfrance-salonique.org

Soupir German Cemetery

Soupir German Cemetery was set up on the site of a field hospital to group together the Imperial soldiers who had fallen in the sector running from Soissons to Reims (Chemin des Dames, Vesle, Marne) and buried at 143 sites in a radius of 30 kilometres around the commune of Soupir. The operation was completed in 1924.

This place of remembrance holds the bodies of 11,089 German soldiers. 5,134 of them are buried in individual and collectives graves, including 19 unknown soldiers, and 5,955 others lie in an ossuary, only 794 of whom have been identified. After the first work was undertaken by the Volksbund in the 1930s, the cemetery was refurbished by the German authorities who, starting in 1972, replaced the old wooden crosses with stone crosses. The Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e.V, association, created on 19 December 1919 to protect and preserve war graves and to provide information to families for the main sites of World War I, ensures the site’s upkeep.

Soupir Cemetery

La Direction Interdépartementale (D.I.) Chef du Secteur Nord-Pas de Calais

Cité Administrative Rue de Tournai 59045 Lille Cedex

Tel.: +33 (0)3.20.62.12.39

Fax: +33 (0)3.20.62.12.30

E-mail: diracmetz@wanadoo.fr