I'm writing this on the train from Sedan-Metz, I've been to a fair few places this week, but it's been a rather disappointing week to be honest. After the amazement of Ypres, it's been rather downhill since. When I arrived in Lille, I decided to take the 2 days I was there as a rest break (my itinerary has changed slightly from the one I've posted). I wandered around the city, and visited the games workshop, so I could see what it's like for the French. I didn't do much else there, except wander around taking photos.
A church in Lille.
Next stop was Arras, where I had 2 days and 1 night, I spent the first day wandering around the city, the Fortress was closed, which was rather annoying, but it was a beautiful city, the next day I went to the Vimy Ridge, and the Canadian memorial there, 1 word. Vast, I spent most of the day there (including travel both ways), and it was s truly sobering experience, the views are magnificent, but they also show you how easy it would have been for the Germans to defend, and why it took the numbers and casualties to capture it.
My first view of the memorial at Vimy.
Then it was time for Albert, which was so disappointing. I arrived in the evening, and when I got to the tourist office, I found out that a) all the museums in the area are closed until February at the earliest, and b) the few tourist operators in the town that did tours to the battle sights (outside the town, driving distance), would only take bookings the day before, even though the one that they tried had nothing on on that day, I was gutted, big time, I was so excited to get to the somme, and it was all closed down. Next time I'll bring a car.
A view from the memorial at Vimy.
I proceeded to Cambrai, not too bad, nice town, same problem as Albert, at least I assume so, no one in the tourist office spoke any English, or German, only French, and I was unable with my basic French, (my German is much better), and the aid of my dictionary, get any advice. (high horse time again: if you say "je ne parlez(comprendriez) pas Français, why do they still gab the sentence at you at 100mph, when they could at least try to speak slowly, or write it down for me), so another (rather shitty, I was rather pissed off about the last couple of days) day spent wandering around the city, which is really beautiful, and I'll most probably go back again, (again, with a car).
Cambrai Centre-Ville.
The nest stop was Sedan, the site of the Great Victory of the North German Confederation over the French in 1870, although the day didn't start off well. I had to get up at 06:00, as my train left Cambrai at 07:35, I changed at Lille and Hirson, with a 20minute or so wait at, Valenciennes, and there was a train from Cambrai-Valenciennes, around 8:30-9:00, which would have been a better time for me. Overall I travelled 180km approx, between 2 towns 144km apart - go figure.
When I arrived, I realised that my hotel "right next to the station" was in fact, right next to the station, but on the wrong side of the tracks, with no direct path. When I asked someone at the station, they pointed me in the wrong direction, and what should have been a 15-20min walk ended up being a 45min walk. In the rain, fun - not.
Sedan from the Medieval Fortress.
When I finally got to the hotel, I dropped my stuff in my room, and went to find the tourism office, when I got there, it was closed until 4, I got there about 2:30, no matter, I went to the famous citadel in Sedan (1min walk from the TO), and did the tour of the fortress. (you get a piece of paper if you're a non French speaker, and you D.I.Y. It) which was a great way to kill the time.
The keep of the fortress.
When I got into the tourism office, (with my list of places to go, thanks to Sir Michael Howard's book on the Franco-Prussian War), I got a map, great advice on the order to do my things, as well as a great museum. The lady there also helped me to book a bike for the remainder of my time in Sedan, helped big time. I got the bike, went home, watched some Simpsons with French Dubbing, so bad, I lol'd most of the time anyway.
Random house in Sedan, thought it looked nice.
The next day (the day of writing), I got up,mad breakfast, checked out of the hotel, left my backpack there (big help), and followed my map.
Sedan from the Artillery Position.
I started by going to a hill above the village of Frénois, where Sir Michael writes that Wilhelm I and Bismark (amongst other dignitaries) stood in "...a Clearing on the wooded hills above Frénois, south of the Meuse..." and they had a magnificent view of the battle, turned out the hill I ended up on (thanks to the help of a local with no English, dictionary to the rescue again), the hill was the site of some of the Prussian artillery, but a magnificent view nonetheless.
The Château Bellevue.
After the hill, I went to the Château Bellevue, where Napoleon III signed his surrender, unfortunately it is now someone's home, so I've only managed to get pics of the outside, and the field next to it where he surrendered his sword.
I then went to Floing, a village west of Sedan, where there is a memorial to the war there.
The memorial in Floing.
Then I went through the city (stopping off at a bakery for some lunch), to a museum in the inn where the Marines held off a couple of assaults of Bavarian infantry, finally surrendered, there is a room in the museum, that is as it was after the battle, bullet holes, peeling wallpaper, holes in the ceiling.
Being the duffer that I am, I forgot to take a photo of the outside of
the museum. Here's a painting of the battle taking place.
It's in the Museum itself.
My final stop was the "Cross of Mac-Mahon" which is just on a hill above the village of La Moncelle, the cross is on the place where a shell fragment wounded the French Marshall MacMahon, and the fighting around La Moncelle in the Battle of Sedan happened on the fields around the village and the cross.
The Cross of MacMahon.
I then was feeling pretty tired, so I called it a day, returned the bike, picked up my backpack, and went to the station. I found out my mistake about the hill at the museum, where there was a map of the battle, I also missed out on going to the Bois de la Garenne, which, at the battle of Sedan, was a forest that the French retreated into, and the Prussian artillery ranged on every square foot of the forest, and the moment a unit of French tried to escape the forest, all the artillery would hit the edge of the forest they were at. The first case of precision artillery in European warfare. I also missed on going to the railway bridge where the marines tried to defeat the Bavarians before falling back on the inn, both were uphill from my location after the cross of MacMahon, and my legs were similar to lead at that stage, so I decided I'd go to those places the next time I was in Sedan.
All-in-all, a very good end to a rather disappointing week.
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