These came from the same source as the photographs I posted under the `Carrier` thread earlier today. The 1940 campaign isnt one of my strongest subjects and my knowledge of France and Belgium Towns etc....Zero! Still here goes Dunkirk ? (Above ) IN THE FOREST OF COMPIEGNE ? (above and below) St Julien Memorial to WW1 Canadian soldiers ? (above) These I have no idea where they were taken any ideas? 2 3 Verrieres
The first one is definately Dunkirk....Its in the centre of one of the main town squares. I will get a now shot of this one next month for you Jim. I would say the last one is Vimy Ridge too.
American Memorial to Battle of the Marne., at Meaux. Photos de la ville de Meaux - La Commune, la Mairie de Meaux et sa ville (France) American Battlefields of World War I ... - Google Books
American Memorial to Battle of the Marne., at Meaux. Photos de la ville de Meaux - La Commune, la Mairie de Meaux et sa ville (France) The statue certainly got a lot dirtier in almost 70 years. Levien.
Have to say - there's a very loose interpretation of the uniform sense of the term "uniform" standing under Foch's statue!
Have to say - there's a very loose interpretation of the uniform sense of the term "uniform" standing under Foch's statue! Heres a more formal group Verrieres
I've just realised - Ironically this is Place de Jean Bart where I'm trying to find out what happened here in 1940 -An unkown Guards unit in the harbour consisting of several hundred Guards with some ad-hoc chaps formed up and fixed bayonets when they heard some Germans had broken through into Dunkirk, they then charged at them in this square completely routing them.
I've just realised - Ironically this is Place de Jean Bart where I'm trying to find out what happened here in 1940 -An unkown Guards unit in the harbour consisting of several hundred Guards with some ad-hoc chaps formed up and fixed bayonets when they heard some Germans had broken through into Dunkirk, they then charged at them in this square completely routing them. Hi Drew, the above is very similar to a paragraph in a letter I received some years ago ;- The Brigadier (Churchill) gathered the (8th DLI) surviving officers and told them quietly and calmly that it had been decided that The Durhams would not be evacuated instead we were to form into two columns supplemented by 100 grenadier guardsmen, we were then to smash our way through Dunkirk and attack the Germans causing as much damage and inflicting as many casualties as possible in a bid to delay them and buy much needed time for the rest of the other lucky sods to get away,any of us who were left would then make our own way back to the beaches .We searched for weapons and ammunition to carry out this suicide mission.Mind you some of the lads just Pissed Off! As we waited to move off it was deadly quiet,like, we realised this was it! letters and notes were scribbled down and given to the lads lucky enough to be leaving in the hope that these final letters would reach our wifes and families in England. The order was recinded on the afternoon and the Durhams (8th) embarked from the mole....Coincidence.? Verrieres
Any idea of the date Jim? The account I read definately happened acording to the chap telling the story....He goes on to described baynoting a German for the fisrt time. Without checking I think he was with the Hampshires. I've just finsihed reading Guards VC which mainly focuses on 3 Bn Gren Guards and there is no mention in the book of this bayonet charge.
Drew June 1st 1940, The order is also mentioned in Major Lewis Major Englishs book 8th DLI according to Major English the order was recinded 1430hrs but it too mentions 100 guardsmen.The battalion arrived back in Dover at 0400hrs on the 2nd June 1940 Verrieres
The lads standing around the Canadian sign appear to be Luftwaffe personnel. I was always surprised that the Germans didnt touch any of the WW1 memorials or the Battlefields, or did they?
... it had been decided that The Durhams would not be evacuated instead we were to ... ...smash our way through Dunkirk and attack the Germans causing as much damage and inflicting as many casualties as possible in a bid to delay them and buy much needed time ... ... We searched for weapons and ammunition to carry out this suicide mission.... ... The order was recinded on the afternoon and the Durhams (8th) embarked from the mole.... The event as recorded (in passing) in the 8/DLI War Diary...
I was always surprised that the Germans didnt touch any of the WW1 memorials or the Battlefields, or did they? yes, they destroyed or altered some... perhaps the most famous being Brandt's Alsace-Lorraine memorial at the Clairiere de Rethondes (Compiegne) (photographed in one of the images in this thread ....2nd photo in post 1) which was destroyed on 24th June 1940 , but rebuilt post-war. Another famous one is the gas-attack memorial at Steenstraat - destroyed on the 8th May 1941 (pictured below) The war memorial in Metz is a good one... it's been altered (both in language and wording) 3 times in its history...dependant on who owned the city!!!
These two are from the Second Armistice at Compiègne, 22 June 1940 although I suspect they were most likely taken after the 22nd June. This one is is to do with the French killing the German Eagle. Foch Statue at the same location Compiegne, Statue of Marshall Foch on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
