National World War I Museum Battlefield Tour "From Liege to the Vosges" September 23 October 2, 2013 Building on the success of its inaugural battlefield tour in 2012, the National World War I Museum is offering another exclusive tour for Museum members in 2013: From Liege to the Vosges. Hosted in conjunction with specialist tour operator Battle Honours Ltd in the UK, this year s battlefield tour will lead you through the miles of tortured landscape stretching from the Belgium Coast to the Swiss Border, otherwise known as the Western Front. This tour is intended to study the ground and campaigns between 1914-18, the evolution of tactics and terrain with a focus on the achievements and experiences of the American Expeditionary Forces. Travelers will the visit the spectacular battlefields of the Vosges Mountains, the fortress city of Liege and much more. The tour will be based on a minimum of 30 and maximum of 35 participants and will be conducted by leading battlefield tour operator Battle Honours. There will be two badged guides from the International Guild of Battlefield Guides on board throughout. (www.gbg-international.com). Read what past tour participants have said about their experience: In ten days on the tour, we learned more of the geography, topography, strategy, tactics, and history than we could have done if we had spent two months on our own. Our guides were wonderful, convivial people and world-class experts on the battles of the Great War. They knew the ground like we know our back yard. And they knew local people and institutions, resources that we couldn't have found ourselves. Our traveling companions were also wonderful and because many of them were connected with the WWI Museum, either as staff members, volunteers, or active supporters, many of them were also very knowledgeable. Robert Inkster We have traveled a lot and taken many tours; this was one of our best. Kelton and Marilyn Smith Over the top with organization, good company, exact information and excellent planning. Larry Faeth As a volunteer at the National World War I Museum, the Battle Fields tour was a trip of a lifetime. It was top-drawer from the accommodations to the tour guides. I have made lifetime friends through this shared experience. The knowledge I gleaned and the firsthand look at the trenches and battle sites have enhanced my appreciation for what the participants endured. And, the trip has made me a more me a more knowledgeable tour guide for our visitors. Michael Boothe This was the most memorable and meaningful trip of the many I've made in the past 30 years. Nancy Cramer The Battle Honours team brought history to life for us with their access to historical sites not ordinarily open to tourists and stories of individual soldiers in the fights of their lives. Jerry Schmidt
The tour will start and end in Brussels and will be located in three- or four-star hotels for 10 nights with breakfast provided each morning. All transportation (exclusive of air fare) is included on a luxury 35-seat vehicle with full air conditioning and restrooms. Also provided will be two evening meals, seven lunches, all museum and guiding fees and driver from pick up and drop off in Brussels. This tour requires independent mobility as it will include a fair amount of walking. We will have several professional battlefield guides on hand throughout, including the Museum s Senior Curator Doran Cart. The price per person is $2,700. A supplement of $500 will be charged for those requesting a single room. In order to confirm a seat on the tour, you must be a current member of the National World War I Museum and have made your initial deposit no later than June 1, 2013. All remaining fees must be paid in full no later than June 15, 2013. Tour fees are based on a minimum of 30 participants. In the event of fewer than 30 participants, the tour will be cancelled with notification given no later than June 20, 2013. $500 of your fee counts as a tax-deductible contribution to the National World War I Museum. Airfare is not included in tour costs. Airfare arrangements will be discussed with participants. Our planned itinerary is as follows: Day One September 23, 2013 We will pick a specific time in the morning to meet at the Brussels Airport in the Arrivals Hall. We
will then visit the Battlefield of Waterloo for the afternoon where tour operator will guide us around the salient points of the battlefield including a degree of walking to gain vantage points and discover the individual stories of heroism of the June 18, 1815. (Overnight at the Holiday Inn, welcome lecture and tour brief on arrival) Day Two September 24, 2013 The fortress town of Liege, a guided tour of the Vauban forts and a study of the battle of the frontiers in 1914, the tour will involve a degree of walking as we discover the fortifications and actions on 30,000 Belgium troops who held up 100,000 advancing Germans for five days. The emergence of the 42cm Howitzer proved too much for the town that fell on August 12 and remained in German hands until the end of the war. (Overnight at the Holiday Inn Liege) Day Three September 25, 2013 Transfer to the Vosges, we head south to our tour base in the Vosges Mountains for the next three days, this is a transfer day to reach the southernmost part of the "old front line" a number of comfort stops will be made on route before we reach our hotel for the next three nights. (Overnight at the Hotel Roess) Day Four September 26, 2013 La Linge, just a short drive from the Hotel our walk starts behind the French lines, here we cross the shell torn No Man s Land up to the German wire. Through densely wooded ground we discover the numerous bunkers and trenches that exist undisturbed while learning of the stories of the men who fought here and the actions that took place. We arrive at the Le Linge battlefield park 983 meters above sea level where there is a fascinating museum set among perfectly preserved trenches bunkers and lookout posts before ending the day at the nearby French Cemetery. (Overnight at the Hotel Roess)
Day Five September 27, 2013 Saving the most dramatic to the end, we will visit Hartmannswillerkopf. Our walk that day starts at the huge French Memorial and Cemetery, continuing onto the summit itself where the trenches and bunkers overlook the Rhine plain, during a circuit around the crest we uncover some incredible memorials such as the German comrades memorial carved out of stone, a complete Minnenwerfer battery and the breath taking memorial to the 152nd Infantry Regiment, the Red Devils who fought a furious action across this ground. We descend via the Swiss Epique a 400 meters along an eight-foot deep trench blasted out of the rock, fire steps and loop holes still line the parapet, bunkers and barbed wire defenses are almost complete making for a memorable climax to our tour of this incredible battlefield. We will also learn of the work of the American Ambulance Services involvement in the campaign. (Overnight at the Hotel Roess) Day Six September 28, 2013 Transfer to Verdun, via a visit to Pont a Mousson to see the American Ambulance Memorial (Overnight Hotel at the Argonne) Day Seven September 29, 2013 Meuse Argonne a full-day study of the battlefield including visits to the Lost Battalion and Sgt. York
sites, Montfaucon memorial and Meuse Argonne Cemetery, a study of David Barkeley s Medal of Honours award. (Overnight at hotel in the Argonne) Day Eight September 30, 2013 Belleau Wood, a full day s study of the action including the Iron Mike Memorial, associated cemeteries and memorials and Lucy, this day will coincide with the 95th Anniversary of the opening of this battle and the plugging of the gap by the 1st Battalion of the 5th Marines. (Overnight at hotel in Amiens) Day Nine October 1, 2013 Today we study the action at Cantigny that marked the first U.S. offensive of the war on the May 28, 1918. The 28th Infantry Regiment under Colonel Hansen advanced behind a rolling barrage and captured the village within 45 minutes. What followed were a number of intense counter attacks but the American's held on to prove their worth as attacking troops to their French counterparts and leading in turn to the St Mihiel offensive a few weeks later. (Overnight at the Hotel Ariane Ypres) Day Ten October 2, 2013 A full day s study of the fighting in the Ypres salient with a focus on technology and the battle of
Passchendaele, we visit a private museum at Pond Farm and an aircraft lovingly constructed by a local at Poelcapelle. We end the day at Passchendaele and Tynecot Cemetery before attendance and participation in the Last Post Ceremony. We will end the day with a farewell meal. (Overnight at the Hotel Ariane) Day Eleven October 3, 2013 Transfer to Brussels for onward travel to the United States or into Germany to enjoy the OktoberFest celebrations. (Details to be confirmed.) The Oktoberfest in Munich ends on October 6, 2013 so it could act as an add-on for those wishing to continue on their own individual travel plans.
Biopic Clive Harris Raised in Hertfordshire Clive has developed his lifelong fascination with history. As a young boy he spent a great amount of time speaking to the veterans of the Great War, these frail warriors served an inspiration to Clive and influenced his first career decision, to join the British Army. Clive spent seven rewarding years with the Royal Corps of Signals, serving operationally overseas with the 1st Armoured Division in BAOR, an Infantry attachment with the Royal Green Jackets in Cyprus, Germany and France and finally taking up an instructors post in the Signals Wing of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. On leaving the army he joined his local Constabulary, serving for 11 years in their Force Operations Room as a specialist communications officer and control room manager, this enabled him to witness major incidents at close hand such as the Hatfield Rail Disaster & the St Albans Bombing. In 1998 he began working as a speaker, writer, researcher and battlefield guide and since then has guided groups to the Somme, Ypres, Arras, Mons, Cambrai, The Hindenburg Line, Verdun, & Gallipoli for the Great War, as well as Normandy, Arnhem, The Italian Campaign and of course the London Blitz for the Second World War. Clive has had three books published Walking the London Blitz 2003, The Greater Game Sportsman Killed in the Great War 2007 and A Wander Through Wartime London 2012 he has also appeared on ITV s Blitz Spirit, Channel 4 s award winning Time Team as well as articles for the Mail on Sunday, The Daily Telegraph, The London Evening Standard, The Daily Express and Living History Magazine. A keen traveler he has widely visited Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, India, Hong Kong, China, Australia, Canada and the U.S. In 2003 Clive took part in a UN aid program in war torn Jaffna, northern Sri Lanka. He remains passionate about London, his favourite city and like Dr Johnson never tires of all it has to offer. Clive is a Badged Member of the Guild of Battlefield Guides (No33) and also a member of the British Commission for Military History