Champagne, Argonne & Verdun

Regional departure by coach, then to our hotel in Reims, where we stay for four nights.

At Sommepy we see the American Memorial and remains of trenches where American forces fought in September 1918.

After lunch we visit the Champagne Museum and visit the amazing trench system at Main de Massiges: this large area of trenches have been reconstructed around original mine craters using experimental archaeology. They offer arguably the most realistic impression of what a WW1 battlefield once looked like.

Included Highlights

Navarin Farm Memorial Sommepy Massiges

After lunch, we see the superb Romagne War Museum, which houses more than 30,000 objects recovered from the nearby battlefields.

We then look at the American Meuse-Argonne Offensive in this area in September 1918 seeing the huge war cemetery with more than 14,000 American graves.

We end at the impressive Montfaucon American Memorial, seeing the battlefield ruins here and looking out the area where America launched its first major battle of the Twentieth Century.

Included Highlights

Romange War Musem Meuse Argonne American Cemetery Montfaucon American Memorial

We start at the superb Fleury War Museum and then visit Douaumont French Cemetery and the Ossuary, where the bones of over 120,000 men are laid to rest.

After lunch in Verdun we visit Fort Douaumont, always at the heart of the battle, walking the galleries and tunnels within and going on top of the fort to see the shell damage and bunkers.

We then travel across to the ‘Left Bank’ of the battlefield, seeing the high ground at Mort Homme and Cote 304.

Return home.