Both Sides Now - A look at the Fritz and Tommy tour by Paul Dimery
Exploring War from Opposing Perspectives
Exploring war from the perspectives of opposing sides can be an engrossing and enlightening experience. Giving you the opportunity to do just that is a new battlefield tour, Fritz and Tommy. Paul Dimery decided to take a look.
When it comes to learning military history in school, there is often a problem of impartiality—or, rather, a lack of it. Here in Britain, it’s rare to study war accounts from anything other than our own side’s perspective. Some US schools have gone one step further, bending the truth entirely. I remember meeting a student from Kansas City who was adamant that the Second World War began with the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941!
The downside to this bias is that we miss the opportunity to garner a well-rounded appraisal of certain conflicts: the tactical approaches of Britain’s foes, the cultural impact war had on those countries, and the personalities of the soldiers fighting for the other side. Many were thrust into combat against their will and better judgment. The battlefield visit we are looking at this month goes some way to correcting the balance.
Fritz and Tommy Tour
The tour, named after the nicknames German and British soldiers gave to each other during the First and Second World Wars, is both poignant and fascinating. It takes in three key First World War sites on the Western Front—Flanders, northern France, and the Somme—and explores how the conflict evolved on both sides of no man's land. In this centenary of the start of the war, there’s no better time to expand your knowledge while paying tribute to those who lost their lives in a conflict that seemed to never end.
Day 1: Flanders
Departing Britain by coach, the five-day tour begins in Flanders in northern Belgium. This area saw some of the greatest loss of life during the First World War, and the "Flandern" operations are still a byword for sacrifice in Germany today. The excursion explores how the nation commemorated its dead here, with visits to the German cemeteries at Vladslo and Langemarck. There will be time to appreciate the moving "Grieving Parents" statues by German sculptor Käthe Kollwitz, and also learn about the "Langemarck myth."
From here, the tour continues along the Menin Road, examining the pivotal skirmishes around Gheluvelt, where future Führer Adolf Hitler fought in 1914. After lunch at Hooge, it takes in German bunkers on the Ypres battlefield, their trench system at Bayernwald, and their mining operations on the Messines Ridge. The day ends with an in-depth look at the story of the infamous Christmas truce.
Day 2: Northern France
Day two sees the tour veer into northern France. You’ll get to see the ground near Wervicq-Sud where Adolf Hitler was gassed in October 1918, before exploring the Fromelles battlefield from both sides—the German defenses as well as the Australian quarters. Following lunch in Bethune, there’s time to pay respects at the grave of First World War British fighter pilot Albert Ball VC. The day ends with a recollection of the fighting that took place near Arras and Vimy Ridge.
Day 3: The Somme
The final full day takes in the Somme, where some of the bloodiest battles of the war took place. The tour starts at Copse 125, a wood where German soldier-writer Ernst Jünger fought in 1918 opposite a force of New Zealanders. On Hawthorn Ridge, the tour looks at how Württemberg troops repulsed the British attack from this position in the early stages of the Battle of the Somme. Following lunch at Thiepval, it’s on to Pozières to visit the German "Gibraltar" bunker. At Courcelette, the tour looks at the use of British tanks against the Germans.
The day—and the tour—finishes with a visit to the Museum of the Great War in Peronne, paying particular attention to the German side of its collection.
Conclusion
The Fritz and Tommy tour can be an intense, emotional experience. It’s one thing reading about the devastation that occurred in places like Flanders and the Somme; it’s another to actually stand where those brave men fell. The tour explores in detail using eyewitness accounts and contemporary findings.
Helping out with this is German historian Rob Schafer, whose expertise—not to mention his collection of rare First World War photographs and other objects—is combined with that of Head Battlefield Guide Paul Reed to present a colorful and balanced depiction of what happened during those few fateful years. Says Reed, "If you want to use the centenary period to discover new angles to the Great War, the Fritz and Tommy tour is for you."
Visit History of War at historyofwar.co.uk or check out their Facebook page History of War Magazine.
All content Copyright Anthem Publishing Ltd 2014, all rights reserved.
Photo courtesy of Rob Schafer, to see more follow our hashtag on Twitter #FritzandTommy
