Much of the world as it is today has been shaped by events that must never be forgotten.
The First World War laid waste to vast areas, particularly across Belgium and France, with unimaginable loss of human life and complete destruction of many towns, villages and rural areas. The battlefields of Western Front - so very close to home - bore the brunt of ground warfare; up close hand-to-hand combat fought in trenches, soldiers’ lives lived with gas masks within easy reach, in mud and dirt with the digging of tunnels and the laying of mines. Long, drawn out battles for gains of small areas under heavy artillery fire led to the desolation of the land, the remnants and evidence of which can still be seen today, over 100 years on.
The Second World War, just over two decades later, raged across much of the same region – but this time, in addition to the fighting on the ground, further danger came from the air and combat spread globally. An entirely different type of warfare, utilising more evolved and advanced machinery, arms, artillery, vehicles and air power. The notorious events and atrocities of the Holocaust, led to the Nuremberg Trials, where leading Nazi officials were prosecuted for crimes against humanity, including the systematic murder of approximately six million Jews, who are sensitively remembered at places such as Auschwitz.
Our range of poignant battlefield tours – which includes touring holidays that also pay visits to important historical and memorial sites - can take you to many places of significance, including Ypres and Flanders Fields, or the D-Day Normandy Beaches. You will not only learn about the events and strategies of some of these conflicts, but have the opportunity to pay your respects to those brave soldiers who fell fighting for our future.
Lest we forget.
