When to go

The best time to visit Northern France and Belgium is undoubtedly during the European summer, from June to August. At this time the weather is pleasant, battlefield sites are accessible and the gardens in cemeteries and at memorials are in full bloom. Easter time and September/early-October can also be good times to visit, with the added bonus that fields will be clear of crops, providing a better view of the lie of the land and unimpeded access to farm fields.

From November to April this area is bitterly cold, and battlefield sites can become obscured by fog and snow. Many tracks and fields turn to mud, making battlefield sites inaccessible or, at the least, unpleasant to visit. It should be remembered, however, that the Diggers themselves did not have the luxury of avoiding the winter, and a visit to the battlefields on an icy winter’s day will certainly give you a better understanding of the trials faced by the soldiers.
 

Guidebooks and further reading

A good guidebook is an essential companion on any battlefield tour. The battlefield area is predominantly rural and only cemeteries and major attractions are signposted. There is little signage to indicate what events actually occurred at a particular location.

There are hundreds of guidebooks on the market and choosing between them can be a difficult task. For Australians the task becomes more difficult, as many texts deal with the British actions on the Western Front, with scant reference to Australian involvement.

The best guidebooks, in my opinion, are listed below. They can be obtained from major bookshops or from the giftshop at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.

1. Guide to Australian Battlefields of the Western Front by John Laffin.
The essential battlefield guide for Australian visitors. A wealth of information to guide visitors around nearly every site of Australian interest on the Western Front. Written for the first-time visitor, this guide is well illustrated and easy to follow. Its broad coverage of the entire Western Front from Belgium to the Aisne means that it does not discuss some sites with as much detail as other guidebooks, but it is still an invaluable reference. At less than 200 pages, it is also convenient to carry when traipsing across farm fields. 

2. The Somme Battlefields by Martin and Mary Middlebrook
A comprehensive guide by the author of the definitive The First Day on the Somme. Although dealing predominantly with sites of British interest, the book is of great use when touring the Somme area. Australian sites (as well as those of other nations) are included and, unlike many other guides, the important role played by the AIF (particularly in 1918) is well documented. Each site is discussed in great detail with good maps and historic information. Does not include other Western Front areas such as the Ypres Salient, French Flanders or the Aisne.

3. The Official History of Australia in the War of 1914-1918 by CEW Bean
Although not a guidebook per se, the 12 volumes of Bean’s Official History are an invaluable reference for anyone who wants to know in detail about Australia’s involvement in the war. They are too heavy to lug around the battlefield, so sections of interest (especially the small maps detailing the movement of individual battalions) should be photocopied. These books are now out of print and can be difficult to find, but they can often be located in the Reference section of major libraries. For a more concise reference, read From Anzac to Amiens, Bean’s condensed version of the Official History.

4. Major and Mrs Holt’s Guides
The two Western Front guidebooks in this series, Guide to the Ypres Salient and Guide to the Somme are both well-respected texts. They are useful because they present sites as part of a complete itinerary, making touring a breeze. Unfortunately for Australians they are focussed almost entirely on British sites, and barely mention the AIF, but they can be handy if you want to know about more than just Australia’s involvement in the war. In my opinion they are also too focussed on memorials but, again, if this is what you are interested in they are useful. Each guide comes with a handy Battle Map which can be a good navigation tool.

5. Pillboxes on the Western Front by Peter Oldham
A thorough text dealing with the construction and use of concrete fortifications on the Western Front. The book is probably too academic for all but the most dedicated student of the war, however it does include an excellent guide to the location and history of approximately 300 pillboxes still remaining on the old battlefields. For this alone it is worth reading.
 

Maps

Good maps are essential for navigating the old battlefields. Michelin map 236 covers the entire area at a scale of 1:200,000 and is good for travelling between towns. For touring specific battlefields a more detailed map is required, the best being the IGN (National Geographic Institute) maps from Paris. This excellent range of maps can be obtained from bookshops in Belgium and France.
 

What to wear

The weather in Northern France and Belgium can be variable. With this in mind, always prepare for cool weather, even in summer. A warm jumper or coat can be your best friend during a chilly evening trek back to your car! Rain can also appear out of nowhere, so carry an umbrella or waterproof jacket.

Wear sturdy boots or hiking shoes and take gumboots if the ground is muddy. A plastic garbage bag can be useful for transporting muddy shoes and helping to keep your car’s interior clean.

If you are intending to do some exploring off established paths, wear long trousers to protect your legs from cuts and scratches. Wear gloves if you intend to dig or rummage for souvenirs.
 

Souvenirs

The former battlefields are littered with relics from the war. Although it can be tempting to bring back souvenirs, this should only be done with caution. Remember that much of the material used in a war was designed to injure, and it still can today.

It is also important to approach this with the right attitude: locating the site of a famous action and then taking away a cartridge case or a few shrapnel balls as a momento is a rewarding experience; simply walking across farm fields with your head down and picking up anything that interests you is just souvenir hunting, and should be discouraged.

The types of souvenirs that can be found (and are safe to handle) include shell fragments, shrapnel balls, cartridge cases, pieces of barbed wire and assorted unidentifiable pieces of equipment.

To find out more about collecting relics from the battlefields read Digging up the Diggers’ War by John Laffin.

If you intend to search for relics, please read the following warnings carefully. Souvenirs can also be bought for a small sum from local museums.
 

Warnings

In addition to countless harmless relics, the battlefields of the Western Front contain a range of material that has the potential to injure and kill. Unexploded shells, in particular, are numerous and dangerous and should be left alone. 

All visitors to the battlefields will come across piles of unexploded shells, usually stacked at the corner of a military cemetery, waiting to be collected by bomb disposal experts and destroyed. In no circumstances should these be touched - hundreds of French and Belgian farmers have been killed whilst handling shells since the end of the war. This, however, does not stop the insane practice by local farmers of removing the valuable copper driving band from an unexploded shell with a hammer and chisel!

Other dangerous items battlefield visitors are likely to encounter include unexploded grenades, unfired bullets and shell fuses.

WWI grenades are inherently unstable – even during the war they would often explode prematurely or malfunction in other equally undesirable ways. Today they should be viewed as highly dangerous, and should not be touched. There is a one-handed Pozieres resident who collected one too many grenades as souvenirs!

Unfired bullets are generally fairly safe to handle. However, it is illegal to remove them from the battlefield and to carry them on board an aircraft. Often unfired bullet cartridges will be found with the projectile missing. These are generally safe as well, but remove the cordite from the cartridge before going through customs.

Shell fuses (also known as ‘nose cones’ or ‘nose caps’) are safe to handle if from a detonated shell, but unsafe if from a dud. As it is difficult to tell which of these categories a fuse fits into, they are best left alone.

There are many safe souvenirs that can be taken from the battlefield, such as shell shards, shrapnel balls and the like, without risking life and limb on unexploded ordinance. Remember – if you don’t know what an object is, don’t touch it.

Visitors should also take care when walking off established trails. Barbed wire is still often encountered and can cause nasty gashes to exposed legs. Many careless battlefield tourers have also fallen into unseen shell holes or military mineshafts.

Also be careful entering woods during the hunting season (November-February).
 

General advice

Visit the battlefields with an open mind. Try to see past the picturesque rural scenery that exists today to the carnage and destruction endured by the fighting men. The best way to do this is to get out into the field – battles were not fought along well-trodden paths, but across the farm fields that surround the area. Farmers are remarkably tolerant of battlefield visitors – most appreciate the significance of the area and are friendly and helpful. If you see a farmer, give him a warm greeting and ask for permission to enter his land. A few words of French or Flemish can be invaluable here, but hand gestures can often suffice. Many farmers share your interest in the war and will often show you any interesting relics they have found on their land. Most farmers have a large heap of scrap metal on which they dump war relics, and these can be of great interest to war visitors. You will often see old helmets, rifle parts, empty shell cases and barbed wire pickets discarded in these piles.

Always respect the rights of the landowners by not trampling crops, not frightening livestock and leaving gates as you found them (either open or closed).