Just a few more shots from the Verdun area:

Looking across the top of another fort, you can still see the guns raised:


Another whopper:


This fort is one of the larger ones on the line, Hackenberg A19 near Thionville. This fort was excellent & the tour took us 1 1/2 hours including a train ride deep into the fort:


Inside Hackenberg A19, just a quick picture to give you an idea, it wasn't easy to take decent pictures in here:


Just a quicky, one of my fave pictures of the weekend:


Cheers,

TSC.

Shame George Formby wasn't there...

Interesting stuff, and some fine pix... that last one- 

hey TSC!

that's incredible! I've been to both places! to tell you the truth I grew up 30kms away from the hackenberg, and 1 of our favorite sunday afternoon occupation was to visit any and every fortifications around. we visited some that are open to public with set visits like the hackenberg and some that are close to the public... but don't tell anyone...
did you use the train in the tunel during the visit? and did you see the "surgery" rooms? frightening!!!

Have you been to douaumont?

I don't know for you but I was feeling very strange while in the fortification, the most threaling one was douaumont due to all the explanations, pictures and everything else you can see. the cemetery sight is also... hard to tell...

I grew up with that history very present around me, and I'm also interested by it, I had a neighbour who was at auschwitz, he couldn't sleep at night, we often found boumbs from the 2nd war in the fields almost everywhere in the region, etc...

next time you may visit the north of france there are many V1 launch site to visit and few V2 factory and launch site around Saint-Omer to visit, really interesting to see, and sadening regarding the numbers of people who died to build them...

and give me a shout next time you come to my country, we never know...

Hi Vince,

Strange you should mention the V1 & V2 sites, we went to both at Eperlecques (La Blockhouse? Sp?) & the V2 site at La Capole last year, we also went to Vimy Ridge & around the Somme area - later in the year we came back & visited the Normandy beaches & went to Ypre for the Last Post at the Menin gate.

Unfortunately we didn't get to go on the train at Hackenberg as part of the pentograph broke during our tour.

Douaumont was a fort we visited, I'm a bit muddled up with the names, but I thought Douaumont was the fort in my first post, perhaps that was Fort Vaux? We visited a lot of forts around Verdun & was amazed to see so many that had gates on them, but not locked!

Also popped into a German fort just outside Thionville but I forget it's name.

Here's a few more piccies for you Vince:

Me at La Blockhouse

A V1 at La Blockhouse

V2 factory at La Capole

Just one of the many shells found littering the Somme area - this one is possibly live

Thanks for the replies everybody! just to let you know how the 'Leaf' shot was done - it was hanging in the middle of the track on a single strand from a spider's web - just blowing in the wind.

Cheers,

TSC.

thebrelon wrote on Oct 17^th, 2007 at 2:53pm:

Thats the ones Vince, just me being lazy & trying to quote from memory rather than Google it. Both were amazing to see.

thebrelon wrote on Oct 17^th, 2007 at 2:53pm:

LOL! Always a pleasure.

Cheers,

TSC.