We tried to mix things up covering actions in 1870, WW1, 1940 and 1944. In fact the Ardennes has even more to offer but we just didn’t have enough time to see everything. However, our main target was to cover as much as we could of the 1944 Ardennes offensive. One challenge with this is the size of the battlefield and the complexity of the actions that took place.
This map covers the rough route, but doesn’t include our first stop at Mons or the trips to Montmédy, La Ferté or the Battlefield at Stonne. It really would be a mammoth task to share all the photos so for those not so interested here are just a couple of the highlights. I have then done a shortish video showing a lot more of the trip for those who are interested.
Dinant where the Ardennes offensive fizzled out and where De Gaulle was injured in WW1
La Roche en Ardennes
A Sherman in La Roche
Tiger II at La Gleize
Tank traps on the West Wall at Hollerath, Germany
Jack’s Wood in Bastogne location for the 506th Airbourne
Battlefield at Schumanns Eck in Luxemburg
National Military Museum Diekirch
Montmedy Castle
Ouvrage a La Ferte
Battlefield at Stonne
Floing the scene of the cavalry charge in 1870
Chateau of Sedan
Museum of the ‘Last’ Cartridge Sedan
So that is a quick run through and now for those who are keen a short video of our trip
If you made it this far thank you for your patience. We covered a lot of ground in the trip and should anybody else be thinking of going or just interested I would be happy to share my thoughts.
Thanks of course, more games and figures to come soon Matt
Cracking pictures and video most impressive, that was quite a road trip. Thank you for sharing them.
ReplyDeleteThanks Phil we had some fun 👍
DeleteTat looks like a great tour Matt. I read Antony Beevor's book earlier this year so it is great to see pictures of some of the locations. Dinant looks like a beautiful spot.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lawrence we were listening to Beevor as we drove around and then used the guide I have for more detail and some pictures 👍
DeleteI can well imagine your dilemma re the pics,Matt....I have been taking 10 to 20 almost every day for three weeks....I think I will be posting until Christmas if I share them all!
ReplyDeleteWargamesinthedungeon is a wargaming blog so I’ve tried to keep to what I think people would find historically relevant 🤔
DeleteWhat a great trip! I enjoyed both photos and video. While this is a Wargaming blog first, I, fir one, really enjoy your travel photos whether historical or not.
DeleteGreat photos and a cracking video, very interesting indeed.
ReplyDeleteThanks Donnie 👍
DeleteYou certainly got about and crammed a good deal into your trip! Good to see you at T.O.P. on Sunday too.
ReplyDeleteThanks (David?)
DeleteYou guessed correctly! Why Blogger anonymised me I've no idea!
DeleteLooks fab, good to see you yesterday. Found a map for battle Stonne. Very doable
ReplyDeleteAn excellent holiday with lots of inspiration for battles to come 👍
DeleteGreat photos!
ReplyDeleteThank you sir.
Thanks Michal 👍
DeleteWonderful stuff Matt, what a great trip.
ReplyDeleteThanks Stu a recommended holiday destination 👍
DeleteThanks Matt, I will show the pics to Mrs. Wargamer …. You never know :-) Decision Games are going to release a reprint of their Ardennes quad boardgame next year, which is on my list.
ReplyDeleteThank you Norm. La Roche and potentially Bastogne were particularly nice towns if you were looking for a centre to stay. The Ardennes is of course quite beautiful even without the military history, nice food and very strong Belgian Beer ! Dinant is also a popular tourist destination and we ran out of time to visit the castle there, also popular for boat trips.
DeleteThat looks like the perfect road trip, plenty of places to visit
ReplyDeleteA lot for the military minded tourist 😀
DeleteTerrific Matt, great trip.
ReplyDelete👍 and now we are thinking of Vienna for next year ?
DeleteGreat looking monuments and scenes, Matt! The area is packed with historic sites.
ReplyDeleteThanks Dean plenty of places to visit 👍
DeleteThat looks like a fantastic road trip Matt….
ReplyDeleteYou certainly covered a lot of ground…
All the best. Aly
Thanks Aly we like to keep busy 👍
DeleteLooks a great trip. It’s on my to do list
ReplyDeleteThe list is getting longer 👍 certainly worth the trip
DeleteVery jealous! Lots to see for sure and an area I would love to visit one day...
ReplyDeleteHighly recommended Steve if you can manage it. Dinant is about 3 1/2 hours from Calais certainly lots of history on offer
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