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Sir John Monash Centre Credit: Lisa-Michele-Burns
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Somme Battlefield Tour: Fromelles, Wellington Tunnels and the Hindenburg Line
Sir John Monash Centre Credit: Lisa-Michele-Burns
Amiens
Thiepval © Somme Tourisme / Garry
Wellington Tunnels © Cituation et Ensemble
Itinerary
Day 1 Paris Amiens Sir John Monash Centre, Pozieres & Thiepval Amiens
Meet at Amiens train station (with pick‑up also available from Longueau or Arras stations).
In the region, we’ll begin with a visit to the Adelaide Cemetery, the site from which the Unknown Australian Soldier was exhumed in 1993 before being laid to rest in Canberra. We’ll then explore the National Australian War Memorial and the Sir John Monash Centre, where you’ll gain a powerful sense of how close the Germans came to capturing Amiens in the spring of 1918 before being halted by the AIF.
On the way to Albert, we’ll pause at Morlancourt Ridge to view the site of the Red Baron’s crash.
Lunch is included.
Just outside Albert lies the striking Lochnagar Mine Crater. We’ll continue on to the Australian 1st Division Memorial at Pozieres and the location of the Gibraltar Pillbox fortification. We’ll also visit the Pozieres Military Cemetery, where many Australians who fought in their first major battle in France are laid to rest.
Along the German second defensive line, we’ll stop at the iconic Windmill Site, the highest point on the Somme battlefield and a memorial to the 23,000 Australians who fell there. Nearby is the grave of Private Russ Bosisto from Adelaide, whose remains were discovered 80 years after the battle.
We’ll then travel to Thiepval to visit the Interpretative Centre and the impressive Memorial to the Missing of the Somme, which bears more than 72,000 names.
In the surrounding area, we’ll walk through the preserved trenches at Beaumont-Hamel and visit the memorial to the 36th Ulster Division.
Return to the hotel.
Overnight stay in Amiens at Holiday Inn Amiens or similar.
Lunch
Beaumont-Hamel-Credit: Somme Tourisme
Day 2 Amiens Fromelles, Arras, Bullecourt Paris
Meet at your hotel.
Today’s tour begins with a visit to the first new Commonwealth War Graves cemetery created since the Second World War. This cemetery was established following the discovery of a mass grave at Pheasant Wood in Fromelles, where more than 250 Australian soldiers were uncovered. Over half have now been positively identified through DNA analysis. During the tour, you will also see the site where the original mass grave lay hidden for decades.
We will then explore the Fromelles battlefield, including the Cobber Memorial and the surviving German bunkers nearby. The memorial captures the spirit of the cry heard from No Man’s Land: “Don’t forget me, cobber.” The newly arrived 5th Australian Division suffered a devastating 5,533 casualties in just 27 hours, the worst single-day loss in Australia’s military history.
Next, we’ll visit VC Corner Australian Cemetery and Memorial to the Missing, the only cemetery on the Western Front containing only Australian soldiers. Here lies a mass grave holding 410 unidentified Australians, and the memorial walls list almost 1,300 names of those still missing at the end of the war.
Nearby is the beautifully serene Le Trou Aid Post Cemetery, considered one of the loveliest Commonwealth cemeteries along the Western Front. Surrounded by a moat and graceful willow trees, this area is also close to where Australian Brigadier-General “Pompey” Elliott had his headquarters and witnessed the terrible losses of his men on 19 July 1916.
Lunch will be taken in Arras, a charming city with connections to the French Revolution and known for its two elegant Baroque-style market squares.
In the afternoon, we’ll visit the impressive Wellington Quarries. These underground tunnels sheltered 24,000 soldiers beneath Arras in 1917 in preparation for the Battle of Vimy Ridge. Inside, you will see original graffiti carved by the soldiers who waited here before going into battle.
We will then travel to Bullecourt to explore the formidable Hindenburg Line, where the AIF fought in the spring of 1917. Stops include the Slouch Hat Memorial and the bronze Bullecourt Digger, created after a local farmer donated land in 1992 for this tribute. Nearby is a moving memorial to the Australian soldiers who fell during the fighting in 1917 and are now commemorated at the National Australian Memorial in Villers-Bretonneux.
Return to the train station for onward travel to Paris.
If you wish, you can request to extend your stay with additional nights in Amiens
Breakfast
Fromelles
Somme Battlefield Tour: Fromelles, Wellington Tunnels and the Hindenburg Line
France
From AUD 1,997pp
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From AUD 1,997pp