horrocks Posted 11 April , 2015 Share Posted 11 April , 2015 The remains of the Mill at Le Hamel. Connaught & Thiepval Wood Feste Schwaben. The face of the redoubt would, I think, have run roughly along the line of the narrow dark line in the field on the right, crossing the track then running for a few yards parallel to it before crossing back beyond the peak of the hill. It was these positions that were captured and held by the 7th Queen's and 7th Bedfords on 28th September, and where Tom Adlam earned his VC. Thiepval Wood from the track to the Schwaben Redoubt. View from the Schwaben - I would be standing amongst the two trench lines on the face of the redoubt - of Mill Road Cemetery. This shows clearly that the redoubt was set well back from the position of the cemetery, which lies in fact amongst the German A and B trenches. The internet seems to be full of information that places the Schwaben in all manner of inaccurate locations, usually under the cemetery or just behind the Ulster Tower. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horrocks Posted 11 April , 2015 Author Share Posted 11 April , 2015 From the same position looking to the right shows clearly the dominating position of the Schwaben. The Hamel-Auchonvillers road, the Newfoundland Park and the Beaumont - Beaucourt Station cutting and the Redan-Beaucourt ridge all in view. The three German trench lines on the field to the left of the cutting can just be made out, as indeed can the position of the Hawthorn crater beyond. From the Grandcourt road behind Schwaben, Beaucourt in the distance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fattyowls Posted 12 April , 2015 Share Posted 12 April , 2015 Toby These are great, I'm viewing them on a nice big screen in the Holiday Inn in Englos (I'm off to Fromelles and Bois Grenier tomorrow) and the quality is outstanding. I may need to buy a big screen PC after this. Pete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horrocks Posted 14 April , 2015 Author Share Posted 14 April , 2015 German (second/reserve?) trenches in front of the Thiepval Memorial, exposed by recent tree clearance. Mill Road CWGC in the background. Memorial with the Leipzig quarry in the distance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horrocks Posted 14 April , 2015 Author Share Posted 14 April , 2015 Thank you Pete, very much. I hope you are having a good trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horrocks Posted 15 April , 2015 Author Share Posted 15 April , 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seadog Posted 15 April , 2015 Share Posted 15 April , 2015 Cracking photos which will take some bettering. For those not familiar with the area around Thiepval here is an overhead. https://www.flickr.com/photos/glosters/3707668034/in/set-72157621110454887 Norman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorke Scarlett Posted 15 April , 2015 Share Posted 15 April , 2015 The view / and command of the battlefield from the Schwaben Redoubt cannot be over emphasised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShirlD Posted 15 April , 2015 Share Posted 15 April , 2015 Thank you for these stunning photos, takes me straight back to our visit last October, most of the time it felt as if we were on our own. The most memorable drive for me was on the first night at dusk when we drove down from Beaumont Hamel and Auchonvillers with Thiepval on our left, it was really overwhelming, just being there and trying to transfer all the knowledge in your head on to the countryside around us. My hope is to be able to visit and have time to walk battlefields, with someone who can explain the terrain to us. cheers Shirley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brummell Posted 15 April , 2015 Share Posted 15 April , 2015 Thanks, Toby. The second shot in post #4 is beautiful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horrocks Posted 16 April , 2015 Author Share Posted 16 April , 2015 Ovillers CWGC Pozieres CWGC. Gordon Dump CWGC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShirlD Posted 16 April , 2015 Share Posted 16 April , 2015 Love the one of Pozieres, thanks cheers Shirley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horrocks Posted 16 April , 2015 Author Share Posted 16 April , 2015 Thank you all for the kind comments. Shirley, I know just how you feel, it can be quite overwhelming at times. More to come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horrocks Posted 17 April , 2015 Author Share Posted 17 April , 2015 Sausage Valley, with Becourt Wood and Lochnagar, which appears in this edit to be smoking slightly - it wasn't in the original! Round Wood Contalmaison CWGC. I noticed that the remains of the Chateau are still extant, a bund in the field behind the cemetery, not photogenic although I do have a picture if anyone is interested. I couldn't help but wonder if the cellars are still there, beneath the rubble. They served as a very busy ADS, of which this cemetery presumably tells many a sad tale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterhogg Posted 18 April , 2015 Share Posted 18 April , 2015 Wonderful photographs. i particularly appreciate those depicting the location of the Schwaben Redoubt. You've brought some real insight to understanding the lay of the land and its impact on the battle. y Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horrocks Posted 19 April , 2015 Author Share Posted 19 April , 2015 Wonderful photographs. i particularly appreciate those depicting the location of the Schwaben Redoubt. You've brought some real insight to understanding the lay of the land and its impact on the battle. Thank you Connor. I wish I had taken a shot back towards Thiepval, but the light was too glaring. However, study of a contour map clearly shows that the Schwaben was located effectively at the furthest high point of the (Pozieres) ridge that runs back in an east then south-easterly direction via Stuff, Zollern and Mouquet to its highest point at the Mill above Pozieres. The topography is subtle and 'long', and one can see when looking at the sequential 'front line' map of this sector how it is this long, low ridge that the commonwealth armies were struggling to dominate here, and to which the Germans were able to so tenaciously cling right through almost to the end of the battle. Indeed, they were still on its reverse slope when the battle was closed down. http://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/sidebyside.cfm#zoom=14&lat=50.0647&lon=2.7091&layers=101723165&right=BingHyb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dah Posted 19 April , 2015 Share Posted 19 April , 2015 Love the photo of 'Pozieres cemetery on the skyline' (presumably from the La Boiselle-Contalmaison road) - an impressive construction somewhat compromised by its location next to today's busy/noisy Albert-Bapaume road. With a zoom, long lens or average pair of binoculars, you can get a similar skyline view (of Pozieres Cem) looking north from the back wall of Danzig Alley Cemetery, 5 kms away at Mametz. This perspective helps (me at least) to see the bigger picture of how/why the battle unfolded as it did. (You can similarly gaze south from the front of Pozieres Cem across to Mametz and appreciate the high ground vantage for observing or directing artillery fire) David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horrocks Posted 21 April , 2015 Author Share Posted 21 April , 2015 Bois Francais "The gentle slopes are green, to remind you of south English places..." Mametz downs. Bazentin Calvary High Wood High Wood Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghazala Posted 21 April , 2015 Share Posted 21 April , 2015 Great photo's Toby. Thanks for posting them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fattyowls Posted 21 April , 2015 Share Posted 21 April , 2015 Toby, if you keep posting photographs this good it is going to cost me a lot of money as I will have to buy a big screen desktop. I'd already started pricing them up befory you posted the last batches. I am particularly taken with the veiw up to Pozieres and the ones of Ovillers Military cemetery. Two of the men I research were lost in Mash Valley on 1st July and Ovillers is their most likely resting place, so I'm fascinated by the place and will need to search it properly the next time I'm there. Pete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horrocks Posted 22 April , 2015 Author Share Posted 22 April , 2015 Thank you kind sirs. I have just a few more to come. I hope the loading time hasn't put too many off, I probably should have split the thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluevanman Posted 28 April , 2015 Share Posted 28 April , 2015 Excellent photos,thanks for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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