NickPS Posted 17 February , 2016 Share Posted 17 February , 2016 I'm planning my next visit to the Ypres Salient, with a focus on 3rd Ypres. Can anyone advise how close D'Oude Kaasmakerij is to the location of the principal German fortifications on Bellevue Spur? I would also welcome any tips on other specific locations worth a visit in the context of this battle (although I've already traipsed Hooge, Polygon Wood, Passchendaele, Gheluvelt & Crest Farm pretty extensively in the last 12 months). Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brummell Posted 17 February , 2016 Share Posted 17 February , 2016 D'Oude Kaasmakerij is essentially right on top of the German positions on the spur, where the Flandern I and Flandern II lines met. Flandern I ran down from Bellevue Farm itself along the line of Tynecotstraat, and the blockhouses within the cemetery were part of it. Flandern II, east of Flandern I, ran across the valley and into what is now the southern reach of Passendale. The view across the valley from the Canadian Memorial in Passendale, on the site of what was Crest Farm, is well worth taking in. - brummell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickPS Posted 17 February , 2016 Author Share Posted 17 February , 2016 Thanks Brummell; I'd visited Crest Farm earlier but had failed to take in the significance of what could be seen to North & North West! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fattyowls Posted 17 February , 2016 Share Posted 17 February , 2016 Nick, this is a view of the Spur from just below the Crest Farm site. I think D'Oude Kaasmakerij is just out of shot on the left. If I had a pound for every view on the Western Front that I hadn't taken in the significance of I'd be a very wealthy man. I've just noticed what I think is the spire of Poelkapelle church in the original photo which I'd not noticed before. It's hard to imagine what today's prosperous agricultural scene would have looked like 99 years ago. Pete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Milner Posted 17 February , 2016 Share Posted 17 February , 2016 Nick I have a map and an oblique aerial photo of the area, Bellevue, send me a PM with your email address if you require copies. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickPS Posted 18 February , 2016 Author Share Posted 18 February , 2016 Pete - many thanks, I'd been to the same location but my focus was towards Passchendaele and the Broodseine Ridge! John - many thanks; will DM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nigelcave Posted 18 February , 2016 Share Posted 18 February , 2016 IIRC, the attack that took Crest Farm itself (which had numerous machine guns positioned in and around it), came in from a southerly direction - tho' of course that is rather built up now and so there is no view. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorke Scarlett Posted 16 March , 2016 Share Posted 16 March , 2016 I'm planning my next visit to the Ypres Salient, with a focus on 3rd Ypres. Can anyone advise how close D'Oude Kaasmakerij is to the location of the principal German fortifications on Bellevue Spur? I would also welcome any tips on other specific locations worth a visit in the context of this battle (although I've already traipsed Hooge, Polygon Wood, Passchendaele, Gheluvelt & Crest Farm pretty extensively in the last 12 months). Thanks in advance! Which unit (s) are you looking at in particular for this area and also when? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickPS Posted 17 March , 2016 Author Share Posted 17 March , 2016 Hi Yorke I'd intended to focus on the ANZAC attacks at Broodseinde, Gravenstafel & Bellevue. It was to have been this weekend, but May is now looking more likely due to a number of factors Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorke Scarlett Posted 23 March , 2016 Share Posted 23 March , 2016 I find if you are following in the footsteps of the ANZAC's then there is no better 'on the ground' guide than Peter Pedersen's book "ANZACS on the Western Front". Ticks all the boxes that you are looking at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fattyowls Posted 23 March , 2016 Share Posted 23 March , 2016 Thanks for the tip YS. I will be attempting to follow the path of some of my Kiwi footballers, three of whom were killed on or near the Bellvue Spur so this will really help. Pete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorke Scarlett Posted 24 March , 2016 Share Posted 24 March , 2016 Nick / Pete When you are in the area I would be more than happy to walk the ground with you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fattyowls Posted 24 March , 2016 Share Posted 24 March , 2016 Nick / Pete When you are in the area I would be more than happy to walk the ground with you. YS, that is a very kind offer which I'd like to take you up on. Thanks. I spent a very productive couple of visits last year walking the Somme and the area around Fromelles and I wish I'd got out of various cars much earlier. You pick up so much more. Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sapper D. Posted 25 March , 2016 Share Posted 25 March , 2016 Cheeky question YS: Do you do walks in that neighbourhood more often? Note you live in Zonnebeke. Up to now I have 'managed' to find my way around (I only visit the area of Ieper and places close by) thanks to various books and guides but I tend to become muddled at a certain stage, getting battles, dates and locations mixed up - that sort of thing. We stayed at Varlet Farm last year and are going again this August. Last year I had great "fun" finding the pace where Chavasse was wounded and I realise there is so much more in that area to discover. Also, one of our party is a Kiwi. Hope you do not mind me asking this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorke Scarlett Posted 26 March , 2016 Share Posted 26 March , 2016 Sapper D. PM sent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickPS Posted 27 April , 2016 Author Share Posted 27 April , 2016 Belated thanks for this kind offer YS - I'll let you know when it's back 'on'! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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