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The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

La Basse Ville - German Maps of Allied Trenches, Sep/Oct 1917?


Buffnut453

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Dear GWF Experts,

 

Are any German maps that show Allied trench positions in the vicinity of La Basse Ville in the timeframe Sep/Oct 1917?  Tmapper provided the map below showing German trench positions but I'm wondering if any equivalents have survived that show the British trenches?

 

Many thanks,
Mark

 

 

Trench Map - La Basse Ville Area.jpg

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4 hours ago, EDWARD1 said:

28SW4 6A(s) Sept 17

la basse ville.jpg

 

Edward

 

Thank you so much for this image.  It's exactly what I was looking for.amd will be invaluable when we visit the area this summer.  Truly appreciate the help and the rapid response.

 

Kind regards,

Mark

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16 hours ago, andygo999 said:

Presumably you know about this website

 

https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=15&lat=50.7471&lon=2.9216&layers=101464687&b=1

 

It overlays WW1 trench maps on top of google map images. I found it really useful

Andy

 

 

 

Hi Andy,

 

Thanks for the pointer.  I'll have to play around to see what I can find.

 

Cheers,

Mark

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Just wanted to share the reason for my interest in the British trenches near La Basse Ville.  One of my relatives was 2Lt George Gamble who was mortally wounded there on 23 Sep 1917.  The War Diary extract below describes the events leading up to his death:

 

1917-09-13 thru 24 (Crop).jpg

 

Based on the trench map kindly provided by Edward1, I'm guessing that the "front line trenches" were probably the stretch that runs from Grande Hale Farm in the south, through the Sugar Refinery and along the River Lys to the area of The Factory in the north.  

 

Trench Map - La Basse Ville Area (with British Trenches) - Crop.jpg

 

I'm no expert on Great War trench layouts so I'd appreciate any feedback if I'm misinterpreting the map.

 

Many thanks,
Mark

 

Edited by Buffnut453
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One other dumb question...does anyone know if there are any aerial photographs of the area from the timeframe in question?  I have another thread on that topic but, given the speed and detail of the response to this thread, perhaps one of you marvelous La Basse Ville experts may know of any reconnaissance imagery?  I would have thought some reconnaissance imagery would have been taken to support the New Zealand attack on the German positions in July 1917...so perhaps some further images were taken in the following 3 months?  

 

I'm intrigued to see how many of the landmarks on the map were still visible in the fall of 1917.  I can't imagine that the sugar refinery, sitting slap in no-man's land, would have survived...but it would be good to see actual imagery of the place.  

 

Again, any help would be very much appreciated.

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