Tom Oliviers Posted 4 February , 2022 Share Posted 4 February , 2022 (edited) Thanks to Egbert who told me this complex had another name, i was completely wrong with the name below: Hello, right behind the Malmaisonstellung (Chemin des Dames area) lies this undergound quarry that received the name "Malepartushöhle" on the german trenchmaps. After some research we found a small entrance. The unterground complex is still littered with relics. Offcourse we did not take them to home, this is forbidden due to French law and for me, its because the respect for the war you leave battlefield relics in place. The only thing i took where photographs. And those i will share with you guys in here! Also a word of caution, do not manipulate any found munitions and keep it safe, those tunnels are at some points at the brink of collapsing! Edited 4 February , 2022 by Tom Oliviers new discoverys !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Oliviers Posted 4 February , 2022 Author Share Posted 4 February , 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Oliviers Posted 4 February , 2022 Author Share Posted 4 February , 2022 Does anyone know what this RPK 87, maybe a name from 1987, but the entrance to this cave is far from public, so maybe something from 1887? or a unit from ww1? i have no idea... Time for a bit of relax in the fields... oh wait, there lies something dangerous next to comrade Eli... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Oliviers Posted 4 February , 2022 Author Share Posted 4 February , 2022 Another one nearby, found by the farmer and ready for pickup by the French Demineurs (bombsquad)... After 100 years the area is still littered with explosives (still dangerous!) Thats all folks , as usual, all info about the fightings near this quarry is more than welcome, as well as any information about the units that occupied the complex... Special thanks to Gunther de Jonghe Eli Artoos Ilse van Kerkhoven for joining in our (field)adventures! Best regards Tom Oliviers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AOK4 Posted 4 February , 2022 Share Posted 4 February , 2022 RPK 87 = Reserve-Pionier-Kompagnie 87 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Oliviers Posted 4 February , 2022 Author Share Posted 4 February , 2022 OH WAUW! Thank you Jan!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 4 February , 2022 Share Posted 4 February , 2022 I think the Malepartushöhle was part of the Tonnere Quarries (in French trenchmaps). Unfortunately I sold my book from Grothe "Die Beauregard Höhle" in which the Malepartushöhle was mentioned Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Oliviers Posted 4 February , 2022 Author Share Posted 4 February , 2022 (edited) Hello Egbert, Die Beauregard Höhle we also found, only the entrance, but a friend of mine actually made it inside! (on another day) He noticed very deep shafts inside. I didnt trusted the entrance, as i heard noises inside and the entrance smelled like swine... i dont want to get eye in eye with a swine when i'm crawling inside on my belly... Here some pictures of the entrance to the Beauregardhöhle Edited 4 February , 2022 by Tom Oliviers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 4 February , 2022 Share Posted 4 February , 2022 Tom are you sure you were in Malepartushöhle? Or did you mix it with nearby Beauregard Höhle? ......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 4 February , 2022 Share Posted 4 February , 2022 These are my pictures from Beauregard Höhle. They match some of your pictures for Malepartus Höhle: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 4 February , 2022 Share Posted 4 February , 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 4 February , 2022 Share Posted 4 February , 2022 My pictures from 2013ish. The arrangement of bottles and fieldbeds etc have been altered. So there were definitely more people in the caves between then and now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Oliviers Posted 4 February , 2022 Author Share Posted 4 February , 2022 Cool! You are right! I need to change the name in my archive! Thank you very much! When back home i search the document where i found the malepartus name on. Maybe i was entirely wrong, maybe the map that i used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 4 February , 2022 Share Posted 4 February , 2022 Tom I have more documentation on Beauregard and Malepartus and other same area caves. Let me know what your documents show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 4 February , 2022 Share Posted 4 February , 2022 Highly recommended: WK1 Die Höhle von Beanregard Westfront 1917 H.H Freiherr Grote | eBay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Oliviers Posted 4 February , 2022 Author Share Posted 4 February , 2022 i've checked out my trenchmaps, i was wrong! i dont know (anymore) where i got that info of malepartus before... Here a part of the map of FAR 59, Laffaux Ecke. do you by accident have this same map in better resolution? i only have this poor resolution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 5 February , 2022 Share Posted 5 February , 2022 On 04/02/2022 at 10:23, Tom Oliviers said: Hello Egbert, Die Beauregard Höhle we also found, only the entrance, but a friend of mine actually made it inside! (on another day) He noticed very deep shafts inside. I didnt trusted the entrance, as i heard noises inside and the entrance smelled like swine... i dont want to get eye in eye with a swine when i'm crawling inside on my belly... Here some pictures of the entrance to the Beauregardhöhle Tom, so which cavern is that actually? Could you post your location on a present day google map? We may identify the name of that cave which you think was Beauregard but isn't indeed. I will look for your other request later today Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 5 February , 2022 Share Posted 5 February , 2022 here is a better res jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Oliviers Posted 5 February , 2022 Author Share Posted 5 February , 2022 Thanks for the map Egbert! very nice in hight quality! Here the location of that other cavern, as i remember correctly. It seems that the kmz-file with the correct info has been vanished (i think i accidentaly removed it), i remember i had a very large kmz-file of chemin des dames and it was one big chaos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 6 February , 2022 Share Posted 6 February , 2022 So your marked location is indeed ca 600m west of Beauregard Höhle and ca 900m west of Malepartus Höhle. I do not have a name for "your" galleries, but I am sure there was..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Oliviers Posted 6 February , 2022 Author Share Posted 6 February , 2022 (edited) i think that was why i called this one beauregard höhle and the other malepartus höhle, i dont know where i made the mistake but in the beginning when i was researching chemin des dames i often drew locations from a trenchmap with approximately and not exact on point, saved them in my archive and now, tens years later i'm still using those wrong names. But if you see my archive of chemin des dames, its such HUGE chaos, old lines, new lines, some saved into sectors, others into abschnitte which where also wrong but still standing there,... i really need to update this archive. We almost researching Chemin des Dames for more than 10 years now, in the beginning without any trenchmap, no references, just walking every slope and forest with our ow feets and with any chance pinpoint them on Google Earth when i was back home. Happy i met you in here to help me out! Here an example of what remains of the chaos on google earth for my chemin des dames + noyon front Edited 6 February , 2022 by Tom Oliviers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 6 February , 2022 Share Posted 6 February , 2022 This small piece of the battlefield is littered with mostly subterranean galleries like the Tonnerre and the Jesus. They all have been used by German troops and gave them good cover from French artillery bombardments. Again, an excellent first hand account what happened in 1918 is the above mentioned book by Grote. Entrances are clearly visible on the open field. Even the farmers don't dare to come close to the entrances with their tractors......but I guess the farmers are not eager to see battlefield tourists on their grounds..... Good hunting and send some exclusive pictures to me.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 6 February , 2022 Share Posted 6 February , 2022 Do not worry with Chemin de Dames chaos. This is my chaos and when I zoom in the chaos gets more and more .....you should see my Somme chaos..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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