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Beauregardhöhle (update)


Tom Oliviers

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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!

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Edited by Tom Oliviers
new discoverys !!!
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IMG_6078.jpg.98cd15a05fe44e2a10e3dcc6134bf48b.jpg

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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...

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Time for a bit of relax in the fields... oh wait, there lies something dangerous next to comrade Eli... :o 

 

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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!)IMG_6038.jpg.e924fe7c6ec47575c71a9a21931b1a1f.jpg

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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

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RPK 87 = Reserve-Pionier-Kompagnie 87

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OH WAUW! Thank you Jan!!!!

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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

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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

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Edited by Tom Oliviers
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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.

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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.

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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.

image.png.d24be87c2d06493cb7175499cdcf0930.png

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  • Tom Oliviers changed the title to Beauregardhöhle (update)
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

IMG_6039.jpg.4f96dd0586804cc842fd3a30e06cd59c.jpg

IMG_6040.jpg.93080ac903aa6f9f27ef93db4cd05065.jpg

 

 

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

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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.

image.png.bfa3d8b8815f047e91650353b3cda0a0.png

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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.....

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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

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Edited by Tom Oliviers
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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....

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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.....

chaos.jpg.6b3ea1f92cdb0dcbc197774d7247144a.jpg

 

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