Daniel DUFOUR Posted 15 December , 2022 Share Posted 15 December , 2022 Hey guys, are there any remains of dugouts in the Somme that can be visited today? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HenryTheGerman Posted 18 December , 2022 Share Posted 18 December , 2022 Dugouts, even if lined with beams and boards, are not permanent structures. In addition, the trenches and fortifictions laid out in the open were raized after the war in order to put the battlefields back into agricultural use. If you like to get an impression of trench and dugout systems, pay a visit to the museum in peronne, for example. Regards H. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KIRKY Posted 18 December , 2022 Share Posted 18 December , 2022 Thiepval Wood tour is good at explaining the structures. tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteStarLine Posted 18 December , 2022 Share Posted 18 December , 2022 Daniel, I meant to reply by asking if you were specific in your requirement of a dugout, rather than a pillbox or above ground fortification? The only actual dugout I can think of off the top of my head is the small one at Pozieres. My photograph and notes are somewhere and record the battalion HQ who used it during one of the many attacks on Pozieres. I agree with Henry that most of the others were filled in very quickly, even as the war progressed, to return the land to agriculture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mancpal Posted 18 December , 2022 Share Posted 18 December , 2022 Although not dug outs in the sense you mean, the tunnels at Vimy are well worth visiting. There are also tunnels at Arras though I haven’t visited them. simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mebu Posted 18 December , 2022 Share Posted 18 December , 2022 There is a guide to the existing pill boxes/concrete bunkers on the Somme (not dugouts). Too big to post here, if you send your email address by the forum message system I'll email it to you. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
battle of loos Posted 18 December , 2022 Share Posted 18 December , 2022 good morning, You will find preserved or reconstructed trenches : Pas de Calais department: - Vimy Memorial Park - Museum of Notre Dame de Lorette https://www.musee1418.com/presentation-du-musee Department of the Somme : - Auchonvillers at Avril Williams Michel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel DUFOUR Posted 18 December , 2022 Author Share Posted 18 December , 2022 Thanks s much everyone for your replies!!!! Wish you all a Merry Christmas! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel DUFOUR Posted 19 December , 2022 Author Share Posted 19 December , 2022 (edited) Hey guys, I found one During the German advance in the spring of 1918, the 7th Bn CRT was right in front of them at Villers-Carbonnel. From March 21 to 24, they had to retreat rapidly, via Estrées-Deniécourt, Chuignes and Lamotte-Warfusée, where they were the only organized unit on this road between Amiens and the Germans. I've already scoured Google Maps extensively for potential paths they might have taken. I took another look today and found this: Bois de Wallieux https://maps.app.goo.gl/jMuLj4kroGdg6f3h9?g_st=ic The men of the battalion most likely walked nearby, if not right there. And there is a vestige of a DUGOUT in this wood. YES! Attached snapshot comes from this ebook: https://books.google.ca/books?id=aRYDDAAAQBAJ&lpg=PP1&hl=fr&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false Edited 19 December , 2022 by Daniel DUFOUR Adding picture reference Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteStarLine Posted 19 December , 2022 Share Posted 19 December , 2022 Daniel, Here is the one in Pozieres. Below that is the remains of the entrance to the large dugout on the River Somme banks, used by several Australian brigades. It was gas-proof and accommodated 150 men. It is very close to the crash site of a rather well known German airman and several eyewitnesses wrote their accounts based on standing outside the dugout watching him fly 70 metres overhead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteStarLine Posted 19 December , 2022 Share Posted 19 December , 2022 Totally forgot about these Daniel - each one is half in the ground and half above, so I would class them as dugouts. The first image shows one of a pair of two still standing near Lahoussie / Franvillers and both are clearly visible on Google StreetView. The second one is in Martinpuich and a plaque describes the story. As a bonus, nothing can be discerned from the last image but I am very proud of the fact that walking over the ground that the Third Division AIF advanced over in September 1918, I stumbled into the remains of a fully overgrown, impenetrable trench. I could pick my way through for a few metres then exited via the remains of the communication trench. There are also some trench remains near Doignt and more not far from Adelaide Cemetery, but after 100 years these need an appreciation for the ground to recognise them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HenryTheGerman Posted 19 December , 2022 Share Posted 19 December , 2022 @Daniel Dufour @WhiteStarLine, this is very impressive. As in combat, "persistance pays off!" Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel DUFOUR Posted 19 December , 2022 Author Share Posted 19 December , 2022 Thank you so much @WhiteStarLine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel DUFOUR Posted 19 December , 2022 Author Share Posted 19 December , 2022 4 hours ago, HenryTheGerman said: @Daniel Dufour @WhiteStarLine, this is very impressive. As in combat, "persistance pays off!" Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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