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Battlefields of WW1 and Le Quesnoy

Every New Zealander should experience this at least once in their lifetime! 

This tour follows in the footsteps of NZ troops in WW1 and includes commemorations at Le Quesnoy and the liberation of this town by New Zealand troops.

Near the end of WW1 on 4 November 1918 the New Zealand Division captured the French fortress town of Le Quesnoy in a dramatic and daring action that has special meaning in New Zealand’s military history.

It was the division’s last major engagement of the Great War and a day in which New Zealand troops advanced 10 kilometres, took 2,000 German prisoners and captured 60 field guns, at the cost of about 140 lives.

Rather than reduce the historic town by heavy bombardment, the NZ soldiers climbed the ramparts using ladders. Led by Lieutenant Leslie Averill, a small party scaled the inner wall, entered the town and forced the garrison’s surrender.

The townspeople were jubilant at liberation, and a lasting affection grew between Le Quesnoy (and nearby Beaudignies) and New Zealand, commemorated in place names and annual remembrances today. 12,500 New Zealand troops lay buried in France and Belgium as a result of WW1.

We visit significant sites, relevant battlefields and memorials on the Western Front.

This tour allows the opportunity for like-minded people to visit the Western Front and follow in the footsteps of the NZ troops there in 1916 through to 1918. Our tour group size is limited.     

Includes

  • 7 nights hotel accommodation.
  • Meals: B = Breakfast, D = Welcome, farewell and other dinners as per final itinerary.
  • Commemorative Anzac Dinner.
  • Entry to Te Arawhata New Zealand Liberation Museum:
  • Visit to significant battlefield locations and cemeteries
  • Guided tours of Te Arawhata and the 20-metre-high ramparts of Le Quesnoy
  • Visits to towns instrumental in the lead up to the liberation of Le Quesnoy.
  • Commemorative Walk from Te Arawhata to the Le Quesnoy Communal Cemetery Extension for poppy and wreath laying and the reading of WW1 poetry and letters.
  • Le Quesnoy Commemorative Anzac Service, commencing at Te Arawhata.
  • A public reception at the Le Quesnoy Town Hall.

Excludes

  • Gratuities
  • Local taxes
  • Meals and drinks other than specified on final itinerary.

SPECIAL CONDITION

Participation in this tour is subject to acceptance that the order or specific inclusions (as shown in this itinerary) actually visited on tour are subject to local conditions and availability and may vary from this itinerary.

Le Quesnoy
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Itinerary

Day 1 Monday: Brussels

Arrive Brussels and proceed to your hotel for check in and overnight. Afternoon free to explore Brussels. Welcome dinner (included) tonight and the chance to meet other group members. Hotel Van der Valk Brussels Airport (or similar). D

Day 2 Tuesday: The Somme

Depart Brussels for the Somme Battlefield. We visit the New Zealand Memorial at Longueval and Caterpillar Valley Cemetery. Visit the Somme 1916 Museum in Albert with lunch (own arrangements) to follow, then to Amiens. Continue to Somme Valley area, our base for 2 nights at Mercure Arras (or similar). B, D

Day 3 Wednesday: The Somme, Wellington Quarry, Vimy Ridge

Le Quesnoy and the WW1 Western Front NZ Commemorative Tour AZN25ITIN010825. Auchonvillers to then view the line where the New Zealanders plugged the Gap in 1918 before returning to Arras via Vimy Ridge. We visit the Wellington Quarry Museum which allows visitors to discover original sections of the large underground system of tunnels built by New Zealand Tunnellers in preparation for the Battle of Arras. To navigate their way, tunnellers named the various routes of the network after New Zealand cities. In memory of their heroic effort, the tunnels were later named Wellington Quarry and it is now open to the public. B

Day 4 Thursday: The Somme, Canal du Nord, Grevillers, Cemeteries

Follow the New Zealanders March to Victory via Grevillers, Bapaume, the remains of the NZ Tunnellers military bridge over Canal du Nord at Havrincourt. We have time this afternoon to visit specific battlefields or Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries for group family members (subject to location). Accommodation 4n Valenciennes (or similar). B

Day 5 Friday: Le Quesnoy – Beaudignies

After breakfast we depart our hotel for picturesque Le Quesnoy seeing the route the New Zealanders took. On arrival in Le Quesnoy we visit the NZ Liberation Museum where we have a guided tour of the museum and of Le Quesnoy’s imposing 17th century ramparts. Our tour concludes at the Memorial in the Ramparts. This evening (subject to availability), we invite you to join the Last Post ceremony – a moment to reflect on the sacrifices of the ANZAC soldiers 110 years ago. B

Day 6 Saturday: Le Quesnoy

This morning we will walk from Te Arawhata to the Le Quesnoy Communal Cemetery Extension, the final resting place of 50 New Zealand soldiers, to lay wreaths and poppies and read poems and letters written during WW1. Next we travel to the nearby towns of Beaudignies, Romeries and Vertigneul, each of which played a significant role in the days prior to the liberation of Le Quesnoy. We end this special day with the unmissable Anzac Commemorative Dinner. Join us for a three-course, authentic French meal between locals and Kiwis to celebrate a friendship that has lasted 108 years and stretches across the globe. B, D

Day 7 Sunday: Le Quesnoy and Tyne Cot

This morning Le Quesnoy Anzac Commemorative Service will take place. Our small group may be joined at this by dignitaries representing New Zealand and France, locals and other Kiwi visitors. This is a unique and emotional service where the efforts of the New Zealand troops during the liberation are remembered with reverence and deep gratitude from the people of Le Quesnoy. We then visit Tyne Cot Cemetery and the New Zealand Battlefield at Passchendaele followed by the Passchendaele 1917 Museum. We return to our hotel for our (included) farewell dinner tonight. B, D

Day 8 WW1 Battlefields, Brussels

Following breakfast, it’s time to check out and it’s our last day of our Battlefields Tour. We visit sites en route before our return to Brussels. Arrival is expected approx. 4:30 pm. B

If you require accommodation this night please advise and we can arrange accordingly. Accommodation is available at either airport or inner city locations.

Available dates: Tour commences in April
Pricing: Email info@travlink.net or within NZ call 0800 99 77 88 for more about this unique tour