4x4 Tours in Northern France 4x4 Massif Central Tours 4x4 Battlefield tours 4x4 Special offers. 4x4 5 pillars challenge 4x4 Photos from tours 4x4 Tracking the Tank photos 4x4 The Battle of Cambrai Mudplug Calendar Mudplug Guestbook 4x4 Links last minute mud 5 pillars site weekends 4x4 Special offers. off-roading, experienced and fully equipped. Land Rover, Jeep, Suzuki, Vauxhall - Opel, Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi Mercedes
Chysler Daimler's Jeep division brought some journalists and 5 Jeeps on our November Tracking the Tank tour. They brought 3 Grand Cheroke, including a 5.7 V8, a Cherokee Renegade, and a fully equipped Wrangler.
And so a group of 13 adventurous 4x4 enthusiasts, travel buffs and the relatives of a soldier who served in the First World War, gathered together on a cold, foggy weekend this month to Track the Tanks on a greenlaning battlefield adventure in Cambrai, northern France.
We met up on Friday evening at the Hotel Beatus where we were welcomed by Jerry and given an introduction to our weekend adventure. After this we watched a short DVD, which gave us a brief overview of the Battle of Cambrai, enjoyed an aperitif in the lounge, followed by a wonderful meal and excellent wine - which rounded the day off perfectly!
The next morning dawned cold, frosty and very foggy, but the group, undaunted, received their daily orders and set off in convoy to track the tanks.
A mixture of Jeeps and Land Rovers (of varying sizes and specifications) wound their way along tracks and lanes in the heart of the french countryside, which had once been traversed by First World War tanks during the 1917 Battle of Cambrai.
Eric guided the convoy of 4x4s through the freezing fog following the route the tanks would have taken as they assaulted the Hindenberg Line, and we saw the remains of the trenches in woodland where fighting took place.
Jerry recounted acts of bravery and heroism as he reported on the action and tactics of this pivotal batle of the Great War.
We visited the village of Fesquières where we saw D51 Deborah, a tank of the Great War , now housed in a barn. Philippe Gorczynski explained how he came to discover this tank and recover it from the ground in 1998. The it was back to the hotel where we were treated to a special anniversary dinner , hosted by Philippe in honour of the Royal Tank Regiment.
On the morning of the second day, it was even colder, and the fog was thicker as we set off to Hermies where General "Boy" Bradford was buried. We then continued to Orival for the first Ceremony by way of Ytres (a tank unloading point), and Havrincourt where we saw the West Riding Memorial.
At Orival, where many of the casualties from the battle are buried, we joined Philippe, local French dignitaries and old soldiers in an Act of Remembrance at Orival Wood. A one piper played a lament, and the poem In Memoriam written by the poet E A Mackintosh who is buried in this cemetary was read during the short moving ceremony.
Following this, we joined in another ceremony of Remembrance at the Memorial to the Missing at Louverval, where Jerry read a passage from the First World War publication entitled 'Tank News' and a wreath and flowers were laid.
The freezing fog had still not lifted and we were all in need of warmth and refreshment, so it was time to retire to a local restaurant for an excellent meal and a little wine, beside a roaring fire.
Having thawed out over lunch, our weekend finished with a visit to a small museum at Bullecourt run by M. Letaille.
Finally we finished our weekend together with another venture off the beaten track greenlaning along a muddy rutted track to Bourlon.
4x4 Tours in Northern France 4x4 Massif Central Tours 4x4 Battlefield tours 4x4 Special offers. 4x4 5 pillars challenge 4x4 Photos from tours 4x4 Tracking the Tank photos 4x4 The Battle of Cambrai Mudplug Calendar Mudplug Guestbook 4x4 Links last minute mud 5 pillars site weekends 4x4 Special offers. off-roading, experienced and fully equipped. Land Rover, Jeep, Suzuki, Vauxhall - Opel, Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi Mercedes