Battlefield Sabbatical: My Basic Itinerary

This pyramid is the final resting place of more than 10,000 Soldiers from World War I, most of whom fell in the Champagne region, including the bunkers located next to this site.

I have received several messages asking me to sharing the itinerary of my Battlefield Sabbatical. The only problem is that I had to change my planned itinerary because of a random hospitalization that cut into the planned start of my trip. After losing the first day as it was planned, I was forced to change the order of visit to accommodate several planned meetings with people that oversee the operation of these locations and help as subject matter experts for tourists. Having a friend and local tour guide in the area of interest is always beneficial.

I have included links to the websites I used to research these sites. This is only a list of the major attractions that I stopped at during this trip. Along the way there were dozens of unofficial monuments, cemeteries, battlefields, and just plain cool looking things that I had to check out. I recommend every single one of these sites for your battlefield trip in Europe, as well as plenty that are not listed here. As always, if you need specific information please give me a shout.



DAY 1
- BASTOGNE WAR MUSEUM, BASTOGNE, BELGIUM
- BASTOGNE AMERICAN WAR MEMORIAL, BASTOGNE, BELGIUM
- BOIS DE JACQUES (101ST DIVISION MONUMENT AND FOXHOLES), FOY, BELGIUM
- ARDENNES AMERICAN CEMETERY, NEUPRE, BELGIUM

OVERNIGHT IN MAASTRICHT, NETHERLANDS

DAY 2
- HENRI-CHAPELLE AMERICAN CEMETERY, HOMBOURG, BELGIUM
- NETHERLANDS AMERICAN CEMETERY, MARGRATEN, NETHERLANDS
- MEETINGS WITH SOLDIERS AND HISTORIANS OF THE LOCAL BATTLES

OVERNIGHT IN LILLE, FRANCE

DAY 3
- FLANDERS FIELDS AMERICAN CEMETERY, WAREGEM, BELGIUM
- CANADIAN WAR MEMORIAL, ST JULIEN, BELGIUM
- GERMAN WAR CEMETERY, LANGEMARK, BELGIUM
- TYNE COT COMMONWEALTH CEMETERY, WEST VLAANEREN, BELGIUM
- YORKSHIRE TRENCH & DUG OUT, FLANDERS, BELGIUM
- IN FLANDERS FIELDS MUSEUM, YPRES, BELGIUM
- MEETINGS WITH LOCAL HISTORIANS OF THE LOCAL BATTLES

OVERNIGHT IN YPRES, BELGIUM

DAY 4
- AUDENARDE AMERICAN MONUMENT, OUDENARDE, BELGIUM
- IN FLANDERS FIELDS MUSERUM, YPRES, BELGIUM
- SOMME AMERICAN CEMETERY;, BONY, FRANCE
- AISNE-MARNE AMERICAN CEMETERY, BELLEAU, FRANCE
- BELLEAU WOOD AMERICAN MONUMENT, BELLEAU, FRANCE
- CHATEAU-THIERRY AMERICAN MONUMENT, CHATEAU-THIERRY, FRANCE
- OISE-AISNE AMERICAN CEMETERY, SERINGES-ET-NESLES, FRANCE

OVERNIGHT IN REIMS, FRANCE

DAY 5
- MONUMENT AUS MORTS DES ARMEES DE CHAMPAGNE, CHAMPAGNE, FRANCE
- MEUSE-ARGONNE AMERICAN CEMETERY, RAMAGE-SOUS-MONTFAUCON, FRANCE
- MONTFAUCON AMERICAN MONUMENT, MONTFAUCON, FRANCE

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Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery is the largest American Cemetery in Europe, with over 14,000 graves.