Day 1 - Going to War

100 years ago the First World War began, the Great War. What at first seemed like a local conflict would eventually turn into a global war that kept Europe in a grip. After the war, Europe would never be the same again.

The most important historical document I have ever come across in my travels is probably the declaration of war by the Habsburg Emperor Franz-Jozef (head of the dual monarchy Austria-Hungary and husband of Empress Sissi) on Serbia. The first stone fell, the rest of Europe followed in a big domino game.

Before 1914 there had already been mounting tensions between the major European countries. The last time they had actually really went to war was against Napoleon.

Since the defeat of Napoleon, regional conflicts had occurred here and there.

The dynamics changed when several major European countries made treaties and industrialization provided an unprecedented firepower: fast firing artillery guns, some of large caliber, and automatic firearms. There were tens of thousands of kilometers of railways over which troops could be transported. By introducing conscription, Russia, France and Germany were able to raise, arm and transport millions of soldiers. However, this new situation did not translate into a new military vision. People still believed in hand-to-hand combat.

1914 was a time of prosperity. Europe was at its peak. The Industrial Revolution led to a flourishing economy. But still. Germany was frustrated by the colonial expansion of the other empires. The country prospered but had only limited access to the sea. Austria-Hungary was only a shadow of the once powerful Habsburg Empire and that also caused frustration.

The tensions led to mutual treaties: Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy united. On the other side, it was France, Britain and Russia who made a pact. Belgium played its role as a buffer state between France and Germany, and remained neutral. The British were going to protect that neutrality.

These two blocks would normally balance because no one wanted to risk a war.

However, Germany also wanted a powerful fleet of its own and thus set in motion an arms race. France, Germany and Russia increased their armies.

Then the Balkans exploded. A few conflicts had already occurred and Austria had hoped that these would weaken the Balkans. However, Serbia emerged as a strong winner and Austria waited for an opportunity to attack Serbia. Then on June 28th, 1914, a Serbian nationalist assassinated Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austrian throne. That was all what was needed for  Austria to impose an impossible ultimatum on Serbia and finally invaded Serbia on July 28th, 1914. Where everyone expected this to be a local issue again, the impossible happened and the situation escalated. Russia mobilized its army, Germany felt threatened and declared war on Russia on August 1st. The following days the others followed and Europe was at war.

Germany wanted to attack France via Belgium and bring it to its knees, then regroup and then do the same with Russia. They hoped for a free passage through neutral Belgium, but the British rallied behind Belgium and declared war on Germany.

From August to October 1914, Germany passed through Belgium, one of the most populous and most developed countries in the world.

Initially, the German army was able to push the French and British back to the Franco-Belgian border in what is now called the Battle of the Borders. This one was unusually bloody. The French army lost as many as 75,000 soldiers in one month. The German advance was finally halted at the Marne, near Paris when the German army was forced to withdraw. From that moment on, the battle moved further and further towards the Franco-Belgian border. Towards the end of 1914 the war came to a standstill. The armies dug in on a large scale. They tried with large numbers of soldiers to attack the enemy, who had first been weakened by bombardments. The attempts to break through followed one by one from the end of November 1914 to the spring of 1918. These attacks degenerated into months-long battles in miserable conditions and with minimal gain.

Ypres had the sad honor of having to endure five of these battles. This led to the total destruction of the city.

In Ypres and the surrounding area, the traces of this war have never been erased. Hence our plan to face this Great War itself for three days. A war that produced an indescribable amount of suffering, tragedy and madness.

Now and then, war ammunition is still being excavated and streets or entire villages have to be evacuated. This is tangible evidence of the horror of that time.

There are no more veterans, nor are there any witnesses with a vivid memory of the Great War. What remains are the silent witnesses: the innumerable graves in the Allied cemeteries in the western corner. Some numbers: 10 million people died during the 4-year war. As many as 550,000 of these fell in and around Ypres. 300,000 of these were soldiers from the United Kingdom and the British Commonwealth. Since the United Kingdom decided not to repatriate these soldiers, many war cemeteries arose. They are our guideline throughout our visit.

Our first stop is Essex Farm Cemetery, where 1204 soldiers are buried. They died in the neighboring medical post which was located in an underground bunker.

Doctor John McCrae worked at this aid station and the misery he saw here every day inspired him to write 'In Flanders Fields', the world famous poem that would make the poppy a symbol of this war.

This cemetery also contains Valentine 'Joe' Strudwick, at 15, one of the youngest soldiers of the war.

Next stop is the Yorkshire Trench and Dugout, a reconstruction of the trenches and underground bunker found here. 

The First World War was first and foremost a trench warfare. The big problem was the weather. The soldiers had to endure one of the worst winters, and if that wasn't enough, it rained profusely for the rest of the months. Trenches were flooded, something to which there was no immediate answer. They tried to pump out the water with pumps and built a wooden construction to ensure that the soldiers did not always have to stand with their feet in the water or mud, but it was not very effective. Many soldiers drowned in the trenches or died from diseases caused by their wet feet. The Germans built their trenches on higher ground and were therefore less affected by this.

We make a quick stop at the Colne Valley Military Cemetery, a so-called frontline cemetery. These are small cemeteries close to where the soldiers actually died at the front. Only 47 soldiers are buried here.

A little further we find the monument at the Carrefour des Roses. This medieval cross commemorates the first gas attack suffered by two French divisions here on April 22, 1915. 

After all, the first world war was also the first where chemical weapons were used. Ten minutes after some 168 tons of gas entered the French trenches, some 6,000 of them had died. They suffocated, others literally coughed their lungs out. Some drowned in the fluid that caused the gas to build up in the lungs. A large number went blind because chlorine affects soft parts such as lungs and eyes.

After the chlorine gas, the Germans used the newly developed mustard gas, nicknamed the Ypresite, named after Ypres where it was first used.

Finally, we visit one of the few French cemeteries. 

Unlike the British, the French did repatriate their dead. Striking are the many Islamic graves as several colonial divisions fought with the French.

We end the day in Ypres, the city that was completely destroyed by the Germans in 1915.

Unbelievable that this city was rebuilt in a relatively short time. The Cloth Hall, the Cathedral,

it's all back. 

In the cloth hall is the 'In Flanders Fields' museum, located a beautiful museum that should not be missed when visiting the city. It draws an impressive picture of what life was like for both soldiers and civilians during WW I.

The highlight of the day is attending the Last Post ceremony at 8 pm under the Menin Gate. The Menin Gate is one of four Memorials to the Missing that the British erected for the 90,000 missing soldiers from the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. 

55,000 names are engraved in the panels of the Menin Gate. Since November 11, 1929, this salute has taken place every evening, except during the war years from May 20, 1940 to September 6, 1944.

The Last Post was traditionally played at the end of the day to commemorate those who died in the violence of war that day.

Now it is a permanent salute to those who were never found or whose grave is unknown. When the four firefighters put their silver clarions to their lips, there is absolute silence. We are standing under the gate with more than 1,000 people listening to one of the most haunting moments of my life. 

The ceremony concludes with the laying of poppy wreaths by delegates from schools, army divisions and other associations. And this accompanied by the beautiful song of an English children's choir. Goosebumps. ….