Day 11 – The Battlefields Pt 4

A shorter report today, as we finish off our tour of the old Western Front, and head for Paris.
First call was to the Australian Army Corp Memorial near Le Hamel. The memorial is set on the old German front lines, as at 4th July, 1918. On that day, General Sir John Monash directed Australian troops in a battle which is said to represent the start of the end of WW1. Australians were involved in only a few battles to follow, prior to the end of the war on 11 November 1918. Today we reflected on the tragedy of the loss of men so near to the end of hostilities. Heath Cemetery, near Harbonniere, is the resting place of many soldiers who fell at the Battle of Amiens on 8th August, 1918. Next on our list was a visit to the AIF 4th Division Memorial near Bellenglise. The memorial sits way off the track in the middle of vast fields of wheat and canola. James Ross’s 48th Battalion was part of the 4th Division.
Last call on our tour of battlefield sites was the tiny Calvaire cemetery, near Montbrehain, where Capt. Harry Fletcher is laid to rest. Fletcher and his schoolboy mate, Mahoney saw service at Gallipoli in 1915, and were involved in many battles from then right through to 1918. On 5th October, during Australia’s last WW1 battle, Fletcher banged on the outside of one of his tanks to gain the attention of the crew. Just at that moment, the tank was hit by a shell and Fletcher was killed. Ironically, elsewhere on the front, Mahoney was wounded on the same day, and died of his wounds that night. There was only 5 weeks to go until armistice. We drank a toast, a tot of rum, to Captain Harry Fletcher.
From Montbrehain, we left the battlefields behind, and headed towards Paris. There wasn’t a lot of talking on the way. For some, exhaustion had kicked in, for others it was a time for inner reflection. We arrived at our hotel, but had only minutes to prepare for another bus pick-up to our last supper in the artists district of Montmartre. We supped sumptuously, boarded our bus and did one last lap of Paris at night, to take in the glitter. A last goodnight to my new found family, and I head for home tomorrow.