The statue rally : witnesses of the past

On the way to our first encounter : the statue of a French officer  As soon as you leave the tourist office, turn left towards the small square. Don't forget to take a photo of this moment and share your best selfies with us ! This officer is pointing in the direction of the Great War sites, where the battle of the Somme began. On July 1st 1916 at 7:28 am in La Boisselle, everything exploded, heralding the start of more than four months of battles and fighting in an extremely violent trench warfare ! Let's keep on with our tour but this time we're heading to the sky.

Walk back to the tourist office, cross the footpath and go straight ahead toward the Town Hall.It was rebuilt after the war, even more beautiful and majestic !Walk toward the theater of the Jeu de Paume, performance hall, on the right of the Town Hall when you're in front of it.  Have you found our handsome aviator ?  He pays tribute to our famous pilots of the Great War like Georges Guynemer and René Fonck. They were true pionners, navigating uncharted skies filled with danger. With their perfect uniforms, often adorned with medals and distinctions, they embodied the spirit of adventure and courage, perched in their cloth and wood planes. They were also renowed for their charm ; they knew that their status as heroes of the sky attracted the attention of young women.  Guynemer said : "When you haven't given everything, you haven't given anything!" He died at the age of 23 and everyone said of him : "He flew so high that he couldn't come back down!" His body has never been found.  Aviators not only contributed to the war effort, they also left a lasting legacy. Just like our aeronautics pionner, Henry Potez, the man behind our Airbus factory in Méaulte. He was one of the first to build a plane for tourism with his Potez 36 !

Now head to Rue Jeanne d'Harcourt to meet our next character !Admire the typical Art Deco facade of the Marché before turning left onto Delair street. Have you noticed this magnificent lion head ? Continue and take the first street on the right until you come to a beautiful fresco depicting the Virgin from our basilica of Notre-Dame de Brebières. Do you know its history ? It was bombed during the Great War, and its Virgin remained leaning horizontally for a very long time. All the british stationned in Albert, who were religious about death, said, "When the Virgin falls, the war will end!" This was indeed the case, as it fell in 1918 ! It's a lovely photo to take with the basilica painted on the fresco and the new basilica, rebuilt identically just behind it! Right in front of this moving fresco, you can see our third statue , the british officer ! Officers didn't have the easiest role either. They were often on the front lines, sharing the dangers with their soldiers. Yet they had to make strategic decisions under extremely difficult conditions. they needed a strong ability to boost the troops morale and demonstrate humanity in times of crisis.  This was the case with Captain Neville, buried in Carnoy-Mametz! English soldiers were madly fond of sports, and on July 1st 1916, an unprecedented incident took place : infantrymen launched an assault by kicking foot balls! An episode as crazy and incredible as this story can be ! Captain Neville improvised a football game in the middle of the war, encouraging his troops, whose morale was at rock bottom, to leave the trenches and kick the ball into the German trench! "The cannons will have done all the work. You won't need your rifles, the germans will be dead", the soldiers are sworn to. But the captain knows that it's wrong : night patrols have shown that the enemy trenches are intact. To boost his men's morale in the face of the machine guns, he gives them balls. One reads : "Grand European Final", "East Surreys versus Bavarians", and another : "No referee". Captain Neville set an example by kicking a ball, and he died, like many of his comrades. His men conquered the german trenches and brought back their balls, precious relics hailed after the battle. The press made him a hero, the embodiment of british sportsmanship. Today, many sports clubs come to pay tribute to him at his grave, 10 minutes away from Albert, by placing scraves of foot balls. 

Turn around and head towards the public garden ! Go down the small path surrounded by ramparts and take this magnificent wrought iron staircase. Here you will find 2 statues. Let's start with the german soldier. Can you see him ? At the beginning of the war, the german soldier kept his prestigious uniform with his magnificent spiked helmet and his mane of hair on top, very practical for riders. Then his uniform changed.  He then wore a helmet on his head that protected him far better than those of french and british soldiers? His fit perfectly on his head and especially protected his forehead. His uniform was known as Feldgrau, a grey-green "field" color, wichc was even more suitable to a trench warfare, the german soldier was thus much better camouflaged than his ennemies. He was the only one to wear high leather boots which offered protection and support for the ankkle, much practical than the calf bandages of British soldiers ! Go back and head towards the indian soldier !

Around 140 000indian soldiers were sent in Europe to support british forces. Often placed on the front lines, they fought bravely under extremely difficult conditions. Their participation demonstrated the colonies commitment to t he war effort. They wore a turban on their head. The spear is the weapon they had. Only indian cavalry units remained in France. until the spring of 1918 and were involved in the battle of the Somme in 1916, then in the fights in Flanders, Artois and Cambrai in november 1917.

Go up the stairs and head toward the basilica.Here, near the fountain, you will encounter a distant country : Australia ! The australian soldier is dinstinguished by his particular hat that he wears on his head, the "Slouch Hat", which is a hat with wide brims, turned up on one side, useful for protection from the sun. This was also very practical for standing at attention with his rifle, but the australian soldier said that it was practical for kissing young french women ! Indeed, the Australian soldier had a reputation for charming perceived as men with a big heart, a sense of humor and a relaxed attitude, even in difficult situations !  The "Diggers" was their nickname, an affectionate term that evoked their camaraderie. Do you know what australian soldiers nicknamed the leaning Virgin of the basilica ? Fanny, because the Virgin reminded them of their swimming champion at the tim, Fanny Durack, ready to dive ! She would become the first autralian olympic medalist.

To the left ! In front of the Hygge café !What about taking you to Scotland ? To the sound of bagpipes. In fact, this scottish soldier is the most photographed one.  This beautiful country embodies a land of mists and legends with the Loch Ness monster, its castles, the Higlands, the rivers, the sheep and of course its bagpipers.  Do you know what the german used to call them ? The ladies from hell In fact, the german soldiers were very afraid of these soldiers, that they considered crazy because the scottish soldiers wore kilts and walked to the sound of bagpipes even on the battlefields !  Scottish regiments, such as the Royal Scots and the Black Watch, showed great courage in the  face of devastating losses. On november 13 1916, at Beaumont-Hamel, where you will see a real battlefield, with original trenches and a "No man's land", the village was finally captured by the Scots of the 51st Division, practically puttin an end to this very murderous battle of the Somme. A memorial pays tribute to them.

The town of Albert is called the town of the three bell towers.Can you see on your left the station bell tower ? Go closer and you will meet a "poilu". Unlike the British who were known for their good hygiene, thefrench soldier soon had the reputation of being unshaved, beared and not very clean, hencehis nickname "poilu", which means "hairy". At the beginning of the war, he wore a uniform that was unsuitable for trench warfare, he had a kepi on his head and, above all, madder-red trousers, visible from several kilometers away by the enemy ! Then, he will swap his kepi for the Adrian helmet, and his red and blue uniform for a much more discreet horizon blue uniform.  His rifle, the Lebel, is equipped at the end with a bayonnet called "the Rosalie", a total lenght of around 1.85m which will give it the nickname of "fishing rod", much too long and ineffective in the narrow trenches for turning around.  His "barda", his equipment weights about 35kg (77lbs), of course, he also has, to be able to hold on, his can full of "pinard", wine ! 

Turn around and take to Rue de Boulan.Continue until our new encounter, but this time it will be a woman.  Women played an essential role during the Great War, they were war godmothers, they replaced men working in the fields to continue feeding the family, they worked in factories manufacturing shells "munitionnettes" which gave them serious back pain and they were also nurses ! During the First World War, the three Red Cross societies, auxiliaries of the Army Medical Service, mobilized more than 68 000 nurses and created nearly 1 500 auxiliary hospitals, infairmaries and station cafeteria to care for sick and wounded soldiers. They also provided assistance to the populations of invaded regions.

Wlakbehind the statue, have a proper look at the river Ancre, and head towards the bar "Les 3 Pigeons".Once there, turne left. Pass the basilica, just beyond you'll discover our last character, the british soldier.  The british soldier, "Tommy", wears a helmet on his head, the of which gives him the nickname "the fried egg", "the Brodie".Indeed, it serves for everything but protection ; it serves as a bowl and he can even shave with the water in it. It is equipped with trousers and a tunic with a closed collar, khaki color. The buttons are made of brass, representing the badge of the soldier's regiment and he wears a felt coat. This uniform was completed with calf bandages, which were not easy at all; they were wrapped around the feet and calves ; they had no boots. Trench foot developed when the foot was left to macerate for several days in cold, damp socks and shoes. The foot then became pale, clammy, swollen, numb and cold, often requiring amputation. Most soldiers wore their cartridge pouches slung across their chests. July 1st 1916, was the darkest day for the british army, with 20 000 soldiers killed. It was remembered for the scale of the human losses. These young men, full of hope, left their homes to defend our country, driven by a sense of duty and a spirit of camaraderie. There was no compulsort army ; they all enlisted voluntarily, often among brothers, friends, sports clubs, etc. Today, all these young soldiers are considered as heroes and every july 1st ceremonies are eld to honor them.  Your journey is completed. Our witnesses of the past still embody hope, pain, courage and tragedy today.These portraits of lives turned upside down, these fragments of humanity caught in the whirlwind of war, invite us to put the small worries of everyday life into perspective. They also become witnesses to a bygone era, but to an indelible memory. Each step of this tour is a gateway to history. A journey that allows us to remember and pay tribute to those who lived through these chaotic moments. Bronze, a cold and timeless material, thus becomes, a warm link between the past and the present. Like guardians of memory, transmitters of history, these statues are not simply monuments, but voices which, from the silence, whisper to us to never forget.  Thank you for letting them whisper once again, and if you want to learn more, we recommend the Musée Somme 1916, just behind the statue of the british soldier.Go down 10 meters underground and, thanks to scenes from life, immerse yourself in the stories of other characters. Then head to the battlefields of the Somme.