Arras

Arras Town Hall

We have been booking ahead day by day for the last several weeks and usually select a destination on size (large enough to have hotels but not too large) and sometimes Michelin stars.  Arras was selected on these criteria (**).  After last night's walk, the architecture and especially the Town Hall satisfied the ** designation, but we knew nothing of the town's history or other offerings.  So searching the internet last night we discovered the Carriere Wellington.

The Wellington Quarry is a series of tunnels beneath the town built by New Zealand miners, using pick axes but no dynamite, during WWI by enlarging the existing 17th century chalk quarries. The English held Arras in 1916 and were preparing for a 1917 spring offensive against the Germans who held the line just east of the city.  The tunnels allowed soldiers to arrive near the line unseen.

The tunnelling effort was enormous and in one sector, four Tunnelling companies of 500 men each, worked around-the-clock in 18-hour shifts for two months. The tunnellers dug 20 kilometres (12 mi) of subways (foot traffic only), tramways (with rails for hand-drawn trolleys, to take ammunition to the line and bring casualties back) and railways (a light railway system).^[18] Just before the assault, the tunnel system had been enlarged sufficient to conceal 24,000 men, with electric lighting provided by a small powerhouse, kitchens, latrines and a medical centre with an operating theatre.

bunks in the Wellington Quarry

We took the 45 minute tour which was quite well done and provided some sense of the size of the system, the difficult conditions for the men waiting there for battle, and the subsequent retreat of the British and French forces after an initial victory.  German reinforcements arrived the day after the British success and retook much of the gained ground.

We needed to cover some miles today since we are due in Heidelberg on Thursday, so the rest of the day was spent riding in overcast, chilly, and threatening weather (no rain materialized on this holiday). We picnicked beside the canal in ...and took a particularly lovely road along the Muse River, enjoying the forested hills after several days of flat farmland.  Tonight we are in Bouillon, Belgium, a town we know well from our travels five years ago.  The 10th century castle sits above this charming town along the Semois River in the Ardenne area.