On the fields of Flanders. At the places of battles of the First World War

November 11, 2014. Many countries of Western Europe, the USA and Canada celebrate the day of remembering (he is the day of the truce); On this day, people remember the events of the First World War, the century since the beginning of which (1914 – 1918.) is celebrated this year. November 11, 1918. In France, the first compi air truce was signed between Germany and the Entente – an agreement on the termination of hostilities between the two parties participating in the war.

Many significant battles of the First World War took place in Flanders, the Northern region of Belgium, for example, the famous Battle of Paskenedale 1917., In which more than half a million soldiers on both sides died, or the battle under Iprom. Provincial Territories Eastern and West Flanders, where these events took place, was customary "Flanders fields"; It is here that many key events of the battles of the Western Front unfolded. "Flanders fields" – Translation of English expression Flanders Fields, perfectly familiar to any English-speaking man. It entered into English due to the famous poem "In Flanders Fields" John Makresya, Canadian military doctor who fought on the Western Front. The poem was written by Makcrem in 1915. After the funeral of his friend who died in the second battle for the IPRA protrusion, and immediately acquired a huge popularity.

IN FLANDERS FIELDS THE POPPIES BOW
Between The Crosses, Row on Row,
That Mark Our Place; AND IN THE SKY
The Larks, Still Bravely Singing, Fly
Scarce Heard Amid The Guns Below.

In Flanders, in the fields of spring,
Blood Poppy Navadena,
And black crosses rows
Nicely from height,
And the lark is heard singing.
(L. translation. Gorodskova)

The bloody-red poppies described in this poem, which covered the floed flammable flamic fields instantly became a symbol of the First World War; Icons in the form of a red poppy began to wear on clothes in memory of the victims of this war and sell as a collection of charitable donations to the families of the victims. Today is a red poppy – a recognizable symbol of the First World War in many countries, including in Belgium.

The coating of bright red poppies field in Flanders can still be seen, for example, in the vicinity of the city of IPR, the most closely associated with the history of the First World War. Russian-language person has the name of this city associated with the word "mustard gas" – Mustard gas that German troops first applied as chemical weapons against allied troops in 1917. right here. Fights for IPR walked almost the whole war, as a result of which the city was completely destroyed. After the war, he was restored and today, falling into this small and cozy town of medieval architecture, it is simply impossible to guess that all this is actually quite modern.

On the main square of IPR, in the building of the Chamber of Sukchikov (a monument of gothic architecture, reconstructed in the 1960s.) Located Museum in Flanders Fields – one of the most interesting Flemish museums dedicated to the history of the First World War. A visit to this museum will be an excellent starting point for starting familiarizing with "Fields Fields"; Military history here is presented in interactive, and sometimes theatrical form together with history "Human", showing how numerous tragedies of individual people unfold against the background of global historical events.

Another landmark of Ipra, mandatory for visiting, – Menenic gates, a huge stone arch, on the walls of which hundreds of thousands of names of soldiers and officers of the allied troops who died in battles for IPRs, only more than 54 thousand. Every day, exactly 20.00, under the arches of the Mesensky Ark, the next post POST ceremony is held, a huge number of people is going to look at which. This ceremony is held all 365 days a year, starting from 1928., and it was interrupted only during the Second World War. "THE LAST POST" – This is a discharge signal that performs the trumpeter of the local fire station, after which residents of the city or honorary guests lay wreaths to the walls of the Memorial.

• Building of the Chamber of Sukontikov, in which the museum in Flanders Fields is located
• Mean Gate Ceremony

From Ipra, you can go to the nearby town of Zonnebek to visit the Memorial Museum "Passchendaele 1917", dedicated to the history of the battle in Paschendale and other dramatic events of the First World War. This museum is interested in the fact that most of its exposition is located underground, and the exhibition halls are made in the format of dandels, with narrow aisles from one other and effects of constant bombing as an accompanying sound background. Many of the exhibits – weapons and ammunition, military equipment, various uniforms of the soldiers of the Entente, etc. – were found in the fields of Flanders by local residents and were transferred to the Museum. Next to the museum, on the territory of the park, you can walk on the real trenches and find out how the German trench was different from French or British.

Near Ipra is the MEMORIAL OF THE CAT, the largest burial of the soldiers of the British Commonwealth in the European continent, which fell during the First World War. More than 12 thousand are located on a huge field. graves, and on a huge semicircular wall, encircling one of the sides of the cemetery, the names are embarrassed by another 35 thousand. Soldier missing in that war.

For decades, people from all over the world come in the surroundings of Ipra to visit this and other memorials and honor the memory of more than six hundred thousand soldiers who died during the First World War in Belgium. In 2014., In connection with the commemorative date – century since the beginning of this war – the number of foreign guests visiting Flanders fields has increased significantly. Actively come here and local residents to remember their history and their past, think about the world and hopefully look into the future.