Stage Fourteen: The Somme and Belgium (Maple Leaf Route) 350 km
We continue to loosely follow the Canadian troops here on their WWII push to Antwerp. But the Somme is most associated with WW I. More than three million men fought in the battle of the Somme and one million men were wounded or killed, making it one of the bloodiest battles in human history.
Between Arras and Lens we have Vimy, which is the site of the major Canadian WW I memorial. In the battle of Vimy Ridge the main combatants were the four divisions of the Canadian Corps in the First Army against three divisions of the German Sixth Army. That sounds a bit like the recent Winter Olympics hockey semi finals, except that the Canadians lost that one 4-3.
We will stop in at Vimy Ridge, but were disappointed on a first visit several years ago, because we felt that the memorial glorifies war.
Beyond Vimy and into Belgium, we again have no idea of what we will find in terms of roads or villages. But we are sure the major Belgian towns of Ghent and Antwerp will be interesting. At least we are guaranteed of some Belgian chocolate!
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