Day 15: Friday 11 April 2014

Exciting day today, I found an unexploded artillery shell.  I had just finished a walking/driving tour of the battle of Montbrehain and visited a tiny military cemetery at the end of the tour.  The cemetery was very isolated and at the end of a dirt road and then a walk of a hundred metres or so along a dirt path.
 

Lonely cemetery a long way from home for two soldiers of the AIF

 After walking to the cemetery and having a look around I was walking back and I looked down at the ground and there it was, an unexploded artillery shell, (if I can post photos I will try and post a photo of it).  It was very dirty and rusty but no doubting what it was, the nose cone was missing but the driving bands appeared to be intact around the base.  Now, my first instinct was (foolishly) to pick it up and work out how I could get it home and then I recalled that 2 people were recently killed in Ypres when a TGW shell exploded.  So common sense finally struck and I left it alone. 



Unexploded artillery shell

When I got back to St Quentin I thought that I should probably report it to the local police.  Anyway after entering the local police station and establishing that the police officer on duty spoke some English I explained to him that I had found an unexploded artillery shell and showed him the photo that I had taken of it.  He insisted on calling it une bombe and sounded very Peter Sellers like in doing so.  He said it was probably British (how he could tell I don't know), I said I didn't care as I was Australian.  After I gave him the details the la bombe's location he said that he would get the local police to check it out.  The police officer didn't take my name or contact details so I am not sure how they are going to give me my reward or my commendation.

French memorial to "la poilus" the hairy ones

The rest of the day was a bit of an anticlimax after that.  But for those of you that may be interested a little about the battle of Montbrehain.  This battle is important as it is the last battle undertaken by the AIF in TGW.  The 21st and 24th battalions of the 2nd division were to undertake the attack but as they were terribly understrength (500 men between them) they were supported by the 2nd Pioneer battalion.  (A pioneer battalion was usually used for trench construction and road works but were also trained to act as infantry). This attack successfully occurred on 5 October 1918 and of course the war finished on 11 November 1918.  These 3 units experienced 430 casualties of which 94 were killed including some men who were original Anzacs and had survived the war to this date.  They nearly made it all the way through.


So that finishes the Somme and Hindenberg Line part of the trip.  Tomorrow I drive to Bailleul in French Flanders and then on to Ypres in Belgium on Sunday.