Étangs des Weppes

From the church, the route heads towards Parc de l’Abbiette, a peaceful green area with water, benches and walking paths. In the nearby fields stands a German bunker that for years was linked with Adolf Hitler.

I repeated that story myself in an earlier post, but further research showed that it was incorrect. The Abbiette bunker is a Müller-type casemate dating from 1917. Hitler had served in this sector earlier in the war, so this cannot have been the bunker he used during his time at the front.

Hitler did return to the Fromelles area in June 1940 and was photographed at several places connected with his First World War service. Some of those photographs were later incorrectly linked to bunkers that still survive today. For me, it is a good example of why local history is worth checking carefully before passing a story on.

Beyond the park, the walk leaves Fromelles along quiet country lanes. Paved sections alternate with unpaved tracks between fields, pasture and private fishing ponds.

The area feels remarkably peaceful. Several nearby woods are privately owned and some are used for hunting, so during the season you may occasionally hear shots in the distance. If you bring a dog, it is best to keep it on a lead and stay on the public paths.

Several German concrete shelters also survive along the way. They are only fragments of what was once a much denser defensive landscape of trenches, wire and blockhouses.

Eventually you reach Aubers. There are a few shops and places to find food or drink in the village. A little farther on, the Étangs Louis Castelein make a very pleasant place to stop.

The Étangs Louis Castelein were one of my favourite stops on the walk. There are benches and picnic areas beside the water, a playground nearby and a public toilet at the recreation area.

From the ponds, the route returns to the open countryside. Here you cross ground that formed part of a heavily developed German defensive zone during 1915 and 1916.

Only a small fraction of those fortifications remains visible above ground today. A few bunkers and subtle wartime traces still appear along the route, but the countryside has become so quiet again that it can be difficult to imagine just how heavily contested this area once was.

The return towards Fromelles crosses the area where the Battle of Fromelles was fought on 19 and 20 July 1916. The attack by the 5th Australian Division and the British 61st Division was intended as a diversion during the Somme offensive, but it ran into strongly prepared German positions.

In less than a day, the Australians suffered 5,533 casualties and the British around 1,500. The landscape was then covered with trenches, barbed wire and concrete defences. Today, only scattered bunkers, cemeteries and memorials make the former battlefield immediately visible.

Close to the route are Australian Memorial Park and V.C. Corner Australian Cemetery. If you want more context after the walk, the Museum of the Battle of Fromelles is also well worth visiting.