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Battlefields - 4/1/2005 9:21:03 PM

Toast

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Joined: 10/14/2004
From: Charlotte, NC
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I was reading String's post on the Ukraine WWII battlefields and it got me to thinking about Battlefields I had visited. Unfortunately I do not have wonderfull pictures like String's posts but I thought I'd list what I had visited and ask others to share their expereinces:

Gettyburg: A "must see" for anyone living on the East Coast of America. The battlefield tour was excellant and gave me the most vivid impression of "being" at the sight of a battle.

Antietam: One of the most beuatiful battlefields. The rolling hills in western Maryland are gorgeous.

Alamo: Was most struck by how small the mission was and how the city has grown up around it.

Sadowa (The Czech Republic): The museum was closed when I visited (in Novemeber) but walking around trying to find it gave me a good impression of the battlefield and the difficulties the Austrians faced trying to control the large army involved without modern communications.

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RE: Battlefields - 4/1/2005 9:33:36 PM

Bill Durrant

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Joined: 9/16/2003
From: Oxfordshire
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Normandy Beaches - US Cemetery is very moving

Somme - had a travel companion who was very knowledgable and we stayed overnight in an old farm house where the cellar was used as a dressing station and is well preserved - still with original WW1 grafitti and they are excavating the old trench system outside- plus heaps of bombs still being ploughed up and old grenades sitting around the fields.

Ypres - Menin Gate Last Post Ceremony every evening is a must

Oh, and every time I look up in the sky I am surveying part of the area the Battle Of Britain was fought in

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RE: Battlefields - 4/1/2005 10:40:48 PM

Marc von Martial

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From: Bonn, Germany
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Dunkirk, Westwall, german Battle of Bulge places, various places in Berlin, a lot of places on Crete, Arnhem, plenty of little places in Belgium, Ypres, Remagen Bridge, Op "Plunder & Varsity" battlefields around Wesel area. Basically a lot of stuff next door has a connection to WW2

Normandy is high in my list and probably next.

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RE: Battlefields - 4/1/2005 10:51:27 PM

Toast

Posts: 103
Joined: 10/14/2004
From: Charlotte, NC
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I totally forgot about Berlin myself. Studied there in college many years ago. Did a lot of sight-seeing on both sides of the Wall. I was young, though, and have more memories of the insides of many local Kneipen and the inside of many beer mugs.

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RE: ACW Battlefields - 4/2/2005 1:53:24 PM

rhondabrwn

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Joined: 9/29/2004
From: Snowflake, Arizona
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I totally agree that Gettysburg is an awesome battlefield to visit. I've been there about six times in my life (starting from when I was about 7 years old). I also enjoyed driving around the remains of the seigeworks at Vicksburg (very impressive). Antietam is also a very beautiful battlefield and I just hope they can continue to protect it from commerical development.

Sometimes walking around a smaller battlefield like Wilson's Creek can be very enlightening as the scale allows you to follow in the historical footsteps without exhausting yourself!

A visit to Fort Sumter in Charlestown, SC is a great boat ride and it is really amazing just how far out the fort really is... you can appreciate the potential range of Civil War era cannon. It doesn't look that far on a map!

And finally, the view from Lookout Mountain at Chattanooga, TN is gorgeous and especially so at night.

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RE: ACW Battlefields - 4/2/2005 10:16:09 PM

Rooster

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I envy those who live that live close to European battlefields...

I've overlooked the spot in Lake Erie where Comodore Perry defeated the British in 1812. "We have met the enemy and they are ours." It's a short walk from their to downtown Put-in-Bay, which is one of the biggest summertime party locations in the midwest.

I also lived two blocks from where George Washington delivered a tiny blow against the 42nd foot in the Battle of Harlem Heights. And I visited the spot where Fort Washington was... it's an inner-city playground now, but they outlined the star shape of the fort on the ground and you can still see it. I've also looked down the hill where Virginia sharpshooters held of the Prussian mercenairies, and I stood in the mortar pitts across the hudson where Fort Lee was.

I drove the path that General Howe used to outflank George Washington at the battle of Brandywine.

Finally, I spent time walking Parker's Crossroads in Tennessee where Nathan Bedford Forest dueled with Union forces.

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RE: ACW Battlefields - 4/2/2005 10:23:25 PM

buckup

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Going to have to agree about the normandy beaches.

Not just the cemetary, but seeing the remaining pieces of the mulberry at Arromanches (sp?) and the bunkers, barbed wire and craters at the Pont Du Hoc where the Rangers scaled 300 foot cliffs is amazing as well. The French have left those two beaches basically intact (while removing the land mines;) since WWII..apart from grass regrowing and what not. You can really get a sense of the craziness of the landings.

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