DonL Posted February 11, 2012 Posted February 11, 2012 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2099187/Bodies-21-German-soldiers-buried-alive-WW1-trench-perfectly-preserved-94-years-later.html Incredible find! Quote
Olham Posted February 11, 2012 Posted February 11, 2012 Yes, I saw a video about this - how many missing men may still lie buried along the old lines? Quote
Siggi Posted February 11, 2012 Posted February 11, 2012 It's a shame they chose to censor the pics of the bodies, I always find such images incredibly poignant. Quote
UK_Widowmaker Posted February 11, 2012 Posted February 11, 2012 No Borders + No Religion = No Wars! 1 Quote
+Stary Posted February 11, 2012 Posted February 11, 2012 I like the no religion part Widowmaker Quote
DonL Posted February 11, 2012 Author Posted February 11, 2012 What a horrible way to die that was. One instant you are safe in your trench and the next instant buried under tons of mud. I find archaeological news like this fascinating. Look at the size of the dig and the preservation of wood, paper, and leather artifacts. Amazing! Olham do you have a link to that video? Quote
+JonathanRL Posted February 11, 2012 Posted February 11, 2012 I hope they are buried with their comrades with full honours ! Quote
Olham Posted February 11, 2012 Posted February 11, 2012 I think so, yes, Jonathan. There is a good basis for such things between France and Germany today. Quote
Wombat Posted February 11, 2012 Posted February 11, 2012 An extraordinary discovery! The preservation after nearly a century should give historians and others lots of info about how the soldiers lived in those God-awful trenches. I agree about not showing the skeletal remains; like Pompeii, it would add the human element to the scene which is what makes it important in the first place. Quote
Siggi Posted February 11, 2012 Posted February 11, 2012 I'm wondering if there was a reasonably well-preserved artillery-Luger in that holster. Quote
Capitaine Vengeur Posted February 11, 2012 Posted February 11, 2012 It reminds me of the opening scenes of "Letters from Iwo Jima" and "Taegukgi"... Less than one century ago, and it looks like a spot of archaeological excavations for Gallic artefacts! Quote
von Baur Posted February 11, 2012 Posted February 11, 2012 Today is tomorrow's history, Capitaine. And next year's ancient history. This becomes abundantly clear when your children announce that they are studying the things you remeber reading about in the newspapers. (anybody know any good "old man" smiley's?) Quote
Capitaine Vengeur Posted February 14, 2012 Posted February 14, 2012 One can find very strange things when digging in some parts of Northern France. This Mark IV "Female" has been exhumed in 1998 at Flesquières. It was numbered D.51 "Deborah" (2nd Lt F.G. Heap), D Battalion, Tank Corps. It was knocked out in the village on November 20, 1917, during the Cambrai Offensive, with 4 crewmen killed out of 8 (identification in cooperation with the Bovington Tank Museum). The tank had been buried by the Germans outside of Flesquières after they recovered the village in March 1918 (Michael Offensive). "Deborah" has been classified as Historic Monument in 1999 (it seems only 5 other Mark IV still exist in the World, but in better shape of course). Quote
DonL Posted February 14, 2012 Author Posted February 14, 2012 Capitaine Vengeur that is another amazing find. Where is it now? Quote
Olham Posted February 14, 2012 Posted February 14, 2012 Don't know about you guys, but it makes me shudder. Always, when I see such pics... Goose skin! Quote
RAF_Louvert Posted February 14, 2012 Posted February 14, 2012 . They have the same affect on me, mein Freund. . Quote
Olham Posted February 14, 2012 Posted February 14, 2012 Yes, I knew you would feel much the same, Lou. (virtual) Quote
Capitaine Vengeur Posted February 15, 2012 Posted February 15, 2012 Capitaine Vengeur that is another amazing find. Where is it now? The tank is now kept in M. Gorczynski's barn, the villager from Flesquières who had investigated for long and fully invested in private excavations to recover it, a WW1 fanatic. It can be visited only in private planned groups. The excavations started on November 18 ended on November 20, 1998, on the 81st anniversary of "Deborah"'s destruction. The poppies wreath that can be seen on the tank's rear had been put down on that day by the contemporary commander of the Royal Armoured Corps, who had especially made the trip as soon as the tank was authenticated. The director of the Bovington Tank Museum also attended the intimate ceremony. "Deborah" may be the last surviving tank of the Battle of Cambrai. Quote
Olham Posted February 15, 2012 Posted February 15, 2012 Great info, thank you, Capitaine. What force, I wonder, could have bent the rearward steelplates, that had held the wheels? Quote
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