View looking out of the Hindenburg Tunnel, that the Canal St. de Quentin ran through. American troops ran into a German machine-gun barrage here, at the south end of the tunnel east of Bellicourt, France. Picture taken on October 15, 1918, and showing American soldiers on a walkway over the canal in the tunnel (October 15, 1918) [Photograph by: U.S. Army Signal Corps, #28213].

Bellicourt American Monument, Bellicourt France, December 2018.

Full photo gallery online here.

Bellicourt American Monument

Just a few kilometers away from the Somme American Cemetery and Memorial is the Bellicourt American Monument that honors the achievements and sacrifice of the 90,000 American troops who served in this area in 1917 and 1918. On the rear facade is a map showing the operations by American troops during this time of the war.

The monument was dedicated in 1937, just two years before the start of the Second World War.

It was getting dark and I had been on the road for over 12 hours at this point and had to make the 2 hour drive back to the airport. But I wanted to see this last site, dedicated to American service men who fought in the Great War, before I headed back to the United States.

November 29, 2019