Hey everyone!
Wednesday this past week was the first time in a long time I've had a school field trip. We had the whole day off from classes but met at GTL to get on buses at 8:15am. I was in Group 1 with Kris which put us on the bus to go to Hackenberg in the morning. For those of you who don't know about it, Hackenberg is the largest underground fort on the Maginot line. The Maginot line was a series of strategic defenses put in place by the French after World War I from Italy all the way to Belgium on the French border. We got to take a tour of the fort and see all of the machinery that was used in its operation, some of the defensive weapons that the French installed, and some of the damage caused by the Germans when they captured the base. We rode on an electric train that was used as a troop and ammunition transport from the supply entrance of the base to two of the gun blocks and one ammunition storage area. We also were taken through the kitchen area which was supposed to have been extremely modern for its time. I took pictures of every gun I could find on the tour and boy were there alot of them! Everything from 135mm Howitzers down to the smallest German, British, and French pistols and rifles. I even managed to get a good picture of one of the anti-aircraft guns the French had used during the fort's defense that had markings on it for the two German planes it shot down. Overall a really cool place to visit, although it was deep underground so it was very cold the entire time.
The second half of our day took us to the Lorraine American Cemetery where over 10,000 American soldiers are buried as a result of the battle for Metz and the surrounding region. This cemetery is actually larger than the one even at Normandy and is an impressive site to see. We were given a short lecture on some of the famous soldiers who were buried there as well as many compelling stories of how they died. The cemetery was a very moving place to visit and it gave me a good understanding of the battle for Metz since most people don't remember it nearly as much as the other famous battles of the war. I have uploaded pictures of both sites onto my Picasa so feel free to check them out.
Brian
