Huge concrete bunkers and gun sites were mean to keep the Allies out of occupied Europe. Meanwhile the Germans built the Atlantic Wall from Scandinavia right down to the coast of southern France. Occupied Europe was attacked by the Allies from the air using men from Bomber Command and the American Eight Airforce, and along the coast by Commando and Ranger forces, most notable at Dieppe and in the ‘Greatest Raid of All’ at St Nazaire in March 1942. Many Jewish Ghettos, such as one in Krakow, were established, and people persecuted in every country in Europe. Concentration camps were established across Europe with infamous death camps like Auschwitz in German occupied Poland being among the most notorious. ![]() The Holocaust resulted in the death of more than six million civilians, the majority of them Jewish, in what the Nazis called ‘The Final Solution’. This lead to the rise of resistance in places like Belgium and France, but also the wholesale deportation of people during the Holocaust many sent to death camps in German occupied Poland. It was a period when the World was truly at war and everyone was on the front line, from soldier to civilians.įrom 1940 to 1944 most of the European mainland was occupied by the German War Machine and was subjected to Nazi tyranny. More than 60 million died in WW2, with over six million victims of the Holocaust. For Britain, it was a fight against Nazi Tyranny and Japanese aggression, which would bring in Allies like the United States of America and the Soviet Union to enable ultimate victory. It was a war that raged on many fronts and in many different theatres of war and conditions from desert sand to mountain snow to the beaches of Normandy, France, the canals of Holland and across the rivers of Germany. The Second World War was the largest, longest and most extensive conflict the British and Commonwealth forces took part in during the twentieth century. More than a million British and Commonwealth soldiers died in the war one in three of them just in Flanders Fields, Belgium. Some of the biggest and most costly battles in our military history were fought during this period, largely along the 450 miles of the Western Front. The First World War raged on many fronts for four years from August 1914 to November 1918. So join us as we ‘remember them’, maybe even at the emotive Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate, and ensure that the legacy is never forgotten. And, with an ever-expanding range of itineraries, specially selected by our Head Battlefield Guide, Paul Reed, and his team of guides, we aim to ensure you get the most from this memorable experience. They will help you to decipher the legacy left behind, and understand the military history that touched us all whether it relates to Flanders Fields, the Somme battlefields, front line of the Ypres Salient, the sandy beaches of Normandy in France or the concrete walls that once surrounded Berlin. Each coach or air tour is accompanied by a Specialist Battlefield Guide, whose knowledge and passion will inspire and enhance your experience and truly bring history to life. Embark on a journey of remembrance and discovery on one of our Leger Battlefield Tours, visiting the WW1 battlefields, WW2 battlefields and sites from other significant wars, including Waterloo, The American Civil War and the Boer and Zulu Wars of South Africa.
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