Nord-Pas de Calais

The Nord-Pas de Calais region has historically been one of the most fought-over regions in Europe; in fact, Charles de Gaulle once referred to it as a “fatal avenue” through which invading armies repeatedly passed.

Indeed, during the Great War, much of the region was occupied by Germany. A number of its towns and hundreds of square miles of land were destroyed in four years of trench warfare, with the area suffering more damage than any other part of France.

But whereas before the twentieth century the French and the English monarchs had been enemies in battles to defend each country’s national pride, WW1 saw the two nations unite as allies, fighting shoulder-to-shoulder to see off the enemy.

The cost was huge and irreversible – the loss of lives can be seen all over the Nord-Pas de Calais in the hundreds of cemeteries and memorials that are a stark reminder of the horror that took place during this period.