New book "Bouwen aan het front"

[AOK4]

The Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917 organizes a temporary exhibition this year called "building the front".

I (Jan Vancoillie) was asked to do some research and write a publication about this subject (together with Kristof Blieck of the MMP 1917). Unfortunately for the English speakers, the book will only be published in Dutch. It is called "Bouwen aan het front. Loopgraven, schuilplaatsen en betonbunkers van het Duitse leger aan het Ieperfront 1914-1918" (Building the front. Trenches, shelters and concrete bunkers of the German army on the Ypres Front 1914-1918).

The book describes in 336 pages with plenty of pictures and maps the story behind the German constructions in Flanders. The research is mainly based on German military sources in German archives and German first-hand publications.

The exhibition (in the museum annex, Villa Zonnedaele) will of course be multilingual.

[SteveMarsdin]

Looks to be an excellent publication Jan: as a non-Dutch speaker are there plenty of photos and maps ?

Steve

[trajan]

I know what you mean Steve, but my experience of having to read a load of archaeological Dutch when doing my thesis quickly taught me that a basic knowledge of German with - when necessary - a text spoken aloud with something akin to a Scottish accent, while thinking English, will get you by...

Think on it... "Loopgraven, schuilplaatsen, en beton bunkers van het Duitse leger aan het Ieperfront"...Mind you, a glass or more of Grolsch (pronounced something between Chrolsh and Khrolsh) will help.

(A necessary disclaimer: I serve as one of the editors for a Dutch archaeological journal - thankfully only the English articles!)

Trajan

[AOK4]

Looks to be an excellent publication Jan: as a non-Dutch speaker are there plenty of photos and maps ?

Steve

There will be a lot of pictures and plans indeed. Most of them never published before (from my personal collection and some stuff I dug up in German archives).

Jan

[SteveMarsdin]

Hi Jan,

Thanks for that, is your book just available at the Museum ?

Steve

[AOK4]

Hi Jan,

Thanks for that, is your book just available at the Museum ?

Steve

It will be available at the museum or via me. I don't know yet whether it will be available elsewhere.

[SteveMarsdin]

Thanks Jan,

I have Wim Degrande's "Feldgrau in de Argonne", which I can struggle through because there are plenty of photos and maps.