Bapaume is a little burg in the Pas de Calais region of northern France that just happens to straddle the road we were meandering along on our way south. Standing close to a roundabout in the center of town is the striking Mairie, or Mayor's Office, which doubles as the Hotel de Ville. We found a spot to park and went walkabout.
During WWI Bapaume was one of numerous local villages that were practically leveled and buried in mud during the travesty that was the Battle of the Somme, launched July 1st, 1916. On the first day alone, the campaign resulted in the death or injury of 58,000 British troops and by its end is estimated to have accounted for 420,000 British casualties, 200,000 French and 500,000 Germans - more than a million men in one no-gain battle. Today, following a further trashing during WWII, Bapaume is home to about 5,000 inhabitants.
Being overrun, occupied and used as a battlefield twice in the space of a generation, has to be something that must be experienced to be fully comprehended.
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