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| Armentières sector 1916. (Source http://www.nzhistory.net.nz) |
Delving into the official history,
New Zealand Artillery in the Field, 1914-18, I learn that:
about the middle of May orders were received to move up to Armentieres .... Artillery units made a two days' trek of the journey from the billeting area to Armentieres, and
experienced fair enough weather, although it was still somewhat cold.
Batteries had previously sent forward by motor 'bus small advance
parties, who had quartered for a week with the outgoing batteries, and
whose business it had been to familiarise themselves with the area
covered by the guns of the battery they were to relieve, with the
location of its observation posts, the system of communications, and all
else that was essential.
According to
New Zealand History online, the New Zealand troops arrived in Armentières on 13 May, where they began learning about the
trench warfare techniques developed by the British over the
previous 18 months. It goes on:
The New Zealand soldier’s
experience in Armentières was dominated by the tedium of trench warfare –
training, work parties and trudging along the network of communication
trenches. Thanks to a complicated system of scheduled rotations, a
soldier typically spent only a few days each month in a front-line
trench.
You can read about someone else's following of their grandfather's footsteps, and who will be visiting Armentières itself from 13 May, at: "
Following in Pop's Footsteps".
