Knee Deep Into History Battlefield Tours

04/25/2025

A reminder to sign up for our Meuse-Argonne Online Seminar at 1:00pm Eastern Time this Sunday, 27 April. To sign up, please send your name, state and country to [email protected]. Participation is gratis. See you Sunday!

04/23/2025

Join us at 1:00pm Eastern / 19h00 CET this Sunday, 27 April for a look at the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Details can be found in the jpeg below. To join, email your name, state and country to [email protected]. See you then!

04/05/2025

Does anyone know the exact location of this photo near Enns or Linz, Austria?

It's hard to read the caption on the back, but I believe it is something like, "Surrendering German SS troops near Enns, Austria, ride in all types of vehicles as they travel toward American forces in Linz, Germany... hemmed in between Russian forces and the 65th Infantry Division...

Thanks in advance for the assistance!

04/01/2025

Here is the latest travel news from KDIH. Enjoy the read!

03/31/2025

One last thing I was able to do in the Meuse-Argonne / Verdun Sectors was to visit Jean-Paul DeVries' very moving Flags for Peace exhibit in the valley of La Robinette just outside of Romagne-sous-Montfaucon.

The exhibit includes 15,000 red flags representing the dead of WW1 and calling for world-wide peace. It will be in place from 16 March to 1 April. There is still a little time to view it, if you are in the area!

03/31/2025

Please allow me one bit of name dropping. Most of you know that I run many of my tours together with German historian and guide Markus Klauer, whom I have known since 1994. Markus is extremely well-connected in Verdun and in the Meuse-Argonne.

The individuals in this photo include:

Olivier Gérard, Director of the Ossuaire de Douaumont
Armand Falck, Mayor of the Village of Douaumont-Vaux
Markus Klauer
Philipp Lerch, Director of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany and
Richard Raspers, Reporter for the Est Republican Newspaper.

This photo speaks volumes for the Franco-German reconciliation efforts that started with Kohl and Mitterrand in 1984 and that the Konrad Adenauer Foundation is actively pursuing today.

03/30/2025

Le Mort Homme Part 2--The People Part: Bridging cultures is one of KDIH's core philosophies, and it stems from my years of studying languages, traveling abroad and getting to know the locals. One of the reasons I treasured this work weekend was that it offered the opportunity to get together with German and French history enthusiasts, some of whom I have known since the 1990s and 2000s. While we might see each other in person only once every few years, the personal connection is still there. So, here are a few more people pictures from the weekend.

03/30/2025

Le Mort Homme Part 1--The Serious Part: Last weekend I had the opportunity to participate in a multi-national work weekend on Mort Homme that was sponsored by Germany's Konrad Adenauer Foundation. I was the token American, but the group was a mix of French and German participants.

The goal was the annual brush clearing along a 1.5km (1 mile) Franco-German walking path that was created by the foundation in 2017. We were basically clearing brush, removing fallen trees and protecting the signboards with stain and varnish. The path includes ten information panels in French, German and English, covering the history of fighting on Mort Homme as well as the aftermath.

As a historian / battlefield tour guide, one tends to focus on the strategy, the events of the day, the armies, etc. One doesn't focus on the aftermath. This time, I read the last paragraph of panel 10 again. It puts things into a different perspective:

"You have now reached the end of the Franco-German trail around Dead Man's Hill. We would like to thank you for your interest in this chapter of our common European history. You are probably going to leave Dead Man's Hill now and return home. What you must never forget is that one hundred years ago countless young French and German soldiers were denied the opportunity to do just that. Tens of thousands of them lost their young lives here on this part of the battlefield, never again to return home to their families. We must never forget the fate that befell them. Their memory is an exhortation to cherish the friendship of our two countries and continue the pursuit of European unity."

03/08/2025

Final reminder. To register for tomorrow's online seminar email your name, state and country to [email protected].

03/06/2025

Join us this Sunday, 9 March, for the second online seminar looking at Kampfgruppe Peiper's advance and ultimate encirclement in the Battle of the Bulge. This was supposed to be the spearhead unit, reaching the Meuse River and Antwerp. Instead, it became encircled before Christmas 1944.

To receive the Zoom link, please email your name, state and country to [email protected].

One more thing: Remember that daylight savings time in the United States begins that day. See you Sunday!

03/02/2025

Our latest blog post on the Slow Travel Tours website. Enjoy the read, look at our 2025 schedule and join us on a tour built for history buffs!

Join Knee Deep Into History on a small-group WW1 or WW2 military history tour in 2025 for an unforgettable travel adventure.

02/28/2025

A reminder to join us for our next online seminar, "Following KG Peiper's Advance Using Google Earth" by German historian and guide Markus Klauer. Admission is gratis. To enroll, please email your name, state and country to [email protected]. We'll send the Zoom link.

See you Sunday!

02/26/2025

Be sure to join us this Sunday for Markus' unique online Zoom presentation: "Following KG Peiper's Advance Using Google Earth."

To enroll, email your name, state and country to [email protected]. See you Sunday!