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World War I and II Specialty Tours

Custom Tours to Western Europe - 2010

World War I and II Specialty Tours, LLC, offers specialized, custom tours of 6 to 14 days duration to the famous military historical sites of these two conflicts, in Belgium, France, Luxembourg, and Germany. Join Doug Gangler, Tour Operator and Private Guide, to enjoy the military history experience of your life!

These tours are perfect for the small group that desires:

--a personalized tour to track a relative's experience or certain divisions, along with seeing some of the great overall history and cultural icons of the regions.

--to concentrate in detail on specific battles or events.

--See first-hand battlefields associated with the 'Greatest Generation' of World War II; but, also come to understand the significance of what happened to the people and countries involved in World War I.

Enjoy gorgeous countryside, quaint and beautiful towns, and outstanding hotels, meals, and transporation, all while Doug explains in detail the history associated with the battlefields, monuments, memorials, museums, and the World War I and II eras.

Listed on this page are just the many incredible possibilities around which a tour can be built. A typical 10-day on-the-ground tour (then a day to fly over to Europe, and a day to fly back) will cost $3,350/each (plus or minus dependent on #days/itinerary/# participants), plus airfare.

**For tours booked after May 01, 2010, purchase of travel insurance is now required at time of initial tour reservation. This will add anywhere from about 3-7% to your tour cost, and is dependent on type and level of insurance purchased. While the Icelandic volcano has stopped, it has been proven that having travel insurance is the prudent course of action. Inquire to Doug concerning travel insurance questions.**

See Page 3 for two specific, set tours offered for 2010.

Tours have a maximum of five participants, but, a tour can even be put together and customized, on fairly short notice, for just 1 to 4 individuals, all dependent on itinerary, price negotiated, and dates.

German Tiger Tank

La Gleize, Belgium

Saint Mere-Eglise

"John Steele" with Parachute on Church Steeple

Testimonials:

Doug Shaffer of Catonsville, MD, Western Front Association and Great War Society Member, said after an October 2001 tour: "For the casual or serious history buff, Specialty Tours offers dynamic, customized visits to WWI&II sites in Europe; from on-site battlefield strategies to peaceful, provocative memorials to fallen soldiers, this tour is FIRST-RATE!"

David King of Bethesda, MD, (LTC, USA-Ret), wrote after a May 2002 trip: "A must for all serious students of the war or those simply wanting to know where and how America came of age as a world power!"

Adele Ervin of Manchester, MA after an October 2003 tour : "This is a good deal for a real military history affectionado or one who is of European ancestry, or who had a relative who fought in either war."

Curt Druckrey of Livonia, MI after a tour in May 2004: "The customization of this tour to my specific interests was really amazing! Every objective that I set for this trip was met in more precise ways than anticipated."

Diane Vigilante said after an October 2007 tour: "Doug provided an excellent tour that makes me want to do more reading, and take another trip with him. There is alot more to see and do. I came home with a new sense of history that I did not have previously."

George Majetich enthused after a Fall 2008 trip: "... puts his heart and soul into the tour. He gives you his undivided attention... works in your special request... the best, informative tour of my life!"

And Gerry Greene in October 2009: "Doug is superb! Before the trip... he would e-mail maps, articles and photos of our destinations... His military background and passion for WWs I and II are a combination that cannot be beat by other tour guides."

Starting point - Paris/CDG or Brussels International Airport

World War II Site Possibilities:

Normandy, France:

--Omaha Beach; Colleville and Vierville

--St. Laurent American Military Cemetery and Museum

--Longues-sur-Mer German Battery; Atlantic Wall sites

--Arromanches 'Port Mulberry' and Museum

--Pointe-du-Hoc; American Rangers scaling of the cliffs

--St. Mere Eglise Airborne landings and Museum

--Utah Beach

--Airborne 'Iron Mike' statue outside St. Mere Eglise on Merderet River

--St. Lo 'bocage' (the infamous hedgerows) country; Operation COBRA

--Gold/Juno/Sword beaches

--German Blockhaus at Ouistreham

--Pegasus Bridge and Museum

--British Cemetery in Bayeux

--La Cambe and Marigny German Cemeteries

Brittany:

--Avranches; Patton's route and breakout

--St. Malo

--St. James American Cemetery

Somme, Calais, and Oise:

--V-1 site north of Rouen at Val-Ygot

--V-2 sites/bunkers at Eperlecques Forest and near St. Omer

--V-1/2 site at Siracourt

--Battery Todt Museum (German Atlantic Wall bunker)

--Cape Griz-Nez (see England on a clear day!); Cape Blanc-Nez

--Compiegne Railroad Car and Museum; WW I armistice and WW II surrender of French to the Germans

Champagne:

--Reims Salle de Rendition Museum where the Germans surrendered in the West to the Allies/Eisenhower.

Luxembourg, Belgium and the Ardennes, and just into Germany:

--Hamm American Cemetery; GEN Patton buried here

--Diekirch Military Museum; features Battle of the Bulge

--Ettelbruck GEN Patton Statue

--Bastogne Museum and Monument

--Perimeter Positions on outskirts of Bastogne

--Malmedy; site of massacre (superb new museum)

--Skyline Drive through Luxembourg

--St. Vith and the Schnee Eifel

--La Gleize Museum; German Tiger Tank

--Elsenborn Ridge

--Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery

--German 'Siegfried Line' bunkers and 'Dragon's Teeth'

--Wallendorf

--Huertgen Forest

--Remagen Bridge Museum

Germany (starting point - Berlin):

--Peenemunde and Nordhausen V-2 sites

--Seelow Heights (Eastern Front) Museum and Monument

--Buchenwald

--Berlin: Checkpoint Charlie (Cold War but most interesting); Brandenburg Gate; Soviet War Memorial; Holocaust Memorial; many other terrific visits in Berlin

--Cecilienhof Palace; site of the Big Three - Churchill, Truman, and Stalin - Potsdam meeting in July 17-August 02 1944

--Frederick the Great's Palaces in Potsdam; not WW II, but truly incredible!

--Nuremberg.

--Munich and surroundings: Garmisch, Berchtesgaden, Eagle's Nest, Oberammergau, Dauchau, Deutsches Museum (one of the best!)

--Colditz Castle (Allied Officer POWs)

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Cultural Site Possibilities/Towns to Stay in:

--Brugge, Ieper (Ypres), Bastogne, and Mons in Belgium

--Versailles with its Hall of Mirrors

--Le Bourget Airport north of Paris, where Charles Lindbergh landed and today holds France's Air and Space Museum

--Bayeux, Mont St.-Michel, St. Malo, Amiens, Compiegne, Arras, Reims, Chateau Thierry, Montmedy, Verdun, and Thionville in France

--Spectacular Lighthouses and Scenery on the Cherbourg Peninsula.

--Diekirch, Larochette, and Luxembourg City in Luxembourg.

--'Big Six' French Cathedrals of Lille, Rouen, Reims, Chartres, Amiens, and Notre-Dame in Paris

--Bayeux Tapestry Museum

--French Champagne Winery Country Tour

--Beautiful Monshau south of Aachen

--tours start at either Brussels Int or Charles de Gaulle Airports; if clients want to stay in Brussels or Paris before or after the tour, this can be arranged.

Other Military Sites that can be Fit-In:

--Waterloo Battlefield/Museums; Wellington and Napoleon

--Agincourt and Crecy Battlefields/Museum

--Maginot Line Forts; Hackenberg

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World War I Site Possibilities:

Belgium Flanders:

--Ypres Salient of British Commonwealth fame; the town, Hill 60, Menin Gate, 'Last Post' Ceremony, St. Julien (site of first gas attack on the Canadians), Passchendaele, Langmark German Cemetery, Essex Farm Cemetery (John McCrae's famous poem 'In Flanders' Fields'), Tyne Cot Cemetery

French Somme and Pas de Calais:

--Vimy Ridge Canadian Monument (tunnel tour)

--Notre-Dame de Lorette

--Peronne 'Great War' Museum

--Battle of the Somme: Thievpal, Beaumont Hamel Canadian Park, Albert Trench Museum, Lochnagar Crater, Dellville Woods South African Grounds and Museum

--Villers-Bretonneaux (Australian forces)

--Bony American Cemetery and Bellicourt Monument

--Cantigny

Champagne and the Aisne-Marne:

--Chateau Thierry and Belleau Wood American battles

--Hill 204 Monument at Vaux

--Aisne-Marne and Oise-Aisne American Cemeteries

--Soissons battle

--Blanc Mont and Ferme de Navarin Monuments

Verdun:

--Ossuary Monument to the Missing

--Trench of the Bayonets

--Fleury Museum and Monument to the vanished town

--Fort Douaumont

Meuse-Argonne and St. Mihiel:

--Vauquois Hill; mine warfare

--Romagne American Cemetery

--Montfaucon American Monument

--St. Mihiel Salient Montsec American Monument

--St. Mihiel American Cemetery

--Hattonchatel/Vigneulles viewpoint

--SGT York site of heroics at Chatel-Chehery

--Lost Battalion Monument

--Pennsylvania State Monument

--Missouri Monument (Harry Truman fought in this area)

Details for all Tours:

You receive the following with any tour: ground transportation; lodging in 2/3-star hotels or equivilent B&B (tour price per person based on double-room occupancy (single-room supplement TBD); all breakfasts/all dinners; all site and entrance fees paid, as listed for the agreed-upon itinerary; all taxes; Doug as tour leader, historian, driver, and guide.

See Terms and Conditions Page 4 for payment information.

Contact the Tour Operator at ganglerd@aol.com (please e-mail via your regular mode to ensure receipt ),or at the following address/phone to discuss all tour details, to book, or to discuss the multiple other options or changes that a custom tour business can accommodate. Also see the Biography and Business objectives on Page 2.

World War I and II Specialty Tours, LLC

P.O. Box 502

Champion, PA 15622

(814) 352-7024 (phone)