Belgian authorities announced on Tuesday that they had discovered the remarkably well-preserved wreck of a World War I German submarine, commonly called a U-boat, off the coast of West Flanders.

"It's quite amazing that we found something like this," Western Flanders Governor Carl Decaluwe told the Associated Press, calling the find "very unique."

"The impact damage was at the front, but the submarine remains closed and there are 23 people still onboard."

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The UB II-type submarine was found 25-30 meters (82-98 feet) below the surface on the floor of the North Sea. About 18 such vessels were stationed with the Flanders Flotilla in Bruges between 1915 and 1918 in order to disrupt British trade routes in the English Channel and the North Sea.

Thirteen of the submarines were destroyed, of which authorities have found 11. But, according to the local government, this recent find is the "best preserved" of them all.

Researchers believe that the damage to the front of the vessel indicates that it struck a mine with its upper deck. Governor Decaluwe said he had contacted the German ambassador to Belgium about proper disposal of the sailors' remains.

World War I: Sites of remembrance Misery captured in stone Sculptress Käthe Kollwitz needed 18 years to complete her work "Mourning Parents." In October 1914, Kollwitz's son Peter was sent to the front in Flanders. He was killed less than a week later at the age of 18. He is buried at the foot of the sculpture of the father in the Vladslo Military Cemetery. 25,644 young men are buried there.

World War I: Sites of remembrance Langemarck: misused by the Nazis When World War I was declared in August 1914, newspapers were full of reports of young volunteers eagerly setting off to combat whistling the German national anthem. That trope was later used for Nazi propaganda in the Third Reich, but it was hardly the whole truth. The young volunteers were badly trained and equipped, and many ended up in graves at Langemarck Cemetery.

World War I: Sites of remembrance Hill 60: a coveted vantage point There are remains of bunkers all over Ypres, but this one is special. Hill 60 was the highest point in an otherwise flat terrain, and whoever controlled it had a better view of the enemy - especially as all the trees in the area had been smashed to smithereens. Battles for Hill 60 went on for years.

World War I: Sites of remembrance The largest British cemetery on the continent 11,956 British Commonwealth soldiers lie buried in Tyne Cot. The names of 34,957 of their comrades, whose remains were never recovered because of constant artillery fire, are engraved on the interior walls. Farmers from the area still find human bones when plowing their fields. The cemetery was called Tyne Cot because German pillboxes reminded British troops of Northern English cottages.

World War I: Sites of remembrance Status warfare The German plan in World War I was to launch a lightning-quick invasion of Belgium and overrun France from the north. It didn't work. Instead, the two sides dug in for four long years of trench warfare in which the frontlines barely moved. This reconstructed trench is part of the Memorial Museum in Passchendaele.

World War I: Sites of remembrance Chemical warfare For the first time in human history, in the area near Ypres, German troops employed gas as a weapon of war. Chlorine gas caused enemy soldiers to choke to death. The Allies were outraged but followed suit with chemical weapons of their own. In July 1917, the Germans tested out a new mustard gas known as "Ypérite." It ate away at enemies' skin.

World War I: Sites of remembrance What's left of Passchendaele Today Passchendaele is a part of the Zonnebeke district. After one hundred days of brutal fighting, from July 31 to early November 1917, there was little left of the town except a gigantic pile of rubble and a village pond that had been turned into a quagmire by all the shelling.

World War I: Sites of remembrance WW1 tourism Today, Ypres is a popular destination for British tourists, and store restaurants and hotels have adapted to this clientele. One hotel even offers a room in camouflage look with gasoline cannisters as night tables. The walls of the breakfast room are also covered in camouflage netting.

World War I: Sites of remembrance Tragic decoration In 1928, a decade after the end of the war, German writer Stefan Zweig visited Ypres. He wrote that there were so many names written on the freshly opened Menin Memorial Gate that they became a kind of "ornamentation." The names represent 55,000 Commonwealth soldiers whose remains were never recovered.

World War I: Sites of remembrance From all over the Commonwealth The names on Menin Memorial Gate attest to the international nature of the British-led forces. Soldiers came from as far away as Africa, India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Australia and Canada. These young men probably had no idea what they were letting themselves in for.

World War I: Sites of remembrance Remembering the dead Since the Menin Gate was unveiled in 1928, the "Last Post" bugle call is played there every night at 8PM. The ceremony was originally intended to honor just the British dead, but people of various nationalities have begun taking part. As a result, Menin Gate has become a main site of World War I remembrance. Author: Jefferson Chase



es/kl (AFP, Reuters)