Originally conceived as a military camp, Rivesaltes was, successively, southern France’s principal internment camp for Spanish Republicans, foreign Jews and gypsies, in 1941-42; a “guarded residence centre” for collaborators and depot for Axis POWs between 1944 and 1948; and a holding camp for harkis and their families between 1962 and 1964.

To tell its story, a memorial was built on the site of Block F of the camp, amid the ruins of the huts that were home to more than 60 000 people. Designed by architect Rudy Ricciotti, the building, with an area of 4 000 m², is both a reference centre for the history of the forced displacement and detention of people, and a key remembrance site.

Sources : ©MEMORIAL DU CAMP DE RIVESALTES

© Maxppp - Belloumi

Perpignan is a border town in the Pyrénées-Orientales département of France and a place of passage.

Situated on Via Domitia – ancestor of today's No. 9 motorway –, it was the scene of invasions, rivalry between France and Catalonia, battles during the war of Spanish succession and then the Napoleonic wars, and fights against Nazism.

Owned by the Kingdom of Majorca, James II, known as "the Conqueror", settled in Perpignan in 1276 and raised the town to the status of a capital. He had his palace built there, which is the oldest royal residence in France. His son, James III, was driven out by Peter IV of Aragon. The Palace of the Kings of Majorca then became a temporary residence for the kings of Aragon. Pope Benedict XIII stayed there in 1408.

The building is a fortified palace in the Gothic style, organised around three courtyards. The entrance is protected by a moat and a crenelated barbican. Its architects were Ramon Pau and Pons Descoll. As a result of the 16th-century wars between France and Spain, Perpignan changed from being a border town to being a citadel, the border stronghold: in 1540, Charles Quint added a remote line of fortification to the citadel; Philip II of Spain had the red brick ramparts built in 1587 in a hexagonal shape.

After becoming part of the Kingdom of France by the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659, Perpignan became a proper garrison town.

Vauban reinforced the defence system by adding fortified structures inside and outside the wall built by Philip II: six half-moons were added. He suggested building living quarters inside the citadel and, to solve the issue of expulsions caused by extending the place of arms, he suggested building a "new town" to the north, which he included in his plan of the exterior wall. The military architect incorporated it into a clever defence mechanism on the Catalonia border. He closed the lines of communication via the Collioure - Port-Vendres - Fort de Bellegarde fortifications.
 

To prevent an invasion via secondary cols (in the Tech and Cerdagne valleys), he designed Prats-de-Mollo, Fort des Bains, Mont-Louis and Villefranche-de-Conflent. The rear of the system was reinforced by Perpignan.
The Revolution and the Empire developed the military character of the city and even claimed a number of public monuments and religious rights-of-way for the troop.

Perpignan Tourist Office

Palais des Congrès - Place Armand Lanoux BP 215 66002 Perpignan Cedex

Tel: +33 (0)4.68.66.30.30

Fax: +33 (0)4.68.66.30.26

E-mail: contact-office@perpignan.fr

Palace of the Kings of Majorca

4 rue des Archers 66000 Perpignan

Tel.: +33 (0)4 68 34 48 29

Summer opening times: closes at 6pm. Winter opening times: 9am to 5pm

Closed on 01/01, 05/01, 01/11 and 25/12

Quiz: Forts and citadels

Marshal Joffree was born on 12 January 1852, in Rivesaltes. In honour of the soldier who was made a Marshal of France in 1916, the commune acquired Joffre’s birthplace and turned it into a museum.

It was officially opened on 10 January 1987, by the then state secretary to the Minister of Defence, Jacques Boyon.

On the ground floor, formerly the stables, cooperage and entrance hall, the display presents the key moments in Joffre’s life. There are two sculptures of the Marshal, 30 panels of 200 photographs charting his career and a display presenting the main battles of the First World War.

On the first floor of the family apartment, visitors can see Joffre’s study, complete with its original furnishings, together with historical paintings and gifts from Spanish and South American Catalans. On display in the antechamber are objects (kepi, sword and bicorn hat of the French Academy) and mannequins dressed as infantry soldiers from 1914-15, as well as the Marshal’s own uniforms. The kitchen and the bedroom in which Joffre was born have been recreated.

The top floor, which served as a hayloft, is devoted mainly to the Battle of the Marne, with an animated relief map and projections recreating the key moments. A 50-minute film charts the main events of the First and Second World Wars. Outside, at the edge of the path, is a statue of Marshal Joffre on horseback.

Musée Joffre

11, rue du Maréchal Joffre - 66600 Rivesaltes

Tel.: +33 (0)4 68 64 24 98 or (0)4 68 64 04 04

Fax: +33 (0)4 68 38 50 88

Opening times

Open daily, 8 am to 12 noon and 2 pm to 6 pm, except weekends.

June to September, 8 am to 12 noon and 2 pm to 6 pm; weekends, 2 pm to 6 pm.

Closed on bank holidays. Free admission.

In 1697, in accordance with the Ryswick treaties, France had to give back all those towns situated on the right bank of the Rhine, including Brisach. She was thus to lose her foothold in Germany and leave the centre of the Alsace undefended. In 1698 Vauban was despatched to the town and started to build three projects, of which the third one, the most complete, was retained by Louis XIV on 6 September 1698. The highly experienced Vauban, closely following the layout already achieved in Landau, designed a town with a double defensive main front part to increase its resistance to attack and make it less vulnerable to ricochet fire, which he himself had invented.

The town, a perfect octagon, comprises an internal fortified "secure" part, whose fortified defensive walls are flanked by fortified towers and an outer "fighting" area. This is made up of two defensive levels. The first consists of counter-guards serving as an artillery platform, which conceal the fortified towers and tenailles to protect the defensive walls. The second level is made up of half-moons in front of the tenailles, of which only those above the doors have a reduit, and of a covered walkway that encircles the whole town. Within the walls, Neuf-Brisach is arranged into 48 areas around the Place d'Armes. This ias how Neuf-Brisach came to be built from scratch on the left bank of the Rhine a short distance from the old town of Brisach. Construction work, which began in 1700, was carried out quickly so that by March 1702, the town could be used as a defence.
However, the return of Brisach to French rule in 1703 was to be the death knell for Neuf-Brisach. This is why, due to lack of funds, the crowning work that featured in Vauban's plans was abandoned and the first stone of the church of Saint-Louis was not laid until 1731, while the construction of the governor's hall would not be started until 1772. Only a small amount of modernisation work was carried out in the middle of the 19th century to compensate for some defects, in particular the lack of casemates. It was also a question of adapting its defences after the construction of the canal between the Rhone and the Rhine that runs along the slope to the east, by adding a lunette covering a floodgate. After a few alarms in 1814 and 1815, it wasn't until 1870 that Neuf-Brisach was to witness its first siege: besieged from 6th October 1870, it was subjected to violent artillery fire between the 2nd and 10th November before capitulating on the 11th November.
However Neuf-Brisach's military purpose was never to be fulfilled. The Germans would significantly alter the ramparts, as well as the urban layout of the ancient fortified town, turning it into a key constituent of the Neuf-Brisach bridgehead, intended to protect an important crossing point on the Rhine using several very modern fortifications. In June 1940, the breaching of the Rhine by the Germans in the Neuf-Brisach area was to be marked by intense fighting, before the town temporarily became the largest prisoner of war camp in France. Neuf-Brisach was to be severely bombarded once more, this time by American troops at the end of the Second World War.
Tourist Office Point I Neuf-Brisach 6, place d'Armes 68600 Neuf-Brisach Tel. 03 89 72 56 66 Fax: 03 89 72 91 73 E-mail: info@tourisme-rhin.com

Bastion No. 6, known as "Bastion Saint-Jean", is situated in the commune of Avesnes-sur-Helpe, in the North of France, in the region called Nord-Pas-de-Calais. This fortified city clinging to the side of a rocky cliff was founded by Wédric Le Barbu in the 11th century. Philippa de Hainaut, future queen of England who persuaded King Edward to spare the lives of the Burghers of Calais, was born into the family of Avesnes.

The edifice was established on the south-eastern boundary of the town, against a rocky outcrop, opposite the high grounds of Malassise and Guersignies to the south; it dominates the Helpe valley. The first elements of the motte-and-bailey castle were built in the 11th century; two ramparts circled the town in the 13th and 14th centuries. In the second half of the 16th century, the town of Avesnes was the site of Franco-Spanish rivalry to take control of the Netherlands. Avesnes had six bastions built according to the plans of Devanter and Guichardin.

Reference is made to a "Bastion in front of the tower of Saint Jean" in written sources dating to 1559. It has the form of an "arrow-head" and the odd characteristic of a truncated salient. When it became too small to meet the needs of the growing artillery, Bastion Saint-Jean was extended in 1650 with a new polygonal shape on two levels and was doubled in size. This configuration can still be seen. The firing chambers and the countermine shafts soon became obsolete as they were too far from the new installations.

The upper part of the bastion, to the south, occupies two-thirds of the area, and rises over 20 metres above the valley. The lower part, which is smaller, controlled the sluice bridge – the Pont des Dames –, which controlled flooding of the eastern-side approaches of the town and flanked the curtain wall. The two levels are separated by a covered way, the purpose of which was to prevent ricochet shootings and enfilade firing of the firing step on the left side from the southern high ground. A ramp to the left connects the two levels. Nine years later, Avesnes became part of the kingdom of France. Vauban modified the bastion from 1690 to 1723 by adding a cavalier in the gorge of the bastion to dominate the whole structure and at the same time provide surveillance for its southern and eastern approaches. The two levels were decorated with formal French gardens in the 18th century.

In 1831-1832, the building, now small and out-of-date, was renovated and modernised, but it was finally decommissioned in 1867. The bastion and its land were sold.

The Bastion Saint Jean was registered on the French supplementary inventory of historic monuments in 1995 and was restored between June 1999 and September 2001.

bastion Saint-Jean

Avesnes-sur-Helpe Tourist Information Office

41, place du Général Leclerc BP 208 - 59363 Avesnes-sur-Helpe

Tel./Fax: +33 3.27.56.57.20

E-mail : ot.avesnes@wanadoo.fr

Quizz : Forts et citadels

From the beginning of the 16th century, the inhabitants of Toulon were heavily preoccupied with sheltering their town from an attack by sea. And although, with its fortified wall dating from the 14th century, Toulon could consider itself sheltered from a sudden attack from the land, its harbour remained entirely open to enemy fleets. Listening to the pleas of the province and alerted by the town council, in 1513 KIng Louis XII ordered the construction of a fortification in the form of a tower in the entrance to the port to defend its access. Originally called the Royal Tower, this fortification was immediately called the Great Tower or the Big Tower by the people, who were amazed at its size. In a municipal debate held on the 16th July 1513, the town council decided that this tower would be built on the cape known as la Manègue, in the entrance to the port, as the king had wanted. The execution of the work was under the supervision of an Italian engineer of great renown, Jean-Antoine de la Porta, who arrived at the port in early May 1514. The work was started on the 14th May, the date of the first excavations, to public rejoicing and would continue, often halted due to financial difficulties, for ten years. The Great Tower was completely finished and armed in May 1524. Command of it was entrusted to the unsavoury individual Captain Jehan du Mottet, famous for the cowardice with which he surrendered it to the Imperials, without a struggle, for 500 gold Ecus, when the latter invaded Provence in 1524. The enemy found 3 canons and 9 other artillery pieces there, which they drove to their camp outside Marseille, opening up the first route through the Ollioules gorges, in order to avoid the harsh climb up the Corps de Garde pass. Amongst the canons taken were the famous culverin, called Lézarde, which was later to cause so much harm to the French on the day of the Battle of Pavia (24th February 1525) and which was partly responsible for the victory. In 1529, the Great Tower was rearmed and as a result was able to resist in July and August 1536, when the fleet of Andréa Doria entered Toulon. It could not, however, prevent it from occupying the harbour during the new invasion of Provence by Charles Quint. During the persecutions suffered by the protestants in the province as a result of the Saint-Barthélémy massacre, about twenty Reformist families found asylum in the Great Tower.

It played no active role during the siege of 1707, but as it was powerfully armed, the ships of Admiral Showel's English fleet did not dare to break through the harbour. Towards the end of the 17th century, this fortress, which had for a long time provided the only defence of Toulon from the sea, was already no longer capable of providing a useful service. However, in 1746, it was still equipped with fifteen 24 canons, ten 18's, four 12's and two 6's, making a total of thirty one canons. From 1770 onwards, which was when Fort Lamalgue was finished, the Great Tower no longer played a major role in the defence of the harbour. The Revolution was to turn it into a jail; many victims were imprisoned and perished there. It had the same use during the counter-revolution of 1793. On the 19th May 1798, Josephine came to the Tower to say goodbye to Bonaparte as he set off on his expedition to Egypt. Although it was a pleasant prison in 1809 for the crew of the English frigate the Proserpine, captured off Sicié on the 27th February, for the duration of the First Empire it would accommodate in a more rudimentary fashion the many draft dodgers awaiting trial or their departure to the companies of pioneers. In 1825, the chapel was demolished and the small cemetery deconsecrated. The Tower had twenty-one canons in 1844. During the Franco-German war of 1870-1871, its basements were used to store the gold of the Bank of France. A project to install a battery of two 370mm canons there was abandoned in 1900. Since then, the Great Tower has been used as a store for naval construction, and to service torpedoes etc. In the 1914-1918 war German prisoners of war were interned there. During the 1939-1945 war it was occupied by the Germans and armed with various weapons, most notably anti-aircraft canons. It was hit several times and was badly damaged during the allied bombardments of 1943-1944. Between 1947 and 1948 it was cleared of rubble and a few minor repairs were carried out. Since the 11th April 1947 it has been listed as a historic monument.
A canon tower, almost circular in shape, 60 metres in diameter, with walls varying in thickness from 5 m to 3 m, it consists of a central nucleus, a low casemated battery with eight embrasures, a platform at access level with a drawbridge and an upper terrace protected by a solid wall forming a parados. It is surrounded by a wide moat. Several modifications have been carried out to the fort over the years: the addition of two low batteries at the end of the 17th century, whose embrasures are now blocked up; the establishment of a barracks on the platform and then a guard house; the development of the upper terraces to accommodate anti-aircraft artillery.
The central nucleus contains a collection of premises laid out on three levels, one above the other and linked by spiral staircases. In addition to two water tanks, there are vaulted halls used as storerooms and dungeons. It was all originally lit by natural light. The nine casemated cells are accessed by a circular gallery. A canon ramp links the stores with the upper terraces, allowing the transportation of artillery and ammunition.
This historic monument, managed by the Ministry of Defence, is covered by a Culture and Defence protocol, signed on the 17th September 2005. Click here to see the list of other buildings ...
Toulon Tourist Information Office Place Raimu 83000 Toulon Tel.: + 33 (0) 4 94 18 53 00

This, as well as its four lakes, means that the Pays de Langres defence system is one of the best preserved in comparison to its original state.

Context

After the 1870 war, Alsace and Moselle were annexed by the German Empire, depriving France of the natural defences provided by the Rhine and the majority of the Vosges mountain range. The country's entire defence system had to be modified. This task was completed by the General of the Engineers, Raymond Séré de Rivières.

Having noted the disadvantaged new borders and the fact that it would be impossible to stop the enemy on them, he decided to construct "defensive curtains" designed to help concentrate and move troops. With strongly fortified towns at each end (Verdun, Toul, Epinal and Belfort), these curtains formed a string of separate forts, preventing any passage. Two large breaches were left (at Charmes and Stenay) for troop manoeuvres.

This system, designed to offer support and openings for a French attack or channel German troops if they broke through, was complemented behind the front line by a second line of immense fortified camps (Besançon, Dijon and Langres). Their role was to support the curtains by coordinating an offensive or strategic retreat.

This colossal project, started in 1874, was practically complete within a decade.

Defensive structure

Modernisation of the structure, inherited directly from the mid-17th century, began in the mid-19th century: construction of the citadel (1842-1860), reconstruction of the enclosed town (1844-1856) and the start of work on Bonnelle and Peigney forts (1869). The project was rudely interrupted by the war of 1870. The lessons learned during the conflict confirmed the credibility of detached fortifications, and justified moving these away from the site itself due to rapid progress in artillery. From 1874, the aims of the system at Langres were to: support a reserve army amassed around Langres, provide backing for an army forced to abandon the Vosges or Franche-Comté, shelter the town and supply routes to the citadel from bombing and control the railway lines and prevent the enemy from using them.

The fortified camp was transformed up until 1893. After a half-century of intensive work it was made up of over forty structures (citadel, 8 detached forts, 20 batteries and infantry structures, 9 underground magazines and 4 strategic wells), linked by 60km of strategic roads.

Montlandon Fort (or Mortier Fort) was built between 1883 and 1885, 10km east of Langres. It covered an area of 8.5 hectares and could house 7 officers and 350 men. Today, it has been converted into a farm with accommodation. Visitors can enjoy meals and snacks, buy local produce and visit the fort and farm. Open for visits. Status: private property.

Le Cognelot or Vercingétorix Fort was built between 1874 and 1877 to control the Culmont-Chalindrey railway node, protect an army retreating towards the plateau and play a pivotal role in allowing an army to garrison the east and south-east ridges of the plateau, preventing the enemy from besieging them.

Le Congelot Fort covers an area of 29 hectares and is located 8 kilometres south-east of Langres. It could house 13 officers and 623 men (and up to 1,083 in wartime). As it needed to be autonomous, supplies were designed to last 3 months: in addition to 100,000 individual rations, 585 cubic metres of water (6 litres per man per day) were required. Guided visits are available to individuals every Sunday in July and August except when events are being held. Groups: all year round by appointment.

Peigney or Constance Chlore Fort was built between 1869 and 1875, 2.5km east of Langres. It is a trapezoidal point defence fort which covers an area of 18 hectares. It was designed to house 8 officers, 18 non-commissioned officers and more than 336 men. Its weaponry was made up of 49 pieces of artillery (plus 22 in reserve). Status: property of the civilian emergency service.

Pointe de Diamant or Defrance Fort is the smallest fort in the defence system. Its role, in combination with La Bonnelle Fort, was to control the plateau west of the site. It is situated 3.2km from Langres and was built between 1874 and 1877. It covers an area of almost 12.76 hectares and was capable of housing 8 officers, 18 non-commissioned officers, 334 troops and 29 pieces of artillery. Status: the fort, which belongs to a private company, has been abandoned and is therefore not open for visits.

Saint-Menge or Ligniville Fort. Saint-Menge Fort (also known as Ligniville fort after the first Prefect of Haute-Marne) formed an integral part of the 19th-century Langres defensive system. It is located 8km north of Langres. This trapezoidal stop fort covering an area of 22 hectares is equipped with two batteries and a fortified camp. Its construction, on the site of a promontory fort at the point where the Marne valley opens out, began in 1874. Once completed in 1881 it was capable of housing 19 officers, 37 non-commissioned officers, 754 troops and 68 pieces of artillery. Status: private property. Not open for visits.

La Bonnelle or Décres Fort This fort, construction of which had hardly begun at the time of the 1870 war, is the only structure to have come under enemy fire when the Prussians circumvented the fortifications in January 1871. The building of the fort commenced in 1869 and was finally completed in 1885, after two phases of works (1869-1875 and 1881-1885). It is a trapezoidal point defence fort covering an area of 18 hectares. It was capable of housing 13 officers, 50 non-commissioned officers, 610 troops, 4 horses and 45 pieces of artillery. Status: property of Saint-Geosmes village. Open for visits for groups only, by appointment. Contact: Pays de Langres tourist office.

Dampierre or Magalotti Fort is the most distant, but also the largest, of the eight forts of the Langres curtain. It was built between 1874 and 1879 between the Coudre and Traire valleys, and is France's largest fort (52 hectares). It is surrounded by 4 kilometres of ditches and was designed to house 43 officers, 146 non-commissioned officers and 1,350 troops. Its immense size is matched only by its weaponry capability - up to 142 pieces of artillery. Status: property of the Ministry of Defence. Not open for visits.

Plesnoy or Medavy Fort was built between 1877 and 1881, 11.8km north-east of Langres. It is a 38-hectare stop fort designed to house 25 officers, 48 non-commissioned officers, 768 men (and 300 artillerymen) and 47 pieces of artillery. Around it stand four batteries, one of which is built against the fort, and a detached powder magazine at Bois Salicaut. Status: private property. Closed to the public.

Information

Pays de Langres Tourist Office

BP16 - 52201 Langres cedex

Tel: +33 (0)3 25 87 67 67

Fax: +33 (0)3 25 87 73 33

Langres Citadel

52200 LANGRES

Tel: +33 (0)3 25 87 67 67

Fax: +33 (0)3 25 87 73 33

E-mail: info@tourisme-langres.com
 

Pays de Langres

This cemetery is located beside the N44 towards Berry-au-Bac at La Musette. Of the 564 bodies in the cemetery (563 British and 1 from New Zealand, and additionally a British pilot and a French soldier from the Second World War), 413 have not been identified. The cemetery was constructed after the Armistice by bringing together the graves, isolated or in small cemeteries, of soldiers killed in 1918.

The village of La Ville-au-Bois was captured in April 1917 by French troops during the bloody Chemin des Dames offensive. The sector was held by the British 50th Division on 27 May 1918 when the Germans launched their third spring offensive, which brought them to Château-Thierry. During the battle, the 2nd Devons and the 5th battery of the 45th Brigade of the Royal Field Artillery were wiped out and received the Military Cross for their sacrifices.

A Roman town from the first century A.D., Laon was a strategic location in the bids to control the north-eastern area of France. A stop-off point on the way to Paris, the town was well acquainted with troop movements during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 and the First and Second World Wars. The stele in honour of the four generals was inaugurated on the same square as the monument to the dead on 18 June 2006 by Evelyne Ratte, Prefect of Aisne. It faces the monument to the dead killed during both world wars, in international theatres of war and in North Africa.

A commemoration of the Liberation of the town from German troops, it is composed of a panel into which the Cross of Lorraine has been carved surrounded by biographic plaques of the four French generals, key members of the resistance who contributed to the liberation of a nation and its entry into the contemporary era:  Alphonse Juin (1888-1967), Jean de Lattre de Tassigny (1887-1952), Marie-Pierre Koenig (1898-1970) and Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque (1902-1947).

The Plateau de Californie, near l'Ailette in the Chemin des Dames region, is an important place of remembrance for the Great War, associated with the failed offensive of Nivelle in April 1917 and with the later mutinies. The site takes its name from an American saloon called "The California" created by Henry Vasnier before 1914. There was also a hotel there, a zoo and an exotic garden with American Indian plants, next to vines, agricultural land, market gardens and woodland. The 18th Infantry Regiment (I.R.) is closely linked to the fate of the place. In reserve at the time of the assault of the 16th April 1917, they became involved from the 4th May, when Craonne and the plateau de Californie were captured. During this fighting they were to lose 40% of their men. Traumatised, these men, then resting in Villers-sur-Fère, refused to return to the front on 27th May 1917, thus starting the first mutinies. Twelve soldiers were brought before the war council on the 7th June; five were sentenced to death for "armed revolt", of whom one was pardoned, another escaped and three were shot on the 12th June at Maizy. Craonne Hill is now classified as a red zone, in the same way as are another 18,000 hectares of land that was totally destroyed by the intensity of fighting, most of which has since been entrusted to the national Forestry Office. Pine trees have been planted there.

Forgotten until the 1990's, this spot has since been developed and has a panoramic viewpoint, orientation table, car park, signage and sign-posted pathways to the heart of what remains of the trenches and shell craters. Sculpture-the monument erected in memory of the soldiers of the 18th I.R. on an old German concrete bunker. This creation was a publicly funded commission by the department of culture and communication, in partnership with the General Council of the Aisne. It is by the sculptor Haim Kerner. Constructed in 1998 in memory of soldiers from all wars, this monument in horizon-blue coloured bronze is made up of heads, all identical, imprisoned behind barbed wire, symbolising the shackles of history with the inscription "They did not choose their burial place". It was inaugurated on the 5th November 1998 by the Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, on the 80th anniversary of the victory of 1918.
Plaque to the 18th I.R. This plaque dedicated to the 18th I.R. is situated on the far eastern edge of the plateau de Californie.. It was built in 1927 on top of an old German concrete bunker and bears the dedication: "To the glory of the 18th Regiment (Béarn - Basque Country - Gascony), an elite regiment whose duty was to capture the plateau of Craonne, a position that had been judged impregnable, and who scaled it with magnificent spirit. Mentioned in despatches - 4th -5th May 1917".

Born in Rotterdam on 21 July 1877 to a prominent old Dutch family, Joost van Vollenhoven spent most of his childhood in Algeria, where his parents had moved and worked as merchants.

After earning a law degree and being naturalised French on 4 February 1899, he was admitted to the Colonial School that year. He completed the eight first years of his career in major political, administrative and diplomatic missions, first at the Ministry of Colonies, then in French West Africa and French Equatorial Africa, then once again in Paris. He received the Legion of Honour in a civilian capacity in 1912 and, at the age of 35, was named Governor of the Colonies and Secretary General of the Indochinese Federation before taking on the functions of interim Governor General when war was declared in 1914.

He was sent to the front in April 1915, at his own request, with the rank of Colonial Infantry Sergeant assigned to the Colonial Infantry Regiment of Morocco. He was named second lieutenant on 21 May.

Injured and with several commendations, he finally accepted the position of Governor General in Dakar in May 1917, a position from which he resigned eight months later in disagreement with the recruitment policy for African soldiers. Back on the front, he was once again commended in April 1918 and promoted Captain of the R.I.C.M. On 19 July 1918 he received a head injury near the village of Parcy-Tigny during an offensive by General Mangin’s 10th Army, engaged in the forest of Villers-Cotterêts since the 18th.

Joost van Vollenhoven died in the morning of 20 July. He was buried in the forest of Villers-Cotterêts, nearly the village of Longpont.

His commendation in the Army Order of 28 July 1918 is inscribed on Van Vollenhoven’s mausoleum: “An officer of ancient valour and virtue, the incarnation of the most admirable and solid military qualities, mortally wounded just as he was electrifying his troops by his example, taking a stubbornly defended enemy position. Ranking on the level of Bayard and La Tour d'Auvergne, and to be commended as an example for future generations, having been one of the most brilliant among the brave.”
 

The Coudehard-Montormel Museum, the only one of its kind, is in the heart of the Falaise pocket, where Germany's powerful war machine eventually collapsed under the Allies' blows. The museum includes an outdoormonument-exhibitionand a guided tour inside thememorial, which offers an annual programme, and the battlefield, which people can visit on their own. The monument was built for the battle's 20th anniversary in 1965. Its sober architecture prompts visitors to think about the tragic events that occurred here and commemorates the sacrifice of the Polish soldiers who died "for our freedom and yours". The memorial was built in 1994 to mark the battle's 50th anniversary. Inserted into the side of hill 262, where Polish tanks fought on the afternoon of 19 August 1944, it naturally fits into the landscape. The annual programme, which is open to all, offers guided tours of the Falaise pocket, film screenings and various cultural activities. Near the memorial, the marked "August 1944" route takes visitors past strategic places where fierce fighting occurred during the battle of the Falaise pocket and pays tribute to the soldiers. The Coudehard-Montormel Museum bears witness to the combined efforts of four Allied nations fighting to defeat a common enemy. It is an unforgettable immersion into the hell that was the Battle of Normandy, and a visit provides the opportunity for a rare educational experience.

Montormel-Coudehard Memorial "Les Hayettes" 61160 Montormel Tel.: 02 33 67 38 61 - Fax: 02 33 67 38 72 E-mail: memorial.montormel@worldonline.fr Opening times: 1 May to 30 September Every day: 9:30am-6pm 1er October to 31 March Wednesdays/Saturdays/Sundays: 10am-5pm (For groups by appointment on other days) 1 to 30 April Every day: 10am-5pm

Between the Aisne and the Ailette, not far from the N2 (the main road from Soisson to Laon), a field of memorials and steles echoes the poems of Louis Aragon "Traveller, remember the moulin de Laffaux".

The taking of the position of the moulin de Laffaux was to be a stage in the mass offensive planned by General Nivelle, commander in chief of the French armies of the north and north west, in the Chemin des Dames sector. This offensive was responsible for 140,000 deaths in a few days. General Maistre's 6th army launched an assault on the plateau de Laffaux, to the south east of Vauxaillon on the 5th May at 4.45 am. The 1st Colonial Army Corps was charged with taking the Vauxaillon-Fruty sector. "Marsouins" of the 3rd I.D., cavaliers on foot of the 4th, 9th and 11th cuirassiers and foot soldiers of the 28th and 329th I.R., supported by the tanks of Lefebvre's task force, took the Cacatoès trench and advanced on the plateau de Moisy, taking the trenches of le Rossignol, Pertuisane and la Rade, as well as the Mennejean farm. The 9th and 11th cuirassiers both advanced from the moulin de Laffaux. Grenade offensives facilitated the taking of the trenches of le Môle, le Mousse and le Rouge-gorge, whilst Captain Robinet's tanks reached the vicinity of the quarry at Fruty and, on doubling back, overcame the last pockets of resistance in the moulin de Laffaux sector. Fighting started again on the 6th May at 4 pm. Supported by a barrage of artillery fire, the French army was engaged in the north eastern sector of Vauxaillon. The colonials were held in check at the Mont des Singes but the 4th cuirassiers took the position of the château de la Motte and the 9th cleaned up the Ravin d'Allemant. The German counter offensive was contained. After two days of fierce fighting, the position of the plateau de Laffaux was taken. 12 pieces of equipment were lost and 55 men put out of action, including 3 dead. Commemorative monuments pay tribute to the courage and tenacity of these soldiers who "Died for France".
Monument to the "crapouillots" (trench artillerymen) An imposing memorial in the shape of a mortar shell, this monument pays tribute to the 12,000 entrenched artillerymen who died between 1914 and 1918 on the French and Eastern fronts. "Crapouillot" is the name given to the French trench mortar because of the projectile's curved shape that resembles a leaping toad or "crapaud". Monument to the marine fusiliers Erected in 1938, this construction is dedicated to the battalion of marine fusiliers who fought at the moulin de Laffaux on the 14th September 1918, at a cost of heavy losses: 18 officers and 430 company men killed. A few metres behind this monument is the entrance to the Fruty quarry which still bears the scars of the fighting of the 14th September 1918. Monument to the stenographers Monument dedicated to the memory of French and allied stenographers who died for their country. Monument to the 4th cuirassiers This monument was erected to bear witness to the valour of the 4th, 9th and 11th Cuirassiers. Monument to General Estienne This stele, a tribute to General Estienne, the "father of French tanks", is a reminder that during the fighting of the 5th and 6th May 1917 at the moulin de Laffaux, the first heavy tanks, Schneider and Saint Chamond, were used - 32 Schneider and 16 Saint-Chamond tanks.
Monument to the 9th regiment of foot cuirassiers This monument is in memory of Captain René de Chasteignier, Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur and Croix de guerre (War Cross); of Lieutenant Michel Wagner, Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur and Croix de guerre; of Sub-Lieutenant Jean-Luc de Carbuccia, Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur and Croix de guerre; of the officers, sub-officers and cavaliers of the 9th Regiment of Foot Cuirassiers who died for France during the victorious assault of the moulin de Laffaux, on the 5th May 1917. Georges Damez Memorial "On the 19th August 1917, after an aerial battle 400 metres from here, the aeroplane of Pilot sergeant Georges Damez of squadron SM 106, who was awarded the Croix de guerre and with two citations to his name, was shot down in flames. A reverent tribute to his memory ". Maurice Thiriez Memorial "Here, on the 7th May 1917, fell gloriously Marshal des logis Maurice Thiriez of the 9th Cuirassiers, a great Christian and a great Frenchman ". Frédéric Taillefert Memorial "Frédéric Félix Taillefert, 21st Company of the 4th mixed Regiment of zouaves and fusiliers. An elite machine gunner, who proved during the offensive of the 23rd October 1917 (battle of la Malmaison) his heroic bravery and even rarer courage in leading the waves of assault and facilitating their advance using fuelled and fine-tuned fire. Fallen gloriously near the village of Chavignon. Marshal of France at army Headquarters on the 9th April 1919, commander in chief of the French armies in the east, Pétain". Henri Dupouy Memorial "In memory of Henri Dupouy, a teacher from Dax, who fell here on the 7th May 1917 at the age of 25".

The fort in Condé-sur-Aisne was part of the Séré-de-Rivières system built to defend the new 250km border from Longwy to Belfort resulting from the 1871 Treaty of Frankfurt, which ended the 1870-1871 Franco-Prussian War. The five-sided fort was a second line component of the La Fère-Soissons fortification.

The Condé fort was built at the same time as the one at La Malmaison and by the same companies (Dollot and Fortier). The land survey dates from 1876; the first battery was completed in July 1877; the final plans were approved in May 1878 by the minister and in July by the engineering corps. The project's total cost was set at 1,850,000 francs. Most of the work was completed by late 1883. In 1885 two companies of the 67th infantry regiment (500 men) were garrisoned there. The 13-hectare fort was able to accommodate 650 men including 20 officers. An infirmary could house 80 patients. The stable was planned for 12 horses; powder magazines, a munitions depot, a forge and two wells occupied the rest of the area suitable for construction. An eight-metre-wide moat surrounded the fort, which had 18 artillery platforms. In 1888 the weaponry included four long 155mm cannons, four short 155mm cannons, nineteen 120mm cannons, four 15cm mortars, several revolver cannons and 12 breech cannons. Like the La Malmaison fort, the Condé fort became useless as weaponry grew more advanced and was decommissioned in 1912. On 1 September 1914 the Germans took the fort without a fight. The French and English attacked it several times a short time later. The position fell on 15 September before being retaken by a violent Imperial counter-attack. Fierce fighting raged in late September; the Germans did not give in. They built a beacon that swept the Aisne Valley and artillery batteries.
When the Chemin des Dames offensive began on 16 April 1917, Von Kluck's troops evacuated the position. In October 1917 Generals Pershing and Franchet d'Esperey came to observe the battlefield from the fort. On 27 May 1918 the Germans' counter-offensive broke through the Allied lines. They shelled the Condé-sur-Aisne fort and stormed it on 28 May. In August French troops retook their position in the Aisne sector. The Germans left on 7 August, taking their artillery pieces with them. The fort, which had become useless and lay partly in ruins, was disarmed after the war and abandoned in 1927. In the 1950s the fort housed a shell-clearing centre. In 1959 the town of Chivres Val bought the site from the town of Condé-sur-Aisne in order to use it as a stone quarry for the people living in Chivres-Val and its environs. In 1979 the Potiers set up an association to preserve and restore the Condé fort as well as endangered churches and monuments in southern Picardy. Renovation work on the fort started. On 1 July 2003 the Community of Aisne Valley Towns, which realised the site's economic potential, started offering events and guided tours of the fort.
Condé Fort 02280 Chivres-Val Tel.: 03 23 54 40 00 Fax: 03 23 54 40 04 E-mail: fortdeconde@wanadoo.fr Opening times and guided tours April-May: every day from 9:30am to noon and 1:30 to 5:30pm / Guided tours at 2 and 4pm and on Sundays at 2, 3 and 4pm June-July-August: every day from 9:30am to 6:30pm and Sundays until 7:30pm / Guided tours at 2, 3, 4 and 5pm and on Sundays at 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6pm September-October-November: every day from 9:30am to noon and 1:30 to 5:30pm / Guided tours at 2 and 4pm and on Sundays at 2, 3 and 4pm Admission Individual: adults €5; 10-18 years old €3; children under 10 free Groups (30 people minimum): adults €4; 10-18 years old €2.5; children under 10 free

Vailly-sur-Aisne national cemetery is located beside the D925 road, adjoining a British cemetery. On the site rest mainly the bodies of soldiers who fell in the Chemin des Dames area. Due to its location next to a first aid post, it was used as a cemetery as early as 1917, following the Nivelle offensive. Work was carried out on the cemetery between 1922 and 1925 in connection with projects to bring together bodies buried at Nanteuil-la-Fosse, Jouy, Allemant, Laffaux and Bois-Morin.

The cemetery covers an area of 9,141m² and is located 13km east of Soissons and 18km south of Laon. It brings together the bodies of 1,576 French service personnel, including 17 from the Second World War, in individual and grouped graves.

There are two monuments on the site. One of them, erected by the National Union of Veterans of Vailly-sur-Aisne, is dedicated to "the memory of our comrades who died for France". The other was built in homage to Félix Germain Jacquinot of the 120th infantry battalion who died for France on 8 July 1917 and to the memory of his comrades, all of whom lie in the cemetery: "Jacquinot Félix Germain, born in Villery (Aube) on 15 June 1895, awarded the Military Cross, sergeant in the 120th infantry battalion, 3rd company, killed at Chemin des Dames (Panthéon battle) on 8 July 1917".

British Cemetery

Moving towards the Marne front, the British 3rd division crossed the Aisne River at the village of Vailly-sur-Aisne on 12 September 1914.

The village had fallen under German control in 1915, despite determined allied resistance. It was taken back at the start of the Nivelle offensive in the Chemin des Dames area on 18 April 1917. It was lost again in June 1918 during the imperial counter-offensive, and freed on 15 September 1918. Due to the heavy price paid from the time hostilities began, once the war was over the British decided to site a military cemetery at Vailly-sur-Aisne, close to the French national cemetery.

Most of the service personnel buried on the site were killed in September 1914, while a few others gave their lives for freedom in 1918. There are 677 bodies: 674 British, 1 Canadian, 1 German and 1 French. To date, 328 graves remain anonymous. The Vailly-sur-Aisne British cemetery is run by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Direction interdépartementale (D.I.)

Chef du secteur Nord-Pas de Calais

Cité administrative

Rue de Tournai 59045 Lille Cedex

Tel: +33.(0)3.20.62.12.39 Fax: +33.(0)3.20.62.12.30

Email: diracmetz@wanadoo.fr

Site : www.cwgc.org

The village of Cerny-en-Loannois, in the Department of Aisne, is set on a terrace overlooking the Ailette at the crossroads of the Laon-Fismes road and the Chemin des Dames.

Traditionally, the village was considered the birthplace of Saint Rémi (437-533), the bishop of Reims who baptised Clovis. It was also here that Napoleon I stayed on the evening of the Battle of Craonne on 7th March 1814. The first battles along Chemin des Dames took place around a former sugar factory fortified by the German troops.

The Colonne des Britanniques (British Column)

This baetylus is an homage to the heros of the 1^st Battalion Loyal North Lancashire killed during the first battle of the Chemin des Dames: the attack on a sugar factory in Cergy-en-Laonnois in 1914.

The stone stands on the edge of B-road RD 967 and bears the inscription: "In memory of the officers warrant and non commissioned officers and men of the Battalion Loyal North Lancashire regiment who laid down their lives on active service 1914-1919 ".

At the start of the war, General Joffre launched an offensive that, from 5 September 1914, allowed the French and British troops to reach Aisne, between Venizel and Berry-au-Bac on 13 September. But the French-British advance was stopped on 14 September. On that day, the British set about digging the first trenches on the southern slopes of the Chemin des Dames, between Vendresse and the Cergy-en-Loannois sugar factory. Between 15 and 20 September, both armies sought in vain to penetrate the opposite front between Cergy-en-Loannois and Craonne. The Germans made further attempts between 26 and 29 September, echoed by the French on 30 September and then from 12 to 14 October. In early 1915, the Kaiser’s troops successfully conquered the area of the Chemin des Dames notably by attacking a farm in La Creute (the Dragon’s Cave) and started to fortify this line now behind the front line.

General Nivelle launched a huge offensive to break German lines in April 1917. A pointless effort and costly in terms of lives, it resulted in increasing mutiny amongst the troops. On 15 May, Nivelle was replaced by Pétain at the head of the French armies. From the summer, he led a series of limited attacks in a bid to regain control of strategic points as far as Ailette. In May 1918, the German command launched Operation Blücher to win back their position between Aisne and Ailette. Overwhelmed by the counter-offensive of the second Battle of the Marne, the Germans retreated in October.

The chapel

This building, officially opened on 22 April 1951, is a non-denominational memorial for Chemin des Dames. It came into being on the initiative of a committee whose honorary members included veteran officers, dignitaries from the Catholic church, the President of the Protestant Federation of France and the Chief Rabbi of France. Regimentary and individual plaques adorn the walls.

Each year in April or May, a large religious and military ceremony is organised as part of the commemorations for the battles in 1917.

A lantern for the dead

Facing the chapel, this building and its light calls to mind the sacrifice made by a whole age bracket of men to defend its values in the trenches.

French National Cemetery

Set facing the Chemin des Dames Memorial, on the edge of the Departmental Road No. 18, this cemetery covering an area of 13,515 m² shelters 5,150 bodies, 2,386 of which are in ossuaries. The cemetery also contains the remains of 54 Russian soldiers, buried after fighting on the plateaux of Vauclerc, Vendresse and Troyon and those buried on land in the villages of Beaulne, Paissy, Braye-en-Laonnois and Moulins. The cemetery was created in 1919 but was not completed until 1925. It was completely renovated in 1972.

The German Cemetery

The German cemetery in Cerny-en-Laonnois is located at the edge of the Departmental Road No. 18, to the right of the entrance into the village, if you are coming from Soissons. The site contains the bodies of 5,125 German soldiers who fell in the Chemin des Dames area. The first graves date from 1924-25, applying the clauses in the Treaty of Versailles concerning burial places.

Here lay soldiers who fought in autumn 1914, spring 1915, April/May 1917 and May, and September and October 1918. The regiments gathered here came from Westphalia, Brandeburg, Saxe, Württemberg, Schleswig-Holstein and Western Prussia.

An agreement in 1926, which came into force in 1928, endowed the cemetery with durable funerary masonry, completed by the Franco-German agreement on burial places of 19th July 1966. A general renovation was carried out in 1974. The cemetery was enlarged to make room for new tombs, a new entrance was built and all the funerary insignia was fully replaced.

Currently the site shelters the remains of 7,526 bodies. Of the 3,533 individual graves, including 12 graves of persons of Jewish denomination, 46 remain anonymous and in the ossuary that groups together 3,993 soldiers, 3,080 of them could not be identified.

Information Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge Bundesgeschäftsstelle, Abteilung Gräbernachweis, Werner-Hilpert-Straße 2, D-34112 Kassel.Tel: 0561-7009-0

A stele to the 38th African Infantry Division

Erected facing the memorial to the Chemin des Dames, this stele pays tribute to the men of the 38th African Infantry Division who fought in the Chemin des Dames and bears the following inscription: "The 38th Infantry Division, grouping the RICM (Colonial Infantry Regiment of Morocco), 4th Zouaves, 4th Mixed Zouaves skirmishers, 8th Tunisian Skirmishers, 32nd RAC (Régiment Artillerie Campagne, Country Artillery Regiment) Companies of Engineers 19/2 – 19-52, fought in September 1914 – Chemin des Dames – Craonne – Hurtebise, in April 1917 – Cerny – Les Bovettes – Heurtebise in October 1917 – Chavignon – Carrières Bohéry – Recapture of Malmaison Fort on 23rd October”.