In his collection of short stories, Solitude de la pitié (“The Solitude of Compassion”), Jean Giono evokes his friend Yvan Kossiakoff, who lies in this national cemetery (tomb 372). According to him, this fighter was shot in July 1917 at the Chalons camp. But there is no evidence that any Russian soldiers were executed at that time. In all likelihood, Jean Giono imagined this execution with reference to the Russian uprising in La Courtine (Creuse).

On 16 May 1937, the French Front Veteran Officers Association, founded in 1923, together with Veterans of the Moroccan Division, opened a memorial chapel dedicated to the 4,000 Russian soldiers who died in France and Salonika (now Thessaloniki). The chapel, designed in Orthodox style by architect Albert Benoît, was built near the cemetery, which also houses a monument in homage to the Russian infantry of the Second Special Regiment.

The Memorial is situated on the left bank of the Marne on a hill overlooking the river and the town of Dormans. When the plan to erect a large monument to remember all of the battles in Marne was confirmed, this site was chosen by Marshal Foch as a place that represented both battles. The building was made possible thanks to an association founded by Madame de la Rochefoucauld in 1919, overseen by the Cardinal of Reims and the Bishop of Châlons. A vast park with a chateau was purchased, and the first brick was laid on 18 July 1920. The building work, which took 10 years from 1921 to 1931, was funded by numerous donations, in particular those collected by the ‘national subscription’ in 1929 dubbed "four monuments day” (the association which became a charity, was recognised as a public interest organisation by presidential decree on 20 May 1932).

The impressive ensemble was designed by architects Marcel and Closson. A monumental staircase leads to a large square with a sundial and a viewpoint indicator that shows the names of the villages in the Marne Valley where the Battle of 1918 was fought. The square itself leads to a crypt that is overlooked by the church that boasts a bell tower and two ridge towers.

The inside of the chapel is entirely dedicated to the glory of the “soldiers, the army and the fatherland".

The stained-glass window in the choir represents Christ welcoming a soldier to symbolise all those who died during the Great War, presented to him by Joan of Arc and St Michael. On each side, angels intercede in his favour.

The stained-glass windows at the sides of the transept (by the renowned Lorin firm in Chartres) represent the patron saints of the different branches of the army.

The four columns standing on the crypt’s vaulted bases are decorated with sculptures depicting the four great invasions of France by the Huns, the Arabs, the English and the Germans, which were all contained (the Catalunian Plains in 451, Poitiers in 732, Orleans in 1429 and Dormans 1914-1918).

The 52-metre tower houses several bells, the largest weighing 304 kg. Beside the chapel is a cloister. Rather austere in appearance with its pointed arch, from the side it is attached to a funerary building housing the ossuary, close to a lantern tower for the dead. At its entrance, a medallion features the effigies of marshals Foch and Joffree, the two victors of the battles of the Marne, while the names of all the soldiers who fought in the battles are engraved in the wall plaques.

Inside the ossuary, the mortal remains of 1,332 French soldiers who fell between 1914 and 1918 are held in 130 coffins; only 11 of these men were identified. The funerary chamber also holds two urns: the first one contains earth taken from the cemetery in Italy where soldiers of the Free French Forces killed during the battles in 1943-1944 in Monte Cassino are buried; the other holds the ashes of deportees returned from Dachau in 1948.

Every year since 1993, during the Armistice commemorations, an official ceremony is held in the ossuary where a wreath given by the French President is laid by a delegate Senior Officer from the Elysée Palace.

Opening times

From 1 April to 11 November every day from 2-6 pm and Sundays from 10 am to 12 pm and 2-6 pm.

Contact

Dormans Tourist Information Office, Château de Dormans - 51700 DORMANS
Tel: +33 (0)3 26 53 35 86

Memorial secretariat: +33 (0)3 26 57 77 87

Memorial: +33 (0)3 26 59 14 18

Site du 90e anniversaire des batailles de la Marne

Office de tourisme de Dormans 

Source: MINDEF/SGA/DMPA - Vincent Konsler

To all the armies... When the fate of a country depends on a battle, it is important to remember to never look back; all the efforts have to be used to attack and force back the enemy. A troop that can't move forward anymore must stay put and defend his position at all costs, even if this means dieing for it, rather then moving back. At the present circumstances failure can't be tolerated. Joffre's general order of September 6th 1914

In early September 1914, neither army has achieved the objectives organised for the war that started a month earlier. The Germans hadn't seized Paris, nor surrounded and annihilated the French army. The French on their side, under Joffre's command, didn't manage to push back the enemy. The battle of borders was lost and since August 24th, the hungry, thirsty and exhausted soldiers continued to move back, pursued by the Germans. It is to these men that Joffre ordered on September 6th 1914, the most extraordinary volte-face of our military history: "to get killed on the spot, rather than move back". From September 5th to September 12th, on a front of 3000Km, from Senlis to Verdun, two million men fought against each other. The Germans had been pushed back and then pursued. These fights, which Joffre named "La Marne" proved to be a real success. During this battle, Mondement constituted a strategic location, in the device used by the commander-in-chief Joffre, facing the German invasion threatening Paris. Since, the castle dominating the "Marais de Saint-Gond", blocked the way southwards, towards the capital. During the evening of September 9th 1914, the soldiers of the 77th Infantry Regiment of Cholet and the Zouave of the Moroccan Division, in seizing the Castle of Mondement, stopped the German progression.
Thus it is in Mondement, situated in the north east of Sézanne in the Marne, that the national Memorial of the Marne Victory was established in order to commemorate the so-called Battle of Marne of September 1914. Decided by the Parliament, the Monument, whose construction was entrusted to Paul Bigot was set up. The work started in 1931 and carried on until 1938. The official inauguration, which was organised on September 1939 and which couldn't take place, because of the war declaration, took only place in September 1951. The monument is made up of a monolith, a sort of gigantic stone, measuring 35,5 m height, supported by an internal metallic reinforcement. Its concrete has a pink colour, due to its aggregates coming from Moselle. Its foundations are embedded 22m in the ground. At the food of this monolith the effigies of the different Generals, who commanded an army during the 1st Marne Battle, are sculptured. From left to right it is possible to recognize Sarrail, de Langle de Carry, Foch, Joffre, the soldier of the Marne, Franchet d'Esperey, French, Maunoury, Galliéni. Above this sculpture two texts are engraved; the first celebrates the heroism of the fighters. The second the generals order of September 6th 1914 signed by Joffre.
The first Sunday of September, the commemorative ceremony of the 1st Marne victory, with the participation of foreign delegation, the presence of defence attaché representing the belligerent countries and veterans, remembers the European dimension of the confrontation. The inhabitants of Mondement each year take part of this commemoration. On September 5th 2004, year of the 90th anniversary of the first Marne battle, the ceremony, will be of an exceptional nature.
The museum : Created in 1996 by the "Mondement association 1914", the History Museum of Mondement is set up in the former school of the village. It is devoted to the first Marne battle. This is not a military museum, but more a historical museum, which reminds the combats; and shows various objects and documents, generally donated by the descendents of the soldiers, who once fought heroically in this location. The guided tours of the site and the History Museum of Mondement are organized in groups and by reservation during the entire year. For further information contact the tourist office of Sézanne and its region on the 03.26.80.51.43. Fax : 03.26.80.54.13. The individual visits take place every Sunday from June to September, from 3:00p.m to 6:00p.m.
Contacts : Mr. Claude DOMENICHINI President of the Mondement association 1914 6, chemin des Carrouges 51120 GAYE Phone/Fax : 03.26.81.84.38 e-mail ::Mondement1914@voila.fr