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So close to Paris, with one foot in Champagne and the other in Picardy, is the Aisne department.
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American sites of the Great War
In June 1917 the first American soldiers arrived on French soil, more than two and a half years after hostilities began.
In the spring of 1918, with German forces threatening Paris, a division of the American contingent took part in operations in the Aisne department. Bois Belleau, Château-Thierry, Fère-en-Tardenois, Seringes-et-Nesles were all sites of fierce fighting in which thousands of US soldiers lost their lives and which continued right up to the signing of the Armistice on 11th November 1918.
Today you can still see signs of the bloody battles that took place in all of these sites: trenches, shell holes, etc. Memorials were erected to commemorate the fallen. Standing high over the Marne valley and its Champagne vineyards, the imposing Côte 204 war memorial commemorates both French and American soldiers who fought there in June and July 1918.
In the cemetery of Bois Belleau a neo-Romanesque chapel with bell tower was built on the site of the trenches. The Château of Blérancourt, used as the headquarters of the humanitarian organisation run by Anne Morgane during the war, is now a museum of Franco-American Co-operation. It has collections of pieces of work, pictures and objects illustrating the special relationship that has existed between France and the United States for the last four hundred years.
All of these places are open to the general public except for the Château of Blérancourt which is undergoing restoration work until 2010. A visitor’s guide entitled “American Remembrance” was published to coincide with the 90th anniversary of the 1918 campaigns. It can be ordered or downloaded on-line.
Florence Tabart – f.tabart@cdt-aisne.com – 22nd September 2008
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Visit Laon, the Chemin des Dames, taste our Champagne, book your hotel, gîte, self-catering, camp site or a delightful chambre d’hôtes (B&B), enjoy a stay at Center Parcs in a spacious cottage in a natural environment! Come with family or friends, and try one of a host of ideas for getting out and about. Relax, explore, walk, visit or choose from a wide range of leisure activities… Aisne, an ideal weekend getaway destination!