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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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The Chemin des Dames
What is the Chemin des Dames? What really happened there?
New exhibition on the 'Grosse Bertha'
The Chemin des Dames was a strategic route and natural look-out position used in battles, many of which were historically significant: Julius Caesar against the Gauls, Clovis against the Gallo-Romans, Napoleon Bonaparte against the Russians and Prussians, etc. The ‘Dames’ in question were Adélaïde and Victoire, daughters of king Louis XV, known as “Mesdames de France”. Before the French Revolution, they would take this route to go and visit their old governess.
During World War I, after the Battle of the Marne German forces withdrew and in September 1914 took possession of the high ground overlooking the Aisne valley. They dug in there and made use of the “creutes” (old chalk quarries) to house their soldiers. French troops were unsuccessful in dislodging them from this position and so began a long and bloody confrontation – trench warfare in which thousands of soldiers floundered around in the mud to capture/defend positions. In 1917 the Chemin des Dames was the site of one of the greatest battles of the First World War.
On 16th April 1917, at 6 o’clock in the morning, tens of thousands of men advanced to attack the German positions. This was the beginning of General Nivelle’s great offensive. In just a few hours, what was intended to be a foretaste of victory turned into bloody defeat. Overwhelming disillusionment amongst the soldiers led to a refusal to obey orders (mutiny) in some regiments.
On the actual site of one of the most tragic battles, in an old chalk quarry, the Caverne du Dragon museum gives a poignant account of this historical period. Up to March 2009 it also presents a new exhibition on “Big Bertha”, the huge cannon with a range of over 100km that the Germans set up in the Aisne to target the city of Paris.
Guy Marival et Florence Tabart - f.tabart@cdt-aisne.com - 05/01/2009
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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!