Les deux pins

rolling landscape of the Aisne. The Chemin des Dames is a special way in the north of France, in the middle of the triangle Soissons, Laon and Reims.
The road is largely situated on a ridge that extends tens of meters above the surrounding gently rolling country.

Origin of the road
Two daughters of the French king Louis XV, Adelaide and Victoire, used in the eighteenth century the road from Paris to their governess in the chateau de la Bove at Vauclair visit.
To drive by royal carriage was to facilitate the path of a stone layer. Later he went to the Dames de France are named.

The plateau on which the road leads many times has played an important role in history, also evokes the Chemin des Dames in the first place memories of the First World War. The sometimes over 200 meter high ridge provides an excellent natural barrier and this strategic location explains the great interest that rulers always showed the Chemin des Dames.

Caesar
In 57 BC, the fate of Gaul decided Bibrax around, now Saint-Thomas, located at the eastern end of today Chemin des Dames. In his memoirs how his legions of Caesar describes the peoples of Northern Gaul inflicted a crushing defeat.

Clovis
In 486 the last Roman "governor", Syagrius, near Soissons, defeated by Clovis, a young Frankish chieftain.

Napoleon
In 1814, fought back around the ridge. Napoleon put young recruits ("Les Maries-Louise") against the Russian and Prussian allied armies.
It would be his last victory before he was finally defeated at Waterloo.

First World War
From September 1914 the German troops occupy the ridge. Until 1917, the front here fairly stable. The German army units benefit from this period to the Chemin des Dames in an impregnable fortress to change.
They dug in the vaults of a limestone quarry that they themselves Drachenhöhle called, to the clouds of smoke escaped from the hall openings and who were seen from afar. This name was later taken over by the French: Cavern du Dragon.

The French General Nivelle wanted an end to this war of attrition and on 16 April 1917, he launched a large-scale offensive.
Despite the participation of the first French tanks (type Schneider) and intensive artillery bombardment went on the offensive from a major disaster.
Nivelle was stubbornly and at the expense of many lives he knew in May 1917 and the Plateau de Californie Craonne only as a possession.

This sensational defeat undermined the morale of the French troops and led to a mutiny that was sung in the chanson de Craonne.

Nivelle was put aside and General Petain took over command. After the morale of the troops have recovered, he began a limited but well prepared battle which resulted in the ridge in November 1917 in French hands.
An overwhelming German offensive side shortly after the Allied armies drove south on the Marne.
A new French offensive in July 1918 resulted in breaking the enemy lines. On October 10, 1918 German troops finally left the ridge. On the 13th Laon was liberated.

Sights
All along the Chemin des Dames is full of memories of the First World War. From west to east are the most important of these:

Fort de la Malmaison - the ruins of a fort that was built in 1878 to the design of Sere de Rivières. Given its strategic location was throughout the war fought doggedly to this fort. Besides the remains of the fort is completely destroyed a German cemetery from World War II with 11,000 soldiers killed.
La Royère - A viewpoint with memories of the offensive la Malmaison in October 1917 and the deployment of colonial troops.
Cerny-en-Laonnois - a small chapel, situated beside two cemeteries, one French and one German, is the principal shrine of the Chemin des Dames.
Cavern du Dragon - A former quarry where the German troops a special underground barracks has been made, including shooting locations, first aid posts and dormitories. A wonderful museum gives an impressive picture of the daily lives of the soldiers in this unusual place.
Des Basques Monument - This monument was erected to commemorate the 36th Infantry Division which consisted mainly of soldiers from southwestern France (Basque Country).
Plateau de Californie - this place was on 16 April 1917 the scene of the great offensive of General Nivelle. A bloody stalemate that led to mutiny among the French troops. Here is a poignant image created by AIM Core and entitled "Ils n'avaient only le choix" ("They had no choice").
Craonne - After the war the affected villages be rebuilt. It was totally destroyed five hundred meters away Craonne rebuilt. At the site of the former village is now an arboretum built between which the bomb craters still visible. The old village is part of the so-called "Zone Rouge '. A zone where no longer can be built in connection with the risk of explosion. The cobblestones of the old main street as a forgotten, overgrown cemetery are the only "tangible" evidence of this devastated village.
Monument National des chars d'assaut - In 1917, at the foot of the Chemin des Dames the first French tanks deployed. At the monument, a few tanks dating from the fifties.

Statue of Napoleon

Abbaie the Vauclair

Vanuit Parijs naar het mooie achterland.
De "chemin des dames" is een beroemde weg die dwars door het heuvellandschap gaat. In vroegere tijden, werden hier de dames uit Parijse welgestelde kringen via een Caleche vervoerd naar de mooie buitenkastelen en landhuizen. Later was deze route van enorm strategisch belang tijdens verschillende oorlogen. Met name in de eerste wereldoorlog is aan beide zijden van deze route onophoudelijk gestreden. Het museum Caverne du Dragon laat een indrukwekkend beeld achter van deze Grand Guerre Mondial. Vele monumenten en kapellen zijn verrezen om de strijders te gedenken. Sinds 2018 (100 jaar na het einde van de oorlog), zijn er bij de "Villages Detruite" kunstwerken geplaatst om zodoende niet te vergeten dat wij nu in vrede mogen en kunnen leven. Ook bij het kerkje in Hameau de Beaulne is een herinnering geplaatst op de locatie waar ruim 100 jaar geleden het dorpje Chivi eens te midden van de glooiende heuvels haar bestaan. had.

De Kathedraal van Reims staat op de Unesco lijst van Wereld erfgoed.
De gotische raampartijen aan de achterzijde zijn gebrandschilderd door de kunsschilder Marc Chagall. Hieronder de kathedraal van Laon