On this fantastic tour we visit key battlefields of the First World War on which French, American and British troops fought, and stunning memorials, dramatic scenery and a remarkable legacy of battle. The farms and villages where the blue and scarlet-clad French defeated the German advance in the Battle of the Marne survive today as they were in September 1914. In the Chemin des Dames and Champagne sectors, bunkers, caves and ghost villages are testament of fiercely destructive battles of 1915-1918 while a recently rediscovered trench network at Massiges is an astonishing insight into life in the front line. The preserved Belleau Wood battlefield near Châteaux-Thierry commemorates the epic fight by US Marines in 1918 during the 2nd Battle of the Marne. The vast cemeteries bear witness to terrible sacrifice while the memorials are among the most dramatic on the Western Front. The American memorials honour their fallen on a breath-taking scale, while few can match the emotion of the French 'Phantoms of the Marne' depicting warriors risen from the dead above the 1918 battlefield.

The German Schlieffen Plan advance was halted in September 1914 just north of Paris by a vast battle at the River Marne (the ‘Miracle on the Marne’). Forced to retire, the Germans dug in on the Chemin des Dames ridge, overlooking the River Aisne. Trench lines spread north and south, with stalemate ensuing. In spring 1917 a new French commander, Nivelle, claimed he could break the deadlock but his attack collapsed in mutiny. In May 1918, the Germans unleashed a massive offensive on the now quiet Chemin des Dames, overwhelming resting British divisions. Châteaux-Thierry fell, but American forces stopped the attackers at Belleau Wood. When the Germans attacked again, the French were pre-warned and Marshal Foch's counteroffensive in July inaugurated a series of German defeats which ended in Allied victory.

Day 1 The British at the Marne 1914
Eurostar to Paris or make your own arrangements to join the tour at Paris Gare du Nord. Drive to the town of La Ferté-sous-Jouarre which was fought over fiercely at the beginning of the war. Here we visit the British Memorial to the Missing of 1914 where the names of over 3,700 British and Irish soldiers with no known grave are commemorated. We then move on to the National Monument to the Victory on the Marne at Mondement where at the Battle of the Saint-Gond Marshes the French Marshall Foch counterattacked and blocked German forces in their advance on Paris. We continue to Châteaux-Thierry and our hotel for the next five nights. (D).

Day 2 The 1914 Marne battlefield
We begin with the sudden clash between the French and German armies at the Battle of the Ourq, including the graves at the Grande Tombe de Villeroy and the memorial to the French poet Charles Péguy. At Chambry Cemetery in Marchais-en-Brie we see the remarkable walls still pierced by loopholes and the ruins of the Ferme de Champfleury captured by the French after several spirited assaults. We will also visit the acclaimed Musée de la Grande Guerre at Meaux with its rich collection of artefacts from the early battles. (B, D).

Day 3 The Aisne 1914, the Chemin des Dames 1917 and 1918
Today we explore the sites connected with the German retreat to the Aisne stopping at the British memorial Cerny-en-Laonnois and the cemetery at Vendresse. We also visit the Chemin des Dames area to discuss the Nivelle Offensive of April-May 1917 with visits to Laffaux Mill and the Caverne du Dragon, explore the trenches and bunkers on Californie Plateau, review the tank assault from the memorial at Berry-au-Bac, trace the French comeback in October at La Malmaison, and evaluate the British contribution at La Ville aux Bois during the German offensive of July 1918. (B, D).

Day 4 The Champagne Offensives
We travel east of Reims the Champagne, the scene of four major battles. Here we find the fascinating trench system at Massiges, Navarin Farm ossuary, French and German cemeteries at Souain, Russian Cemetery and chapel at St Hilaire-le-Grand, the Sommepy American Monument on Blanc Mont, and the excellent Museum of Fort de la Pompelle. Dinner at your own expense this evening. (B).

Day 5 The Marne 1918 and the Turning Point
Today we drive to Dormans to visit the Memorial to the Battles of the Marne before moving on to the Marfaux Cemetery where British, New Zealanders and Germans are buried and commemorated. Via the Italian War Cemetery at Chambrecy we then visit a number of other important and iconic sites connected to the battles in this area: the 42nd Rainbow Division American Memorial at Croix Rouge Farm, Les Fantômes, Buzancy (fought over by the 15th Scottish Division), and the Oise-Aisne American Cemetery. (B, D).

Day 6 The Marne Memorials
We end our time in Châteaux-Thierry by visiting two dramatic memorials at key points on the river Marne: the US 3rd Division Memorial at the Maison de l'Amitié France-Amérique and the Château -Thierry American Monument. We then move on to examine the German attack of 1918 which was met by Foch's counteroffensive with visits to the battlefield upon which US Marines fought at Belleau Wood. Here we visit the American Cemetery and Memorial and small museum which tells the story of this epic confrontation. Return to Paris where we end our tour or catch our return Eurostar train to London. (B).