The Battles of the Marne and Aisne

The Battles of the Marne and Aisne

Germany's Missed Opportunity

Military History and Battlefield Tours

The Battles of the Marne and Aisne

Germany's Missed Opportunity

Military History and Battlefield Tours

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Tour Introduction

We visit key battlefields of the First World War on which French, American and British troops all fought and which possess stunning memorials, dramatic scenery and remarkable evidence 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.

Background

The German Schlieffen Plan advance was halted in September 1914 just north of Paris by a vast battle at the River 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.

Highlights

  • British rear-guard actions at Nery and Villers-Cotterets
  • The 1914 battles of the Marne and Aisne
  • The 1917 Nivelle Offensive
  • Drive the  'Chemins des Dames'
  • Foch's Counter Offensive and the Marne 1918
  • Belleau Wood and Chateau-Thierry

 

 

 

 

What's Included

  • Expert historian throughout providing a daily variety of talks, presentations and Q&A
  • Dinner parties hosted by your expert historian and tour manager
  • 4 Star Hotel
  • Buffet breakfast each morning
  • Entrance fees for sites included in itinerary
  • Return Standard Premier Eurostar from London (optional)
  • Helpful and friendly travel advice
  • Modern, comfortable, air-conditioned coach
  • Tour information booklet
  • The company of like-minded travelers
  • Two drinks i,e wine or beer at each dinner and a welcome drink on first evening

"A pretty river, the Marne"

Marshal Joffre

Itinerary

Day 1 British rear-guard actions 1914
Taking Eurostar to Paris, we visit two heroic British rear-guard actions fought during the Retreat from Mons on 1st September 1914 by the Royal Horse Artillery at Néry and the Guards at Villers-Cotterêts. We continue to our hotel in Châteaux-Thierry.


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 walls still pierced by loopholes at Chambry Cemetery in Marchais-en-Brie: the Battle of the Two Morins where the French exploited the split German armies; and the imposing monument at Mondemont which commemorates the Battle of the Saint-Gond Marshes where Foch counterattacked. We also visit the acclaimed Museum of the Great War at Meaux.


Day 3 The Aisne 1914, the Chemin des Dames 1917 and 1918
We start with the German retreat to the Aisne stopping at the British memorial Cerny-en-Laonnois and the cemetery at Vendresse. Thence to the Chemin des Dames 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.


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.


Day 5 The Marne 1918 and the Turning Point
Today we examine the German attack of 1918 which was met by Foch's counteroffensive with visits to: the epic battlefield upon which US Marines famously fought at Belleau Wood, the trenches on Hill 193, Buzancy which was fought over by the 15th Scottish Division, the Oise-Aisne American Cemetery, and the British, New Zealanders and Germans buried and commemorated at Marfaux.


Day 6 The Marne Memorials
We end with three dramatic memorials at key points on the river Marne: the Château -Thierry American Monument, the 1914-1918 ‘Battles of the Marne’ French Memorial at Dormans, and the British Memorial to the Missing of 1914 at La Ferté-sous-Jouarre. Return to Paris where we end our tour or catch our return Eurostar train to London.

 

Your Holiday Essentials

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click here to register your interest

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