| Reviews and photos of Champagne-Ardenne attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Champagne-Ardenne sightseeing. Map |
 | Champagne-Ardenne Things To Do | Tips 51 - 59 of 59 |  |
 An old photo of the Baradon
champagne family by AmsterKetti, 1 more photosLeave a Comment
|
Making our visit to the Champagne Region of France was not very well planned but when we arrived in Reims we found the tourist office that by the way is right next to the Notre Dame Cathedral. At the office they advised us which places we could go to without reservations.
We went to see Martel Champagne that was just minutes from the tourist office. It was great, the tour of the caves was amazing and was about a half hour long then we went to taste! Address: 17 rue des creneauxPhone: 330326827067
|
German trenches covered the ground here from September 1915 until July 1918. The French 4th Army attacked in this area 26 September in concert with the American push in the Meuse-Argonne just to the east of Champagne. The monument here was inspired by the French commander General Gouraud who was a much beloved figure within the French ranks. It commemorates all of the Allied dead in the Champagne and records along the base of the pyramid the names of all 93 French infantry, 8 cavalry and one air division that took part in the battles throughout the war. Also named are the four American divisions, the two Russian brigades, the Czech brigade and the 1st Polish regiment.
Gouraud had a legendary career beginning with Fashoda in the Sudan. He became the youngest general in 1914 September fighting in the Argonne and the Champagne before being sent off to Gallipoli where lost his right arm 30 June 1915. Other adventures awaited him after the war, but it was his days as 4th Army commander that stayed dearest to his heart. When he died in 1948, he was buried – as to his wishes – here along with his men.
Besides Gouraud, there are some 10,000 other soldiers entombed here within the ossuary. Plaques are found along the walls of the crypt including one which honors the US 42nd Division – with one Douglas MacArthur – and another plaque memorializing the four sons of French President Paul Doumer. Three of them died during the war and the other died in 1922 as a result of his wounds – gas. President Doumer would be assassinated, himself, in 1932.
There are three attacking soldiers atop the pyramid: centrally is General Gouraud; to his right is the sculptor’s – Real de Satre – brother who died on the Chemin des Dames; to his left is Quentin Roosevelt, the son of the ex-President of the US, Theodore Roosevelt who as an aviator was shot down near Chateau Thierry 14 July 1918. Leave a Comment
|
 | |  |
The Russian Expeditionary Force was sent to France in 1916 in exchange for badly-needed munitions that went to Russia. Many of the Russians would claim to have been ‘sold’ as a result of the trade. Four brigades were originally sent – almost 32,000 men – and many in France thought it was just the vanguard of a huge force to come, but developments in Russia negated that idea. As soon as the REF arrived, two of the brigades were sent on to the Allied beach head at Salonika in Greece leaving the 1st and 3rd brigades – just under 20,000 men – in France. Despite foreign food, homesickness, no mail and a belief that the French were using them as cannon fodder, the Russians fought hard and well until early 1917. With the fall of the Czar came elected Soldier’s Councils claiming the right to approve or disapprove Russian troop actions. They did vote to take part in the Nivelle Offensive of April 1917 and were given the opportunity to attack Fort Brimont just north of Reims. After some 6,000 casualties, the Russians said enough was enough and they were withdrawn to a rest camp at Neufchateau south of Verdun. The French had become concerned with the effect the Russians were having on French units serving alongside in the line – this was also a period of unrest and mutiny within the French army – and the Russians were withdrawn further to the south to an old French army base at La Courtine near Ussel, between Dijon and Bordeaux which was cleared to house the now-fractious Russians. Of the two brigades, the 1st was made up of mainly factory workers from around Moscow and they were very susceptible to the Bolshevik message of peace at any price. The 3rd brigade consisted of peasantry from the Urals who were more willing to fight on for a more suitable peace. The men of the 3rd decided to part company with the 1st. ,Then some 6,500 strong, they marched north camping out on a nearby plateau near Felletin, refusing French orders to return. By now, the French were glad to offer shipping –which they were desperately short of because of the need to bring Americans into France – but the Kerensky government in Russia already had enough mutinous troops on hand and refused to take them back. The 1st brigade refused to give up their weapons and became more revolutionary in spirit. On 10 Aug, the 3rd brigade was marched away to a camp near Bordeaux while French troops – and, it is thought other Russians from the 3rd brigade and reliable units from Salonika – encircled the 1st brigade troops. The rebellious Russians were given an ultimatum on 14 Sept to surrender within two days after which a careful bombardment brought about the eventual capitulation. About 500 ‘hard’ cases were sent to French prisons or penal battalions in Africa. The other 7,500 were given the choice of ‘voluntary’ labor in France or African prison camps – to which almost 3,000 were sent and very few returned. The remaining Russians loyal to the French cause were reorganized into the Russian Legion which fought all over the Western Front during 1918 – April/Villers Bretonneaux in the Somme; May/Chemin des Dames; July/Chateau Thierry.
The Russian cemetery contains some 1,000 graves from the battles fought by the REF and the Russian Legion out of a total of 4,000 who died. Two ossuaries hold some 426 men while there are 915 individual graves. Located across the road from the Russian Memorial Church is a monument to the 2nd Special Russian Regiment which was part of the original 1st brigade. “Children of France, when the enemy is vanquished and you can freely gather flowers on these fields, remember us, your Russian friends and bring us some flowers.” Leave a Comment
|
| | |
 French troops heading to work
at Mourmelon by mtncorg, 2 more photosLeave a Comment
|
| | |
The so-called ‘International Cemetery’ consists of three adjacent cemeteries: the French Auberiver-sur-Suippe Military Cemetery – 6424 men buried with 2908 in three ossuaries; a German cemetery is behind the French one with some 5359 men buried. On the west side of the French cemetery is the Polish cemetery le Bois du Puits. Polish soldiers fought for the Allied cause in both World Wars and are buried on both sides – some 129 from the First and 266 from the Second. Poles had been an integral part of the French Foreign Legion for years and as such they had been involved in fighting on the Western Front since the beginning of the War. Following a political agreement between France and a resurrected new sovereign nation of Poland, the units of what would become the Blue Army were formed. The men making up this force consisted of Poles serving already in the French army of ex-POW’s from German and Austrian armies, as well as Poles who flocked to the cause out of the Polish Diaspora – some 23,000 would be recruited from the US. The first Polish unit into the fight was the First Polish Regiment which began seeing action 18 June, 1918 here in Champagne. By 3 August 1918, the various polish units were combined into a Polish division. On 6 Oct 1918, General Jozef Haller, formerly commander of the Austro-Hungarian 2nd Brigade of the Polish Legion, took command and the Blue Army would also become known as Haller’s Army. At the end of the war, the Blue Army would travel by sealed trains across Germany to their new country where they would become the core of forces responsible for stopping the Bolsheviks at the Battle of Warsaw 13-25 Aug 1920, thus guaranteeing Polish sovereignty. With Poland’s collapse in September 1939, some 82,000 Polish troops would find their way to France to stay in the fight. Only 22,000 would make it on to Britain after France’s fall, though by the end of WWII, well over 200,000 would be fighting in Polish units of the Western Allies against the Nazis. Leave a Comment
|
| | |
 General Kellerman exhorts
his Revolutionaries by mtncorg,
3 more photos
Most of Kellermans’s forces were little-trained volunteers with no combat experience, but they were buttressed with long-serving soldiers, as well. They would serve to firm the French lines that day. Some of those long-timers including the men serving in the French artillery, thought to be among the finest in the World at that time. Kellerman placed his force on the height above Valmy on 18 September. Brunswick noted that the French could not retreat from their position due to surrounding bogs and streams and decided to attack on 20 September. Bad weather – fog, mostly – accurate French cannon fire and the failure of the French levies to simply flee in front of the professional German troops contributed to Brunswick’s decision to launch only a limited attack across the wet ground. His troops were exhausted from earlier marches and many were sick. The fight was a stalemate, but with Brunswick’s departure – he would not only leave Valmy but not stop until he was out of France – the government in Paris declared a great victory and officially proclaimed the New Republic on 21 September 1792. Leave a Comment
|
| | |
There are some 14 French national military cemeteries and another ten German cemeteries where the dead lay in vast numbers. The largest are near Souain where at la Croulee 30,732 French soldiers are buried - 21,688 gathered up into eight large ossuaries. Next door is the German cemetery of Souain where there are 2,463 individual graves and one mass grave containing the remains of 11,320 men. Inside this cemetery is a monument to the Thuringians with a poem written by German war poet Walter Flex, a Thuringian, himself who would die on the Easter Front in October 1917:
“God created you in grey armies
And made you guardians of time
Near the limpid source of honors
And near the somber wells of pain.”
The 27 year old August Macke, a painter of the German impressionistic school, is also buried here.
Next to the Polish cemetery of le Bois du Puits is the French national cemetery Auberive-sur-Suippe with 6,424 men buried – 2,908 in three large ossuaries – and behind this cemetery a German cemetery with another 5,359 graves making the Auberive-sur-Suippe a true International cemetery. Leave a Comment
|
| | |
 traditional production &
bottling machines by Scarlie, 4 more photos
We tried four different champagnes (Blanc de Blancs, Carte d'Or, Cuvée de Réserve & Rosé) and they were absolutely delicious. It takes 6 years to bring Bubbly to the market, but the wait is worth it. Leave a Comment Address: 33 et 40 rue de la République, 51700 FESTIGNYPhone: 03. 26 58 33 53Directions: Festigny has many signs showing the direction to the different producers. There is also Marcel Loriot (I think a fmaily of Joseph) so make sure you follow the right name.Other Contact: champagne.loriot-pagel@wanadoo.f
|
| | |
More Champagne-Ardenne Tips |
|
