Commemorations will be held in the Aisne region at Easter to mark the centenary of the Battle of the Chemin des Dames.
The villages of Craonne and Cerny-en-Laonnais, as well as the Caverne du Dragon Museum, will be the focus for remembrance of a failed offensive that shook French morale.
Instead of the rapid breakthrough promised in spring 1917, French troops suffered tens of thousands of casualties on the first day of their assault on the Chemin des Dames ridge near Laon. Mutinies broke out as unrest took hold in the following weeks, both in the army and on the home front.
Centenary events on April 16 include:
*A guided walk from Craonne at dawn, remembering the opening hours of the 1917 offensive. The official ceremony at Cerny will be broadcast on a big screen in Craonne.
*Unveiling of a new work by sculptor Haïm Kern at the Caverne du Dragon – the museum and memorial located on the site of quarries used as an underground barracks by the German Army.
*An evening procession from Craonne, culminating in a candlelit ceremony at Craonelle Military Cemetery.
Centenary events will also be taking place on April 15, and later in 2017. For more details see the Aisne 14-18 website.
Centenary News background:
The Battle of the Chemin des Dames is also called the Nivelle Offensive, after General Robert Nivelle, the French Commander-in-Chief who instigated the operation.
It was preceded by diversionary British and Commonwealth attacks elsewhere on the Western Front at Arras, where Canadian troops captured Vimy Ridge.
Nivelle, appointed army commander after the successful counter-attacks in Verdun, believed his tactics, notably the use of artillery, could deliver a breakthrough on the Aisne within days.
But the Germans had gained knowledge of French intentions, and their defences were well prepared.
Nivelle’s failure cost him his command. As unrest spread in the army, he was succeeded by another General who’d made his name defending Verdun, Philippe Pétain.
Event information: Aisne 14-18