Oise, a Living H Itage

Home , Beauvais, Carlepont, Catenoy, Crapeaumesnil, Lassigny, Lataule

OISE LAND OF MEMORY

From the battleﬁelds to the “Peace Ring” Oise, a living hitage CONTENTS

Various views of the heritage sites...... 3 Numerous scars and must-see sites ...... 5 War cemeteries ...... 6 The Serge Ramond Museum ...... 8 The Historical Figurine Museum...... 9 The aviation museum...... 10 The Montigny quarries ...... 11 The Chiry-Ourscamp Abbey ...... 12 Emblematic Compiègne, 1914-1918 ...... 14 Key WWI dates...... 17 Location map ...... 18 Key WWII dates...... 20 Emblematic Compiègne, 1939-1945 ...... 21 Memorial walks and the WWI Territorial Heritage Museum ...... 24 Reference works and heritage associations ...... 34

Les P’tits Découvreurs de l’Oise (“Little Explorers of Oise”) quality label is awarded to family-friendly tourist sites welcoming children.

Publication Graphic design Printing Oise Tourisme - November 2015 Oise Tourisme Roto Press Graphic This brochure has been printed on 100% 22 place de la Préfecture Consulting and editing 60008 Beauvais Cedex PEFC-labelled paper, from sustainably Anne Fusz managed forests. M+33 (0)3 64 60 60 60 [email protected] Cover photos Front cover: © Oise Tourisme / Grégory Smellinckx PEFC/15-04-0001 Back cover: © Oise Tourisme / Anne-Sophie Flament ©Thinkstock

2 OISE AT THE HEART OF BOTH WORLD WARS Diverse views of this “land of memory” 1914-1918 1939-1945

Jean-Yves Bonnard, historian of both Oise Tourisme : Our department was were no stranger to trench warfare. And World Wars, helps us analyse and deeply marked by both World Wars, in the direct result of this was, for the understand these two great conflicts, 1914-18 and in 1939-45. Can we aggressor, to do everything possible to and thereby adopt a new perspective, compare the similarities or differences in prevent the Second World War from as an introduction to visiting the how these two conflicts were ex- becoming a defensive war. The period’s numerous heritage sites of our region. perienced, so as to better understand the commanding officers had served during Excerpts. vestiges? the Great War! This experience affected the thoughts and actions of many among Jean-Yves Bonnard : Rather than focus- them, and during the entire initial phase ing on similarities or differences, I think of the Second World War in Europe, one should adopt the perspective of a Germany would favour a lightning war. continuum, very revealing for a better But we know just how long it would be… understanding of our local history, whose influence extends far beyond our region's borders. For the Second World The Armistice Clearing: a single e War had its roots in the First World War, voice summing up a long page of which in reality had solved nothing. history Jean-Yves Bonnard Numerous examples in Oise illustrate Historian, Mayor of Chiry-Ourscamp, this aspect of our history. Here, I will The most important event confirming this Director of the "Canopé de l’Oise", share with you a few that seem continuity I have evoked is, of course, the author of notably: particularly important. armistice of 1940, itself a consequence 14/18 dans l'Oise, of the 1918 armistice. Marshal L’Oise au cœur de la Grande Guerre, Ferdinand Foch chose the location, near Les souterrains de la Grande Guerre, Oise, a land of invasion the Rethondes railway station in the Le Mont Renaud 1918 Compiègne Forest, for its discretion. He and It should first be pointed out that Oise would make this site a symbol of France’s Rethondes, le jour où l’histoire s’est arrêtée : 11 novembre 1918 - 21 juin 1940. has always been a land of invasion. Its victory, which he considered both a geography makes it a natural pass- military and a political victory, in the ageway, leading directly to Paris, and its eyes of the entire world! Hitler would attractiveness has always been great. later destroy this same symbol by there The history of Oise is therefore insep- forcing the French to sign the armistice arable from that of France: such is of June 1940: a terrible and symbolic certainly the case for both 20th-century revenge, and a humiliation that France wars, and a consideration of those would seek to wash away by events having occurred in Oise provides rehabilitating the site starting in 1944. us with a broader understanding of Today, one can there admire the “Peace things. Ring”. What a history lesson!

The combatants were familiar From barbarity to exodus with trench warfare Regarding the civilians, their recollection Let us consider, for example, the combat- of the darkest hours of 1914, of the First ants. Some of them, who had experienced World War's slaughters and barbarities the war of 1870, were well familiar with directly motivated the great exodus of the region, with its strengths and 1940. Many would not await the evac- weaknesses. In the "static war" of 1914 uation orders to flee and so escape the to 1918, they remained three years in rigours of occupation and the appalling the northeast of the department. So they living conditions. This exodus

3 occasionally threatened hampering the been encouraged by the French law of French divisions' move to the frontline. 1901) and the young were not afraid of Ruins and vestiges: the tip of the Once again, the cause and effect link is these weapons they had become so used iceberg of the wars’ scars evident. to over the years! This perspective allows In 1918 and again in 1945, many towns us to understand why the maquis were of Oise had been reduced to piles of so numerous and active in Oise, even rubble. Their subsequent reconstruction The dramatic impact of semantics though the department was less favour- inevitably modified their appearance. able to this type of guerrilla fighting than When one visits the department’s many In 1914, when inhabitants were removed were other regions, such as the Vercors. heritage sites – its museums, vestiges from their occupied village for their Again, this explains that… and preserved ruins – and discovers in protection, they were referred to as depth how Oise lived through both wars, "deportees”. This word would, of course, one is enriched with images to compare acquire a whole other meaning during The influence of technology to today’s reality. This allows us to take the Second World War, dramatically full stock of the great diversity of the delaying for some their full understanding The growth of aviation during the Great reconstruction styles, testifying to the of the unspeakable reality. War period allowed networks of aviators advances made by modernity that was to take form and to organize special allowed to spread due to the devastating missions and high-risk reconnaissance destruction of many towns. A tour of the Origins of the French Resistance operations. Georges Guynemer himself department’s memorial sites is indeed carried out such missions, before finally fascinating and allows us to deepen our In Oise, the memory of the heavy and declaring “never again”. The danger knowledge and understanding of Oise painful occupation by the Germans was extreme, but the principle well and its turbulent history. during the Great War generated a established. During the Second World particularly marked hatred of the Boches. War, these so-called "pick-up operations" OT : If you had one piece of advice for One result of this hostility was a natural became more numerous. And aviation our readers? propensity to join the Resistance played an ever greater role, carrying out movement during the Second World special operations, bombings, air JYB : While they visit and discover the War, even in especially complex zones defence actions… In 1940, the skies of sites and tours presented in this brochure, such as Noyon, also home to training Oise were red! From a land of invasion they must keep in mind this approach camps for the SS youth. The men were on the ground, the department became and sharpen their powers of observation. already familiar with the use of arms: the a high-altitude passageway for all History is ever present, but one must former combatants had kept practicing belligerents, from Germany to Italy. And know how to read it, one must know how their shooting (notably within sports when necessary, the local population to look around to realize it. And in this associations, whose development had naturally came to the rescue of these manner discover much more than the French or Allied heroes. local heritage treasures...

"It is only through the past that one can understand the present.” Claude Lévi-Strauss But oh how the present sheds light on past realities! © Oise Tourisme / Bertrand Orsal - Stage Image © Oise Tourisme

4 © Communauté de Communes des Lisières l'Oise German military necropolis of Moulin-sous-Touvent

THE VISIBLE HERITAGE Numerous scars and must-see sites 1914-1918 1939-1945

ime and reconstruction have managed to erase a portion of the ruins and the occupation’s devastation. But Oise remains rich with numerous memorial sites: T monuments, steles, plaques, inscriptions… All material yet silent scars testifying to Oise's history as a land occupied and broken, yet also strong and resistant, a land of armistice.

¢¢ Street plaques evoking important Liberation on 11 November 1944. The dates, events and figures. great museums, the stone quarries, the ¢¢ The names of our heroes, given to cemeteries, the warpath discovery trails, schools, town halls and houses. the ruins and other vestiges evoke a past ¢¢ Symbolic locations, the childhood that cannot be forgotten and underline homes of Resistance fighters, internment the strength of spirit of all these heroes, camps… from the most illustrious to the most ¢¢ Over 30 memorial steles. anonymous. ¢¢ War memorials, to be found in every Town of Senlis town. As you tour the department, savour ¢¢ Military cemeteries and the tombs of Oise's numerous traces of the history Companions of the Liberation. that so deeply marked and shaped it, Commemorative monuments: The while also discovering all of its treasures, Armistice Clearing in Compiègne, Place its colours and its rewon and carefully des Maréchaux square in Beauvais, the maintained serenity. Monument to the Nurses in Pierrefonds. Among these many memorial sites, Oise has blossomed yet again, its some must-see sites have more to tell heart overflowing with harmony. than a library of history books. Compiègne, of course, a symbol of peace with the signing of the 1918 armistice, then a painful symbol in 1940, before the victorious revenge of the

5 © Oise Tourisme / Grégory Smellinckx © Oise Tourisme Military cemetery of Tracy-le-Mont To commemorate the war is WAR CEMETERIES "also to deliver a message of peace. The victims no longer Paying tribute to their memory have uniforms. They rest, enjoying equal respect. ivilians and soldiers, French, subsequent years and in numerous mu- Launch of the First World War ”Centenary, Germans and Allies, the dead num- nicipalities, necropolises were born of Presidency of the French Republic, excerpts. C bered in the thousands in Oise. the desire to gather together all of these Marks of flesh for all these martyrs of the scattered graves, to provide a dignified war, marks of earth where they fell, and burial to the soldiers dead on the battle- marks of stone before which we respect- field and to honour their memory. fully bow. At the end of the Great War, the fields dotted with soldiers killed in battle and the temporary war cemeteries were scattered all about Oise. Over the

6 LEARN MORE The principal cemeteries and necropolises Combatants who died during the Second World War were buried in either local cemeteries (British and American combatants) or dedicated necropolises. 1914-1918 Orry-la-Ville Dutch military cemetery Beauvais French military necropolis Rémy French military necropolis Betz French military necropolis Senlis French military necropolis Blargies British military cemetery Seringes-et-Nesles (Aisne) Oise-Aisne American cemetery Cambronne-lès-Ribécourt French military necropolis Thiescourt French military necropolis and German military necropolis Catenoy French military necropolis Tracy-le-Mont French military necropolis Compiègne French military necropolis Verberie French military necropolis Cuts French military necropolis Vignemont French military necropolis and German military necropolis Dompierre French military necropolis and German military necropolis 1939-1945 Lassigny German military necropolis Beauvais German military necropolis Méry-la-Bataille (Matz) French military necropolis Cambronne-lès-Ribécourt French military cemetery, including infantry Moulin-sous-Touvent German military necropolis Noyers-Saint-Martin Soviet military cemetery Nampcel German military necropolis Noyon French military necropolis

FOCUS In Beauvais, explore the First World War eauvais, the capital of Oise, was World War: ask for the dedicated occupied and extensively bombed document at the Greater Beauvais Tourist © Oise Tourisme / Grégory Smellinckx © Oise Tourisme B during WWI: no less than 200 Office. bomb- and torpedo-drop sites were listed in 1919! Nor would the Second

Laissez-vous conter Beauvais « Ville d’art et d’histoire »… Ce document a été conçu Villes et Pays d’art et d’histoire World… en compagnie d’un guide-conférencierWar agréé par le ministère sparede la Culture Beauvais,sous la direction de Marie Ansar, animatrice dewith l’architecture Beauvais Le guide vous accueille. Il connaît toutes les facettes de Beauvais et du patrimoine, service Ville d’art et d’histoire de la Ville de et vous donne des clefs de lecture pour comprendre l’échelle d’une Beauvais place, le développement de la ville au fil de ses quartiers. Le guide Textes : Jean-Yves Bonnard bombingsest à votre écoute. N’hésitez destroyingpas à lui poser vos questions. 95%Photographies : Archivesof départementales the de l’Oisecity (ADO), Collection François Barbier (FB), Collection Marie Ansar (MA), Direction de la communication - Ville de Beauvais (BVS), MUDO Le service Ville d’art et d’histoire - Musée de l’Oise (MUDO), Réseau des Médiathèques centre.coordonne et metCasualties, en œuvre les initiatives de Beauvais « Ville d’artboth du Beauvaisis civilians (RMB), Service Ville d’art et d’histoireand - Ville de et d’histoire ». Il propose toute l’année des animations pour les Beauvais (VAH). Beauvaisiens et les scolaires, et se tient à votre disposition pour soldiers,tout projet. were numerous. In 1922, the Si vous êtes en groupe Bibliographie : Beauvais vous propose des visites toute l’année sur réservation. BARBIER F.-J. BONNET-LABORDERIE P. Images de la Grande Des brochures conçues à votre attention peuvent vous être Guerre à Beauvais, à Clermont, à Compiègne et dans l’Oise pour e Nationalenvoyées sur demande. Necropolis le 87 ofanniversaire de l’armisticeBeauvais,, Beauvais : GEMOB, 2005. Renseignements à l’Office de Tourisme de l’Agglomération de BONNARD J.-Y. 14-18 dans l’Oise, Noyon : Cap Régions Beauvais. Éditions, 2014. BONNARD J.-Y. L’Oise au coeur de la Grande Guerre 1914- created on Rue d’Amiens1918, Beauvais : Archiveswithin départementales de l’Oise,the 2008. EUZET J.-C. La vie à Beauvais de 1914 à 1918, Beauvais : GEMOB, 1996. former municipality of Marissel, gathered laissez-vous conter

Beauvais appartient au réseau national des Villes et Pays d’art et d’histoire depuis 2012. Renseignements Le ministère de la Culture et de la Communication, direction la Première together the dead fromgénérale the des patrimoines, temporary attribue le label Ville ou Pays d’art et « Ville d’art et d’histoire » d’histoire aux collectivités territoriales qui mettent en œuvre des actions d’animation et de valorisation de l’architecture et de leur Ville de Beauvais Guerre mondiale patrimoine. Il garantit la compétence des guides-conférenciers, Direction des affaires culturelles des animateurs de l’architecture et du patrimoine et la qualité de Monument commémorantcemeteries of Cempuis, Grandvilliers les instituteurs de l’Oise morts Espace culturel François-Mitterrand leurs actions. Des vestiges antiques à l’architecture du XXIe siècle, pour la France dans l’ancienne Rue de Gesvres les villes et pays mettent en scène le patrimoine dans sa diversité. École Normale de Beauvais, Aujourd’hui, un réseau de 181 villes et pays vous offre son savoir- aujourd’hui lycée Truffaut, 60000 Beauvais réalisé par Henriand Gréber Beauvais. But Beauvaisfaire dans toute la France. was also 03 44 15 67 00 [email protected]

. Maquette Direction de la Communication – Ville de Beauvais . Maquette Direction de la Communication – Ville À proximité : involved in Officethe de Tourisme de peacel’Agglomération process, as the Amiens, Chantilly, Laon, Noyon, Saint-Quentin et Soissons de Beauvais bénéficient de l’appellation Ville d’art et d’histoire. 1, rue Beauregard decision-makingLM communiquer 60000 Beauvais centre at the heart of 03 44 15 30 30 the Great [email protected] military strategy. On 3 AprilConception graphique 1918, the Beauvais conference of Allied powers entrusted General D Ferdinand Foch with supreme command of the Allied armies: the historic Beauvais The Greater agreements would prove decisive in the Beauvais Tourist Office march toward the liberation of first 1, rue Beauregard Picardy, then all of France. A giant step 60000 Beauvais toward the final emotional victory and MM+33 (0)3 44 15 30 30 the explosive joy of the armistice! Today TTwww.beauvaistourisme.fr labelled a “City of Art and History”, XXmap 1 Beauvais invites you to explore the First

7 "A simple, plain style, faces or hands, nothing human is forgotten.

THE SERGE RAMOND MUSEUM A whispering museum

visit to the Serge Ramond Museum, shelters, camps or hospitals, allows us to named after its brilliant creator, is explore their dreams and anxieties. They A to listen to the stones silently share remind us of the inestimable value of with us the day-to-day lives of past men. regained serenity, of the happiness of As unique as the talent of its “stage living in peace, out in the open air. director”, this museum is a fascinating, subtle blend of art and history: graffiti Among the represented sites: from the Neolithic Period to the Second Machemont (the Montigny quarries) World War offers enchanted visitors a and Thiescourt (the Chauffour quarry), chronological and moving “Lascaux”. with inscriptions sculpted by French soldiers. © Oise Tourisme / Samuel Dhote The Confrécourt quarries, part of D The soldiers’ engravings: which served as a hospital, notably the museum’s most singular occupied by the 1st Zouaves Regiment. The Historical collection Bucy-le-Long: English, German and Figurine Museum French emblems. Place de Piegaro Carved into stone, the messages left by The Chemin des Dames, Braye-en- 60550 Verneuil-En-Halatte the WWI soldiers communicate their Laonnois, Nanteuil-la-Fosse and MM+33 (0)3 44 20 26 04 courage and hope for peace. Their cries Rouge-Maison: Arrival of the Americans TTwww.memoiredesmurs.com of fear, of pain, of revolt etch into the in February 1918, and French and XXmap 2 marble of our collective memory the German military symbols. piercing refrain “no more war”. Many other surprising discoveries Imagining these men, these French, await visitors to this one-of-a-kind Read about the visit to the Serge American and German soldiers, museum. Ramond Museum by our “Oise- sculpting the walls of the dark, cold trotter” Marie-Jeanne at: underground quarries that they used as framboisez-vous.com

8 © Oise Tourisme / Étienne Tartron © Oise Tourisme

"A day will come when canons will be shown in museums… with amazement at how they ever could have been! Victor Hugo "

THE HISTORICAL FIGURINE MUSEUM LEARN MORE The only one of its kind Miniature soldiers of the Great War! Between 1901 and 1927, two large legacies by Alfred Ternisien and Arthur de Marsy allowed the Compiègne hese astonishing figurines, from 6 to town hall to welcome 30,000 figurines. 20 cm in height, accomplish the The collection continued to grow and T amazing feat of immersing the the Historical Figurine Museum was public in the heart of French history, finally founded in 1949. The museum from antiquity to the Second World War. was later expanded and benefitted Frozen in the rigour of their historical from an extensive renovation, and reconstructions and yet so alive, the today is home to over 150,000

150,000 figurines peopling this museum / Étienne Tartron © Oise Tourisme figurines given full expression by a of miniature sculptures are sure to delight creative pertinent scenography. The curious visitors of all ages. A truly museum also organizes fun workshops amazing history lesson. for children! D Our “Oise-trotter” Marie-Jeanne The Historical Figurine Museum shares her visit to the Historical 28, place de l’Hôtel de Ville Figurine Museum at: 60200 Compiègne framboisez-vous.com MM+33 (0)3 44 20 26 04 TTwww.musee-figurine.fr XXmap 3

9 © Oise Tourisme / Dominique Cougard © Oise Tourisme

THE AVIATION MUSEUM

Take flight for freedom © Jean Vicogne

overing 1,000 m2, home to 1,000 ¢¢ Focusing on the aviation and pilots of authentic objects and 1,600 the Second World War. Cphotographs and documents: the Warluis Aviation Museum offers a ¢¢ Collection divided into various fascinating journey through aeronautical themes. history, but above all it shares the stories • Airplane engines, of German, of the aviators at the heart of the tragic American, English and French Second World War. In the cockpits were manufacture. men, and heroes! New objects are • French section: diverse objects, scale regularly added to this one-of-a-kind models and photographs. D collection in France, tracing a portion of • English section: scale models, pilot the region's rich history. A heritage site equipment and a Spitfire’s instrument The Warluis Aviation Museum favouring encounters and exchanges, panel. Rue des Bruyères run by an association of volunteers, a • American section: instrument panels 60 430 Warluis rendezvous for aviation enthusiasts, a of a B17 and a B25 Mitchell, the MM+33 (0)3 44 89 28 23 lesson in courage, a historical fresco propeller of a C47, and the personal TTwww.museedelaviation-warluis.com accessible to all visitors... items of U.S.A.A.F. pilots. XXmap 4 • German section: scale models, ¢¢ Museum founded in 1995 by the instrument panels, part of an ME109, private collector Jacques Maillard, built and a restored V-1 flying bomb. « If you’re interested in planes and upon his own collection of objects from their history”, our “Oise-trotter” the Beauvais-Tillé military aerodrome, a Roger will take you on a tour of former German base. Warluis at: framboisez-vous.com

10 © Oise Tourisme / Comdesimages - Benjamin Teissèdre © Oise Tourisme

THE MONTIGNY QUARRIES e Life-size archives Régis Bouchain President of "La Machemontoise" association Oise Tourisme : What makes the Montigny his uniquely beautiful site invites An association created in 2008, La quarries stand out? RB : For their being partially troglodytic, thanks visitors to explore an out-of-the- Machemontoise, is responsible for the to the quarrymen who dug directly into the T ordinary subterranean world rehabilitation of these quarries, today limestone for their lodgings, with a population combining the history of men and the open to the public and the setting of nu- estimated at nearly 200 inhabitants! During the history of events. Quarrymen, the merous activities and events. Great War, the site was occupied by the French inhabitants of troglodytic homes and army. A military hospital was there set up, D which allowed the quarries to remain French WWI soldiers have handed down to us despite frequent assaults by the enemy located this remarkable heritage: life-size just nearby. Numerous regiments succeeded archives to browse as you would the La Machemontoise Association one another, including the 98th Infantry pages of a moving anthology. 7, rue des vignes Regiment, the 11th Territorial Infantry Regiment 60150 Machemont and the Foreign Legion. MM OT : A historical anecdote to share with us? The Montigny stone quarries, for the +33 (0)3 44 76 43 22 MM+33 (0)6 74 20 34 20 RB : At the end of the First World War, this site most part exploited during the 18th and was not abandoned. The quarries were used for TTwww.lescarrieresdemontigny.fr 19th centuries, were used as shelters by the growing of button mushrooms and chicory XX 5 combatants of the Great War. French map up until 1960! The troglodytic housing also wel- army units transformed the quarries into comed new residents up until the 1970s. OT : How may one visit the site? quarters, command posts, first-aid sta- RB : For safety reasons, those persons who tions, kitchens, chapels and a military would like to enter the site must be accompa- hospital. A place of respite “sheltered nied by a member of our association, if no from the hell above”, whose remaining on-site event is scheduled at the time. Numerous events are organized throughout the year: sculptures and adornments bring us Read about the visit to the guided tours, concerts, readings, spectacles, suddenly closer to these men at war. Montigny quarries by our hikes, etc. “Oise-trotter” Judith at: All information at: framboisez-vous.com www.lescarrieresdemontigny.fr

11 © Oise Tourisme

THE CHIRY-OURSCAMP ABBEY Spectacular ruins

ll that remains of this 12th-century resold following the French Revolution, The Deux Vallées Tourist Information Centre is abbey, occupied by the Germans transformed into first a hospital, then a situated just opposite the abbey and its ruins. A and shelled by the French in 1915, cotton factory (one of the most beautiful Various memorial walks set out from the are the ruins rising toward the heavens. in France), and finally occupied starting centre to explore the surroundings. Thanks to This breathtakingly beautiful site leads on 31 August 1914. the "Red Line" video-guide, relive key visitors on a long journey through French moments of the local battles (see p. 32). history. The abbey was built during the 12th century upon the foundations of an Devastated by the Great War D earlier structure built in 641 by the future During the First World War, the Germans Saint Eligius, counsellor to King used the abbey to store petrol and muni- The Deux Vallées Dagobert. According to the legend, tions, and they also rested there, 2 km Tourist Information Centre Eligius even tamed a bear, wonderfully from the frontline. The French shelled this 2 bis Place St Éloi useful for heavy work, which explains position in 1915, leaving only ruins. The 60138 Chiry-Ourscamp the name Ourscamp or "Bear Camp". cotton mill was not rebuilt following the MM+33 (0)3 44 44 03 73 war. In 1941, the abbey was resusci- TTwww.deuxvallees.fr The subsequent centuries and wars left tated with the arrival of monks who still XXmap 6 their mark on the abbey, pillaged during inhabit the site and have largely opened the Hundred Years War, partially re- it to the public. constructed in the late 16th century,

12 © Jean-Pierre Gilson

13 © Jean-Pierre Gilson

EMBLEMATIC COMPIÈGNE, 1914-1918 The joy of victory

crossroads at the heart of the The “Rethondes clearing”, a peaceful Officers, non-commissioned Great War and a strategic place in the heart of the Compiègne " A department as the final rampart Forest, suddenly entered the history officers and soldiers of the protecting Paris, Oise was also the first books, symbolizing in the eyes of the Allied armies: after having department to be liberated by the French entire world the end of the Great War and hosted the signing of the armistice in hostilities, of four years of horrifying resolutely stopped the enemy, Compiègne, which subsequently became conflict. you attacked without respite for a symbol of victory and peace. The railway carriage used by Marshal months on end, with unflagging Ferdinand Foch as his headquarters had faith and energy. You have "Here, on 11 November 1918, the been stationed in the clearing since the won the greatest battle in criminal pride of the German evening of 7 November, on a two-track all of History, and saved the empire was VANQUISHED by rail line built by the French artillery during the war. most sacred cause: the world’s the free peoples it had sought freedom. Be proud, for you to enslave. There, at 2:15 in the morning of 11 November, the Marshal received the have adorned your flags with Inscription on the so-called “vengeful slab”" in the centre of the Germans, who agreed to sign the Armistice Clearing at Compiègne. an immortal glory. Posterity armistice at 5:15 AM. The accord would come into effect on “the 11th day of the reserves for you its gratitude. 11th month at exactly 11 o’clock”. Marshal Ferdinand Foch addressing the Allied armies," 12 November 1918. While the original railway carriage was destroyed by Hitler following the 14 vengeful armistice of 1940 (see p. 21), its duplicate reveals everything regarding this crucial moment, including where all the different figures were positioned at the time of signing. Next to the carriage, the Armistice Memorial Museum is home to nearly 800 black-and-white stereoscopic photographs, striking testimonials to the lives of the soldiers, to the mobilization effort, to Verdun and to the victory celebrations. One grasps the great hope of once again living a peaceful existence, with the conviction that this would be "the war to end all wars".

The perspective of Ees Beeck © Eric Van Jean-Yves Bonnard Historian focused on this little corner of Picardy, a D Oise Tourisme : In your opinion, what clearing lost in the forest, near the was the most significant event of the devastated towns. This event was lent The Armistice Clearing Great War in Oise and why? even more significance for French 60200 Compiègne national history when the same location MM+33 (0)3 44 85 14 18 JYB : Without a doubt, the signing of the was once again chosen in 1940 for a TTwww.musee-armistice-14-18.fr armistice in the Compiègne Forest, on new armistice, that of the German XXmap 3 11 November 1918: an event that revenge. This act, as well as the Clearing’s resonated and continues to resonate destruction – ordered by Hitler, who Learn about the visit to the around the world. The explosion of joy visited the site on 21 June 1940 – well Armistice Clearing by our in all the towns and villages of France illustrate that the Second World War “Oise-trotter” Roger at: expressed not only the pleasure of was the result of the First, which had in framboisez-vous.com having won the war, but also and above no way solved the period's European all that it was over. So all eyes were antagonisms. © Eric Van Ees Beeck © Eric Van

15 The Compiègne Palace: hospital and Supreme Headquarters From the autumn of 1914 to the spring of 1917, the Compiègne Palace was transformed into a 340-bed hospital. Located behind the front line, it welcomed wounded soldiers in the sumptuous setting of the imperial residence. Its role as a hospital, direly needed given the great number of casualties, also contributed to its relative preservation, as the palace would suffer little damage during the war. In the spring of 1917, the last of the wounded left the royal palace, which subsequently housed the Supreme Headquarters of the French army up until June 1918. D The Compiègne Palace Place du Général de Gaulle 60200 Compiègne MM+33 (0)3 44 38 47 00 / Irwin Leullier © Oise Tourisme TTwww.palaisdecompiegne.fr XXmap 3 MUSÉE TERRITOIRE 14-18 – "THE WWI TERRITORIAL HERITAGE MUSEUM" Set out from Rethondes to explore, understand, remember, share and travel through history. djoining the Rethondes church overflowing with fascinating photos and dotted with memorial sites. The 60-kilo- (whose bells, the first to ring in the firsthand accounts, is a veritable orienta- metre network of some twenty thematic A armistice, would be rung until they tion centre dedicated to the "Red Line", sites evokes all aspects of this terrible cracked!), the old presbytery has housed the old front line passing through Oise. It conflict, including its effects on the re- since 2014 the "Discovery Centre", offi- introduces visitors to the local history of gion’s population. The ideal point of cial gateway to the Musée Territoire the Great War, then invites them to pur- departure for setting out to discover the 14-18 / "The WWI Territorial Heritage sue their exploration by following the department's numerous interactive heri- Museum". This modern heritage centre, itinerary of this unique open-air museum tage sites.

D Espace Découverte (“Discovery Centre”) 19, rue de Verdun -F- 60153 Rethondes MM+33 (0)3 44 90 14 18 TTwww.musee-territoire.fr “Discovery Centre” © Communauté de Communes des Lisières de l'Oise XXmap 7 16 1914-1918 The “Red Line” marks Oise

3 August Germany declares war on France.

30 August – 3 September German rush into Oise.

6-13 September First Battle of the Marne. The French push the Germans back to the Aisne.

15 September Beginning of the “Race to the Sea”, 1914 starting near Noyon. The western front stretches all the way to the Channel.

October Start of the "static war" along the Lassigny- Dreslincourt-Autrêches “Red Line”. 22 April The second Ypres and Artois battles.

18-26 October The Yser and Artois battles. 6-16 June Battle of Quennevières.

29 November The French Army sets up its Supreme 6-8 December Second Allied conference in

Headquarters in Oise for the duration of the war. 1915 Chantilly, to plan the Allied strategy for 1916.

14 February Franco-British conference, fixing the plans for a great Allied offensive in the Somme.

21 February Beginning of the Battle of Verdun.

1 July to mid-November The Battle of the Somme,

with very heavy losses but little ground gained. 1916

January The French Supreme Headquarters is set up in Beauvais, home also to the various Allied services.

19 March German withdrawal to the Hindenburg Line: the Allies enter Péronne and Bapaume.

21 March Start of the German offensive in Picardy. 1917 16 April French offensive of the Chemin des Dames Battles of Noyon, Mont-Renaud and Plémont. in the Aisne.

3 April Allied conference in Beauvais. 28 November Russia requests the Armistice.

9-11 June German offensive in Oise and the Battle of Matz.

10 August Start of the final French offensive in Oise, finally liberated on 2 September. 1918 11 November Signing of the Franco-German Armistice in the Compiègne Forest.

17 LOCATION MAP Memorial sites and tourist offices 1914-1918

The Greater Beauvais Tourist Office +33 (0)3 44 15 30 30 To Amiens The Chantilly Tourist Office +33 (0)3 44 67 37 37 Grandvilliers The Chiry-Ourscamp Breteuil Crapeaumesnil Tourist Information Centre Crèvecoeur To Lille +33 (0)3 44 44 03 73 le-Grand The Greater Compiègne Tourist Office Noyon +33 (0)3 44 40 01 00 Courcelles-Epayelles 8 The Greater Creil Marseille- Chiry-Ourscamp Tourist Information Bureau en-Beauvaisis +33 (0)3 44 55 16 07 Méry-la-Bataille 6 Carlepont The Pays de Valois Tourist Office Cuts Crépy-en-Valois Machemont 5 +33 (0)3 44 59 03 97 Saint-Just- The Ermenonville Tourist Office To Rouen en-chaussée 11 +33 (0)3 44 54 01 58 Longueil-Annel Tracy-le-Mont Autrêches The "Green Picardy" Regional Tourist Office Beauvais Marseille-en-Beauvaisis Saint-Germer- Compiègne Rethondes +33 (0)3 44 46 32 20 de Fly 1 Warluis 3 Vic-sur-Aisne Les Sablons Regional Tourist Office 7 Méru 4 Clermont +33 (0)3 44 84 40 86 To Reims The Noyon Regional Tourist Office +33 (0)3 44 44 21 88 Pierrefonds 10 The Communautés de Communes des Lisières Pont-Sainte- de l'Oise Tourist Office in Pierrefonds Maxence +33 (0)3 44 42 81 44 The Pont-Sainte-Maxence Tourist Office Verneuil-en-Halatte +33 (0)3 44 72 35 90 Méru Creil Chaumont 2 The Pays de Bray Tourist Office Saint-Germer-de-Fly en-Vexin +33 (0)3 44 82 62 74 Saint-Leu Crépy-en-Valois d'Esserent Senlis The Pierre Sud Oise Tourist Office Saint-Leu-d'Esseurent 9 +33 (0)3 44 56 38 10 Chantilly The Senlis Tourist Office +33 (0)3 44 53 06 40 Ermenonville The Verneuil-en-Halatte Tourist Office +33 (0)3 44 25 21 00

To Paris The "Red Line" route To Roissy CDG Airport

18 LOCATION MAP Memorial sites and tourist offices 1939-1945

To Amiens

Grandvilliers Breteuil Crapeaumesnil Crèvecoeur To Lille le-Grand Noyon Courcelles-Epayelles 8 Marseille- Chiry-Ourscamp en-Beauvaisis Méry-la-Bataille 6 Carlepont Cuts Machemont 5 Saint-Just- To Rouen en-chaussée 11 Longueil-Annel Autrêches Beauvais Tracy-le-Mont Saint-Germer- Compiègne de Fly 1 Rethondes Warluis 3 7 Vic-sur-Aisne 4 Clermont To Reims Pierrefonds 10 Pont-Sainte- Maxence Verneuil-en-Halatte Méru Creil Chaumont 2 en-Vexin Saint-Leu Crépy-en-Valois d'Esserent Senlis 9 Chantilly

Ermenonville

To Paris To Roissy CDG Airport

19 1939-1945 Dark years

3 September France and Great Britain declare war Spring Powerful German offensive cuts through the on Germany. Ardennes. The inhabitants of Oise fear an invasion via the Oise corridor. Winter 1939/1940 The “Phoney War”, period of waiting behind the Maginot Line. Construction of the May-June German bombings around Compiègne Chauvineau Line. and Beauvais. 1939 8 June Start of the German invasion.

9-10-11 June Massacre of the Senegalese infantrymen.

13 June Beauvais is officially occupied by the 1940 Germans. Massive exodus. The French Resistance is organized and intensified, in a particularly strategic department. 14 June The Germans enter Paris.

29 March Petition by the disaster victims of Beauvais. 18 June General de Gaulle makes his appeal from The population revolts against the deprivations. London.

June 1941 Royallieu becomes Fronstalag 122, 1941 21 June Hitler in Compiègne. internment and transit camp for over 50,000 victims of the Nazis up until August 1944. 22 June Signing of the Compiègne armistice. Oise falls within the occupied zone.

3 March and 8 April Bataillon de France arrests in Compiègne. 1942 1 May Numerous attacks by the Francs-Tireurs et Spring Parachutings begin in Oise. Partisans (FTP) Resistance group in Montataire, Chambly and Compiègne. 9 September Allied air raid on the Beauvaisis. 22 June The Feldkommandantur 638 sets up camp 1 November The “Departmental Liberation in Beauvais.

Committee” is secretly created. 1943 6 June The Normandy landings: D-Day.

19 and 23 June Attacks by the Maquis des Usages à Crisolles and the Maquis de Ronquerolles Resistance groups.

1944 May-August Bombing of Oise.

30 August – 2 September Liberation of Beauvais, Chantilly, Senlis, Creil, Clermont, Crépy-en-Valois, Compiègne and Noyon.

11 November “Purification” of the Armistice 8-9 May The Germans surrender. Clearing in Compiègne. 1945

20 © Oise Tourisme / Jean-Pierre Gilson © Oise Tourisme

EMBLEMATIC COMPIÈGNE, 1939-1945 Humiliation and rehabilitation

hen the Germans won the Battle would exorcise its affront. The so-called of France in June 1940, Hitler “vengeful slab” was brought back from Wtook his revenge: he wanted to Germany, along with the monument symbolically wash away the affronting presented by the Parisian daily Le Matin armistice of 1918, which he considered in honour of the French army's liberation a sullying of his country's history. For the of Alsace-Lorraine. These important signing of the French surrender, he chose symbols were restored and returned to no other location than the Compiègne the rehabilitated clearing. In addition, a Clearing! He had the original railway building was later constructed to house carriage placed at the exact same the 2439D railway carriage, replacing location of the 1918 armistice, and the original carriage destroyed in April immediately following the signing of the 1945 in Crawinkel, Thuringia (former

French surrender, he had the carriage East Germany). Ees Beeck © Eric Van along with the site's other principal Today, the site once again symbolizes monuments removed to Berlin and the peace in the eyes of the world. Indeed, clearing destroyed. All that was allowed the clearing just recently welcomed the to remain was the statue of Marshal “Peace Ring” monument designed by Ferdinand Foch, lost in the wood, left to Clara Halter, with miniature replicas contemplate what no longer remained. crafted and sold by the Mauboussin But the WWI armistice could not be jewellery house. A portion of the profits erased. Soon after 1945, France in turn is reinvested in the memorial. 21 © Oise Tourisme / Benoît Fougeirol

The Internment and Deportation Memorial: fighting oblivion ocated in Compiègne, at the Royallieu Camp, this memorial takes visitors on La moving journey through History by exploring the painful history of this spe- cific site. For a better understanding of this particularly sombre period, and as a forceful proclamation of “never again!" For as François Ferrieux pointed out upon the memorial’s inauguration, “the ideas of torturers and bullies prosper in the darkness of oblivion”.

The “Wall of Names” pays tribute to the 50,000 prisoners of this transit camp set up by the Germans. Between 1941 and 1944, they would experience the hell of internment and deportation. D An unforgettable discovery of the pri- The sober, modern scenography em- soners’ day-to-day life. The Internment phasizes the force and emotion of the and Deportation Memorial firsthand accounts. Historical exhibition 2 bis, avenue des Martyrs de la Liberté in the three remaining barracks, memo- 60200 Compiègne rial garden, chapel, escape tunnel… Learn about the visit to the memorial MM+33 (0)3 44 96 37 00 by our “Oise-trotter” Roger at: TTwww.memorial-compiegne.fr framboisez-vous.com XXmap 3

COMPIÈGNE – THE ARMISTICE CLEARING Peace honoured in all languages he city of Compiègne commissioned the artist Clara Halter to create this monumental sculpture in commemoration of the First World War centenary. This symbolic ring is engraved with 52 gilded translations of the word Peace. 1 ½ tonnes of T patinated bronze facing Ferdinand Foch's railway carriage. A perfect circle 3.5 metres in diameter, symbolizing serenity and plenitude in the heart of this circular clearing. A magnificent reminder that while the world's nations have at times formed alliances of war, they can always choose to assemble for peace.

23 © Oise Tourisme / Grégory Smellinckx © Oise Tourisme Military cemetery of Tracy-le-Mont 24 MEMORIAL WALKS When nature evokes History 1914-1918 1939-1945

"Certain places impose the necessity of their presence, and their magnetism makes it feel impossible to be elsewhere. When passing through them, one has the conviction that they were waiting for us... It's not a discovery, but a return. Time slips away... time stops, the light is no longer that which bathes our everyday life, another world rushes up, within which we are about to enter. Another dimension of reality is revealed, marked by silence, serenity and beauty. David Le Breton, Éloge des chemins et de la lenteur "

ites testifying to past battles preserve the memory of those men who took part in LEARN MORE the fighting. By foot, bike, horse or car, following one's smartphone, each visitor S is free to explore at his or her own pace the region’s moving World War heri- Find all the memorial walks at the tage trails. A simple way to remember and commemorate the past, to better website: understand the human tolls of these conflicts, to become aware of the landscapes' www.oisetourisme-memoire.com evolutions, and to discover the region's diversity of heritage treasures. Free downloading of all itineraries. The Musée Territoire

14-18 / "The WWI Discovery centre Tourist office By foot By bike By car and information desk

Territorial Heritage Necropolis Quarry Major Museum Video-guide memorial site

Museum" "Red Line" route A veritable open-air museum, the Musée Territoire 14- 18 ("The WWI Territorial Heritage Museum") comprises some two dozen representative sites, pre- senting and recreating Great War history, the life of WWI soldiers, key events, nearly forgotten anecdotes... Stretching over sixty kilometres, this history-rich route offers hiking trails, guided tours, exhibitions and other museums evoking the manner in which the territory and its populations experienced the war, on either side of the fixed frontline. TTwww.musee-territoire-1418.fr

MÉRY-LA-BATAILLE The first tanks of the “modern war”

une 1918. definitively blocked the German advance extensively researched works on this The flank of the German army, in this sector, and signalled a watershed particular aspect of the First World War. J smoothly advancing toward in warfare. The introduction of this The association welcomes visitors in the Compiègne, was counter-attacked on technology – with tanks on the grounds old town hall of Courcelles-Epayelles, the plateau west of Ressons-sur-Matz by and planes in the air – would have a which also houses a permanent the French force of infantry and tanks powerful impact on strategy and tactics. exhibition. rapidly assembled by General Mangin in order to stop the grand enemy A shorter itinerary, the “Special D offensive. Though heavy losses were Artillery 38 Loop” (4.3 km) explores suffered, this terrible episode marked the and explains the Battle of Matz in the "Remembering the Tanks beginning of the reconquering of the sector of Lataule. of June 1918" association territory lost back in 1914. Starting in Bruno Jurkiewicz Méry-la-Bataille, the 75-km itinerary of [email protected] "The Battle of Matz Tanks" is dotted with Preserving the memory of these 17 illustrated information panels and 11 tanks The Noyon Regional Tourist Office viewpoint indicators relating the violent These heritage itineraries are organized MM33 (0)3 44 44 21 88 fighting that took place on this Picard by the "Remembering the Tanks of June TTwww.noyon-tourisme.com plateau. The advance of the 200 Saint- 1918" association, presided by Bruno XXmap 8 Chamond and Schneider tanks Jurkiewicz, the author of several

SENLIS The “Martyred City of Senlis” itinerary

km dotted with 8 stops: a two-hour different districts, vestiges, monuments walk to understand how Senlis and commemorative plaques. In 1920, 5 experienced the Great War. Its in honour of its “exemplary courage strategic position along the Germans’ throughout the conflict”, the city was march toward Paris subjected Senlis to awarded the prestigious Croix de Guerre © Oise Tourisme particularly bloody episodes, with military decoration, still adorning the pillaging, sacking, destructions, fires war memorial, the hospital, the national (110 buildings along the main avenue, necropolis and the town hall entryway. D from the railway station to the hospital, Its apt motto reads “by fire and by my were ravaged on 2 September 1914) blood, I engendered victory”. The Senlis Tourist Office and above all summary executions. The Place du Parvis Notre-Dame town’s mayor, Eugène Odent, was one Be sure to visit the Hôtel Saint Martin, 60300 Senlis MM33 (0)3 44 53 06 40 of the first victims. Created by the “Senlis Supreme Allied Headquarters in 1918, TT History and Archaeology Society”, this where Marshal Ferdinand Foch finalized www.senlis-tourisme.fr XX 9 urban heritage trail allows visitors to the Armistice conditions and from which map explore Senlis’ experience of the Great he set out for Rethondes in the evening of War, including its post-war 10 November. reconstruction, by discovering its 27 © Oise Tourisme / Comdesimages - Benjamin Teissèdre © Oise Tourisme

ÉLINCOURT-SAINTE-MARGUERITE - CHIRY-OURSCAMP The Quarries Itinerary

n the heart of the rolling Thiescourt vestiges (trenches, shell craters, ruins, This 38-km itinerary can be divided Forest (the "Little Switzerland of etc.) that have been preserved and made into two parts, and welcomes walkers, I Picardy"), the “Quarries of the Great accessible to visitors by several historical bicyclists and horse riders. War” heritage itinerary leads visitors to heritage associations. the old quarries and underground D military chambers and passageways In addition to testifying to the lives of used during WWI. WWI soldiers on the front, the quarries Information TTwww.cc-pays-sources.org These sites testify to their occupation of Montigny, La Botte, Saint-Albin and TT by the soldiers for months on end. The Cinq-Pilliers also conceal other treasures: www.musee-territoire-1418.fr setting of the so-called "war of positions”, troglodytic dwellings and a conservation this strategic zone still presents numerous site for threatened bats.

NEARBY A trail to explore Chiry-Ourscamp The first village along the route to Paris to There is also a small loop (under 4 km) to fall into the hands of the Germans, Chiry- explore. Ourscamp can be explored in 3 hours, thanks to this 7-km walk dotted with 13 D informative stops. Discover the kommandantur (German military headquarters), the war The Deux Vallées Tourist memorial and the ruins of the abbey and its Information Centre cotton mill (destroyed in 1915), as well as a 2 bis place St Éloi splendid panoramic view of the Oise Valley 60138 Chiry-Ourscamp that also encompasses the German front line. MM+33 (0)3 44 44 03 73 © Maison du Tourisme des Deux Vallées © Maison du Tourisme

TRACY-LE-MONT The Great War trails

he heart of the village of Tracy-le- there. Life-size silhouettes of soldiers and bring to life the region's World War Mont was located only 1.5 km from mark the trail, rendering the dramatic heritage. T the first frontlines of Oise. This sec- history of this memorial village all the tor was frequently targeted by German more apparent, and inspiring the visi- shells and several times the setting of tors’ respect and gratitude. The military "The living can no longer violent battles. The most deadly attacks cemetery, home to the remains of 3,200 teach the dead, but the dead occurred in June 1915 during the Battle soldiers, well illustrates the awful scale of of Quennevières, the first operation led the disaster: “Today where we reap the continue to instruct the living. by General Nivelle. By the end of the wheat, hails of bullets once mowed Châteaubriand" war, the factories of this one dynamic down the men". area and two thirds of its houses would D be destroyed. The village remains Starting at the church, the easy 6-km The Communautés de Communes heavily marked by the conflict, and a walk explores the village, the woods, the century later, its population is still inferior plateau and the subterranean galleries. des Lisières de l'Oise Tourist Office to that of the pre-war period. This unique memorial trail in the heart of in Pierrefonds nature also encompasses the Maison du Place de l’hôtel de Ville The infirmary, the “Zouaves Hillock”, Garde quarry, named after the guard- 60 350 Pierrefonds the wash house built by the soldiers, the house located only a few hundred metres MM+33 (0)3 44 42 81 44 national necropolis, the quarry camp… away, and from which General Nivelle TTwww.pierrefonds-tourisme.net The Tracy-le-Mont itinerary tells the story oversaw the Quennevières assault. This XXmap 10 of this “period of iron and of fire”, the quarry was also used to store the first stories of the men and women, the civi- poison gases, used along this front in lians and soldiers who suffered and died 1916. Deeply moving sites that preserve

AUTRÊCHES In the footsteps of the 35th Infantry Regiment

t Autrêches, for nearly 30 months, “prisoners' farm” and the frontline pla- the enemy forces faced off. The teau. Enamelled plaques bearing the A theatre of violent fighting between photographs of soldiers killed during the the Germans and the French soldiers of First World War are attached to the wall the 35th and 41st Infantry Regiments and of the municipal cemetery. the target of especially frequent shelling, Autrêches would pay a heavy tribute to At the place known as “La the Great War, with over 95% of the vil- Charbonnière”, a commemorative sign lage destroyed by 1918, leaving the pays tribute to Corporal Vigniau and houses, château and church in ruins. The four machine gunners (including a sol- subsequent reconstruction would prove dier nicknamed “Petit Julot” by his D © Oise Tourisme long, with the village having to wait until comrades) of the 246th Infantry Regiment, 1937 to inaugurate its new church with who fell in the line of duty on 20 August The Communautés de Communes its new bells. Its renovation would conti- 1918. des Lisières de l'Oise Tourist Office nue up until 1956, and today a “Square in Pierrefonds of Peace” adjoins the edifice. Such fascinating vestiges and battle Place de l’hôtel de Ville scars allow today’s visitors to pay tribute 60 350 Pierrefonds An easy 6-km signposted heritage to all these combatants who died for MM+33 (0)3 44 42 81 44 walk allows curious visitors of all ages to their homelands, while also admiring the TTwww.pierrefonds-tourisme.net discover WWI graffiti, inscriptions, the village's architectural and natural XXmap 10 heritage. 30 © Oise Tourisme

FOCUS Noyon in the spotlight “And yet, for a year now, the Germans have been in Noyon." This famous phrase was written by Clémenceau on 25 August 1915, in an NOYON article denouncing the Viviani government, as a political weapon meant to incite military action. The citation would become A video-guided itinerary emblematic and stir all of France, and Clémenceau would adopt it as a leitmotiv: to relive the occupation “The Germans are in Noyon, and we talk politics… misery of miseries…” The small town became a symbol. In a letter to a orrow a tablet from the tourist office a capital “H” and anecdotes complement friend, Marcel Proust would echo the or download the application onto each other, from the historic centre to the sentiment: "It isn't easy being cheerful, or B your smartphone, and set out to necropolises. Vestiges of the shelling that even desiring to be, so long as the Germans explore, at your own pace, this town of destroyed 80% of the town are particularly 'are in Noyon' and elsewhere". For this Oise so deeply marked by the Great striking and evocative. reason, the eventual German withdrawal War, due to its strategic “stopper” The occupation violently burnt its mark and the liberation of Noyon in 1917 were position. Indeed, Noyon was awarded into the history of Noyon, this small town later underlined by numerous official visits the Legion of Honour decoration on 17 of Saint Medardus and Saint Eligius, by France’s most important political figures July 1920 for its great suffering, courage whose reconstruction would not be and dignitaries, receiving significant and eminent merits in the service of the complete until after the Second World media attention. The contrast is terrible French nation! War. Today, this “Town of Art and between these happy, splendid images full History” offers visitors a remarkable of hope, and the desolation of this martyred The easy-to-follow, 2.5-km video- architectural heritage, combining Art town; indeed, in 1918, Clémenceau would guided itinerary offers numerous Nouveau and singular medieval edifices. say, “The vision of Noyon is a vision of interactive firsthand accounts, images, terror, and this terror is so far beyond us videos and archives. A unique way to D that it no longer touches us.” explore and experience the German occupation and the conflict's key events The Noyon Regional Tourist Office MM+33 (0)3 44 44 21 88 that so deeply marked the area’s TT landscapes and inhabitants. History with www.noyon-tourisme.com XXmap 8 31 © Communauté de Communes des Lisières l'Oise

The German military necropolis of Nampcel

he young investigative journalist Nampcel, Chiry-Ourscamp, Tracy-le- Augustin Berger (named after Mont and finally the famous clearing T Corporal Auguste Thin, who near Rethondes. The journalist’s designated the unknown soldier commentaries directly immerse the transferred from Verdun to the Arc de listener in the local Great War history, Triomphe in Paris), has chosen to share providing an additional, moving with the public the extensive fascinating perspective to the intimate on-site visits. study he carried out on the Great War’s western front, via the application “WWI D Stories”. « Histoires 14-18 » (“WWI Stories”) A free application to explore the Musée Dotted with archival documents and Territoire 14-18 / “The WWI Territorial diverse revelations, this historic heritage Heritage Museum” trail leads visitors to discover the greatest battles of the First World War. A “Red Official application of the “Great War Line" echoing the red lines used by the Tourism and Heritage” association. soldiers to designate the French frontlines Available at the App Store and via on their topographical maps. A line of Google Play. © Ze Visit fire, the colour of danger, pain and TTzevisit.com/application/histoires1418 spilled blood, a line defended by thousands of soldiers in the hope of hearing the bugle sound the end of the war, with so many perishing in their fight for freedom.

Along the Armistice discovery trail, a few Oise stops commented by Augustin Berger are particularly emblematic: Noyon, Lataule, Plessier-de-Roye, Carlepont, Longueil-Annel, Vingré,

CARLEPONT - CUTS “The Zouaves Hillock” The sacrifice of the African soldiers

ccording to legend, beneath this military monument dedicated to the mound lie the remains of four Zouaves in France, honours these A soldiers, including three French soldiers of the African army who sappers buried alive by the explosion of participated in all of France’s wars. a German mine on 23 December 1915, Comprising light infantry units, founded which caused the collapse of the tunnel in 1830 and disbanded in 1962, this they were attempting to dig beneath the army corps is one of the most highly imperial lines. decorated in the history of the French armed forces. Located at the position known as the “Mushroom” during the First World War, The Zouaves fell by the hundreds in this site most likely took its name from the this area of Oise, in their heroic defence many African troops present within this of Noyon, Carlepont, Cuts and Moulin- frontline zone starting on 15 September sous-Touvent. These men uprooted from 1914, notably the Zouaves (principally the colonies to reinforce the French army made up of home troops) and Algerians were straightaway thrust into a terrible from the 37th Infantry Division. baptism of fire, from the bloody violence © Oise Tourisme / Grégory Smellinckx © Oise Tourisme of which they would not be spared. A powerful symbol of the war of mines Courage and sacrifice. D that raged within this sector, the “Zouaves Each year, a national ceremony pays Hillock” – listed as a national historic tribute to these men at the Quennevières “The Zouaves Hillock” monument – pays tribute to all these men Farm and in Carlepont. XXmap 11 who risked their lives on the frontline of Oise. Just next to the hillock topped by a cross, a national memorial, the only

LEARN MORE Reference works and heritage associations 1914-1918 1939-1945 Reference works Le Routard Picardie 14-18 2014 Le Mont Renaud 1918, un rempart sur la route de Paris Topoguide : Dans les traces Jean-Yves Bonnard, Didier Guenaff, 2003. de la Grande Guerre en Picardie…à pied Frontstalag 122 Compiègne-Royallieu L’Oise est libérée Beate Husser, Jean-Pierre Besse, Françoise Jean-Pierre Besse, Françoise Rosenzweig, 2004 Rosenzweig, 2008

14/18 dans l’Oise Images de l’Oise, 1918 à aujourd’hui Jean-Yves Bonnard, 2014 Bruno Jurkiewicz, 2014

L’Oise au cœur de la Grande Guerre Etapes historiques Jean-Yves Bonnard, 2008 et de mémoire du Compiégnois ONACVG de l’Oise Rethondes, le jour où l’histoire s’est arrêtée : 11 novembre 1918 – 21 juin 1940 Etapes historiques et de mémoire du Noyonnais Jean-Yves Bonnard, 2008 ONACVG de l’Oise

Associations specialized in World War I history Patrimoine de la Grande Guerre Juin 1918, Mémoire des chars (“Great War Heritage”) (“Remembering the Tanks of June 1918”) TTwww.patrimoinedelagrandeguerre.com [email protected] [email protected]

34 OISE LAND OF MEMORY www.oisetourisme-memoire.com Museums, exhibitions, events, itineraries… Find on-line complete information on the memorial and heritage sites of Oise. © Thinkstock

Oise Tourisme Discover every episode of our documentary series on the First World War.

Oise Tourisme Tourism Development and Booking Agency +33 (0)3 64 60 60 60 Oise Picardy France OISE LAND OF MEMORY “ Memy is life, ev bn by living ps, and f this reas it is ev evving, en to the dialectics of remembrance and amnesia, uncsci s of its successive defmatis, vulnable to all utilizatis and manipulatis, susceptible to lg latencies and sudden revitalizatis. Histy is the ev problematic and incplete recsucti of that which is no lg… A representati of the past, ly aached to tempal ctinuities, to evutis. Memy is an ev cent phenen, a link pienced in the etnal present. ” Pierre Nora, Les lieux de mémoires, Paris, Gallimard, 1984.