The Battle of Belleau Wood

Southern Aisne < Aisne < Picardy < France The Battle of Belleau Wood Belleau is one of the best known French villages in the United States since the decisive battle led by American troops against the German army in June 1918. The wood and adjoining American cemetery have become symbols of the commitment of the Marines in the Great War. Today the Belleau Wood site offers its many visitors a setting which, in its present state, can recount an important part of the history of this war. Belleau 2 • Est. time: 1h15 • Length: 2 miles • Lowest point: 452 ft. 1 • Highest point: 551 ft. 8 • Level: Easy 3 • Waymarking: none 2 • Passing through: Belleau 7 1 D 1 2 2 2 2 1 The Belleau Wood guns © A. Toulors 3 6 TOURIST INFO.: Les Portes de la Champagne Tourist 4 2 Information office T. +33 (0)3 23 83 51 14 5 © Emanuel Daurel CREATION AND UPKEEP OF ROUTE : American Battle Monuments ON THE ROUTE NEARBY Commission (ABMC) and the German guns captured during Briar patch 1 Remains of the hunting lodge ‘Conservatoire d’Espaces Naturels 1 1 the battle Sandstone blocks American military cemetery de Picardie’ 2 2 Traces of the battle: manholes, Pond Belleau village and museum 2 shell holes, trenches 3 Audio-guide stage (see overleaf) Route card taken from www.randonner.fr Getting to the departure point: in the village of Belleau, 4 Cross the road and carry straight on. the Aisne walking/hiking opposite the church, follow the sign for Bouresches. After website. 5 When you get to the field, turn left(a little further on, 0,3 miles, turn right onto the forest road; go up the hill to off route circuit to right as far as stream). the car park just before the cannons. 6 Go down to right and cross the little bridge (briar D Facing the Marines War Memorial (depicting an patch on the right, at top of bank). Continue on main American Marine), bear left. trail (sandstone blocks, stream). 1 At the T junction, turn left. At the fork, bear right and 7 When you get to the forest road turn left then go all the way down to the field. immediately right (sandstone blocks). At the fork, See all our good deals on www.facebook.com/ 2 Turn left and walk alongside the edge of the forest. continue alongside the fence (cemetery). randonnee.aisne At T junction, turn right and continue along the edge 8 At remains of the hunting lodge, turn left to return to conception : www.grandnord.fr of the forest. the departure point. 3 Turn left and go back up to the forest road (Short cut -1 mile, -45 mn: turn left to return to departure point). 1/2 Southern Aisne < Aisne < Picardy < France The Battle of Belleau Wood Episodes in History AUDIO-GUIDE Story of a survivor BELLEAU WOOD An American Belleau Wood, the scene of terrible fighting, played an essential in the Great War part in the American troops’ successful halting of the German advance. It was one of the most tragic episodes in the history of the Marines and traces can still be seen at the site - trenches, shell holes and ruins. Soon after the end of the Great War the Belleau Wood Memorial Association opening up paths and making the traces of war visible. Today the American Battle Monument Commission maintains this natural setting in collaboration with the ‘Conservatoire d’espaces naturels de Picardie’. As you walk along the paths you will see an environment which suffered during the war: especially the damaged trees, called «veterans». You can also discover its distinctive geography: dry moorland on sandy acidic soil, large sandstone blocks (home to some rare and delicate mosses), and holly oak woodland, the thickest of its kind in Picardy. © Aisne Tourisme Joyce Kilmer 1917: Joyce Kilmer, the Ame- A walk in Belleau Wood rican poet, came to fight in France. 1918. He is killed during the 2nd Battle of the Marne, and buried Story of a Remembrance site THE AISNE-MARNE AMERICAN CEMETERY at the Oise-Aisne American Cemetery in Seringes-et-Nesles The curved shape of the American cemetery is due (plot B, row 9, grave 15). to the wood which runs along its southern edge. Just 2013: Catherine, a French- after the war it was used as a temporary cemetery American student, followed in for American soldiers who died fighting in this sector. his footsteps. An American in It was only in 1921 that it was officially recognised the Great War is a parallel story, as an American World War I cemetery, in line with between past and present, fea- seven others on foreign soil. turing the poet’s experiences Information: tel. +33 (0)3 23 70 70 90 and American World War 1 me- email : [email protected] morials around Château-Thierry. © Amin Toulors The American cemetery Download the route and audio-guide from www.audio-guide-aisne.com See details of WW1 centenary events on Lefebvre © S. Departure of the Infantrymen, www.aisne14-18.com Belleau museum and in brochure August 1914, by Albert Herter available for free in all A FLOWER IN HIS RIFLE DID YOU KNOW? Aisne Tourist Information offices Albert Herter is best known in France for his mo- 90 % of the village was destroyed during the war. numental painting (40 feet long), «Le Départ des Today it is home to the World War I Remembrance Poilus, août 1914». Since 1926 it has been dis- Museum. Opened in 2008, this museum keeps played in the Gare de l’Est in Paris, depicting the alive the memory of the many American soldiers departure for the front of French infantrymen (cal- who fought on French soil. There are guided tours led «Poilus»). and exhibitions on different themes. Herter was paying tribute to his son, Everit, killed at Free admission. Find «Aisne-14-18» on Belleau in the last months of the war. He is shown Information: tel. +33 (0)3 23 82 03 63 in the center of the painting, brandishing a rifle with www.musee-memoire-souvenir-belleau.com a bunch of flowers in its barrel! He is buried in the If closed, please contact the tourist information Aisne-Marne American cemetery, plot A, row 13, office ‘Les Portes de la Champagne’ grave 59. (tel. +33 (0)3 23 83 51 14) 2/2.

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