French Ardennes a focal point of Great War 100th commemorations President Macron will lead the tributes to the last French soldier killed during The Great War, as the world prepares to fall silent in November to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of the conflict. The President has confirmed that he will pay his respects to Augustin Trébuchon and others who fell on the field of combat, in the week leading- up to the official November 11 commemorations. His visit to the tiny village of Vrigne-Meuse, where Trebuchon died just minutes before the conclusion of hostilities, will help amplify the belief that The French Ardennes has more reason than most areas of France for marking the centenary of the end of WWI. Four years of commemorations across the nation will draw to a close at 11.00 on November 11, 2018. And, for France, it is The French Ardennes that will be providing the full stop, at the end of the final sentence, in the last chapter of the history of the conflict. It was here the last official French victim of The Great War, Augustin Joseph Trébuchon, fell - just fifteen minutes before the ceasefire. Trébuchon is buried in the cemetery of Vrigne-Meuse, an Ardennes village of 220 inhabitants, where visitors today will find a church with 18 white crosses surrounding a memorial, in honour of the men of the 415th Infantry Regiment who all died on November 11 1918 during the last offensive while attempting to cross the River Meuse. The unveiling of a new memorial in honour of Trébuchon is just one of the events planned for November 11, 2018, in The French Ardennes. Leading politicians have been invited to attend a special ceremony - with Trébuchon set to become a symbol of tragedy of the First World War. Unable to be in Vrigne-Meuse that day, it is currently believed that The President will be represent by Geneviève Darrieussecq, Secretary of State for the Ministry of the Armed Forces. The new sculpture commemorating Trébuchon will be unveiled close to where he fell. It has been hewn from the famous blue stone found near to another French Ardennes town, Givet. It will depict Marianne, a national symbol of the French Republic - a personification of liberty and reason, and a portrayal of the Goddess of Liberty - holding Trebuchon. A new memorial trail has already been launched - one that can be followed by boat, bicycle, and on foot. And, at a what promises to be a fitting tribute at Vrigne-Meuse on November 11, there are plans in place to stage a fly- past of planes from both the French and German airforces. All tourist information about The French Ardennes can be found at http://gb.ardennes.com. [The full story of Augustin Trébuchon follows below]. For press information, contact: Djamila Daoud T: +33 3 24 56 67 77 E: [email protected] THE FRENCH ARDENNES 2018 MEDIA PACK: Copies of a 2018 Media Pack are now available free-of-charge to all UK travel editors, writers and bloggers at: http://fr.calameo.com/read/00002300703993b6ae27b?authid=u2KfqKmt6Hot Editor’s Notes The story of Augustin Trébuchon has been recalled every year, for 99 years, in the tiny French Ardennes village of Vrigne-Meuse. At 11 o’clock on November 11, 2018, he will not only be remembered, but will also become the symbol of the tragedy of the First World War. Partly, because he was involved in an offensive on November 11, 1918, which resulted in him being hit in the head by a German bullet. But mostly, because he was the last French soldier to be officially killed in action during the four-year conflict - falling less than fifteen minutes before his friend and solider-in-arms Octave Delalucque had the honour of sounding his bugle in The French Ardennes to mark the end of hostilities. Trébuchon arrived in The French Ardennes, together with the 700 men in his regiment, on November 8, 1918. At this stage of the war, the Germans were in a slow retreat following their failed August offensive, but were still doggedly defending their positions from the French. Fifteen minutes before the ceasefire scheduled for the 11th hour on the 11th month, Trébuchon - as liaison to the 415th RI - ran to the front edge of the River Meuse at Charles Wood, with a message in his hand which read "Rassemblement à 11h 30 pour le ravitaillement” ("Muster at 11.30 for food”). He died before he was able to deliver it. Augustin Joseph Louis Victorin Trébuchon was born on May 30, 1878, in Malzieu-Forain Lozère, in France. He was the eldest son in a family of six children, whose parents were 35-years-old farmer Jean-Baptiste Trébuchon and Rosalie a 32-years-old housewife. Before the outbreak of the war, Augustin was a "pastre" (a communal shepherd) in Saint-Privat-du-Fau. Often seen with his trusty accordion, he also hosted the popular dances of the region He became the breadwinner for the family when both of his parents died and - as such - was eligible to be exempted from army service. He nevertheless enlisted on August 4, 1914, and went on to fight in Marne, Verdun, Artois and The Somme. Wounded twice, he became a Private First Class, and received a citation on October 23, 1917 as: "A good soldier who always accomplished his duty, and was wounded twice during the campaign”. He then received the Order of the 73rd Brigade for being: "A soldier of remarkable calm - giving his young comrades the best example of a brilliant attitude in fighting between July 15 and 18, 1918". Unmarried, he was courting the daughter of Liconesse Hortense Brown, and returned home on leave in 1917, saying that he was not keen to return to the front. On November 10, 1918, rain was falling, the River Meuse was flooding, and the temperature was well below freezing. The bridges across the river had already been destroyed, so French sappers worked by night and in fog to build a plank footbridge across a lock. There had been no reconnaissance of the other bank because bad weather had kept the spotter plane on the ground. At 08.00 on November 11, around 700 French soldiers started to advance. Some of the first deaths were caused by drowning. The fog cleared at 10.30 and the French could now see the Germans in position a few hundred metres away. The French were spread over three kilometres between the River Meuse and a railway line. While the French now sent-up a spotter plane so that artillery on the other bank could open fire without fear of killing their own soldiers, the Germans opened fire with their machine guns. Trébuchon’s death was recorded as being "with a red hole in his right side". Probably a figure of speech, it was also an amazing twist of fate, given that one of the most famous of all French poets, Arthur Rimbaud (who was himself born in The French Ardennes) had written that line in one of his best-known poems Le Dormeur du Val (The Sleeper in the Valley). The poem describes what the reader first believes is a soldier sleeping peacefully in “a small green valley where a slow stream runs” but who later turns out to be: “At peace. In his side there are two red holes”. Officially, the last of the 91 French soldiers to die on November 11, 1918, Trébuchon’s war grave in the village of Vrigne-Meuse in The French Ardennes, however, still records (incorrectly) that he was killed on November 10, 1918. Optimists believe the reason for this discrepancy in the date of his death was because that - by stating that these men had died well before the end of the war - their families would be guaranteed a war pension. Realists, however, believe that the government wanted to avoid any political scandal if it ever became known that so many soldiers had died so pointlessly on the last day of the conflict. Officially, there were no French casualties on the last day of the war. If you visit the churchyard you will find that Augustin Trébuchon and his comrades are all still recorded as having been killed the day before. As a result, the soldiers in this battle, including Trébuchon, were largely forgotten beyond the boundaries of Vrigne-Meuse after the end of the war; and it wasn’t until 82 years later, in 2000, that events of that day were begun to be seen in a different light. Alain Fauveau sets the record straight in his book Le vagabond de la Grande Guerre, souvenirs de la guerre 1914- 1918, where he describes it as “la bataille de trop” (a useless battle). The tiny village of Vrigne-Meuse, meanwhile, honoured the last official French soldier to fall in the First World War on November 11, 2008, with the inauguration of “Rue Augustin Trébuchon”. The French Ministry of Defence duly corrected the place of death. But it has yet to correct the date on Augustin Trébuchon’s death certificate, or gravestone, even though it is now known that he died so close to the ceasefire, on November 11. Today, Vrigne-Meuse - situated between Charleville-Mézières and Sedan on the banks of the Meuse river - can be reached from A34 Autoroute at Sortie 6 (Exit 6), and by then following the D105 south towards the village. On entering the village, there is a right turn onto the Chemin de Mézières when the road starts to climb uphill to what was known as the Signal de l’Epine Cote 249 (Hill 249).