Soissonnais < Aisne < Picardy < France
The Butte Chalmont
This route, running through the heart of the battlefield of spring and summer 1918, takes you to one of the most
remarkable memorials of World War I. Remarkable in terms of size but also for the originality of its subject.
Although it commemorates a decisive victory, this work by one of the greatest post-war sculptors is marked by a
poignant solemnity.
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Oulchy-le-Château
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• Est. time: 4hr15
1
1
• Length: 15km
2
4
•L
owest point: 87m
• Highest point: 162m
D
1
• Level: Difficult
12
5
•W
aymarking: Yellow & brown
6
•P
assing through:
Oulchy-le-Château,
Grand-Rozoy,
Beugneux,
Nanteuil-Notre-Dame,
Armentières-sur-Ourcq
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7
8
3
10
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© Carte IGN 2013
ON THE ROUTE
Monument des Fantômes
© Stéphan Lefebvre
TOURIST INFO.:
Soissons Tourist Information office
Tel. 03 23 53 17 37
CREATION AND UPKEEP
OF ROUTE:
Village of Oulchy-le-Château
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Oulchy-Le-Château: striking Romanesque church,
Renaissance priory, remains of town walls
www.randonner.fr
conception : www.grandnord.fr
the Aisne walking/hiking
website.
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Monument des Fantômes on the Butte
Chalmont
Underground quarries in hamlet of Wallée
Churches at Beugneux (12th century)
and Grand-Rozoy (15th-16thcentury)
Armentières-sur-Ourcq: fortifiied house (private)
with double drawbridge, towers and 15th century
postern.
Cruises on the Ourcq leaving from
Silly-La-Poterie
square in Oulchy-le-Château, go up steps
D Depart
leading to church. Walk alongside it and priory. Take
Rue St-Jacques (2nd on right) leading to old railway
line called the “chemin de la petite ligne” as far as
D22 road.
Route card taken from
NEARBY
ake road on right for 1.5 km.
1 T
2 On 2nd bend, bear right onto farm track. Turn right
onto D229 road.
ff route: at the statue of France, walk up to the left
3 O
onto the Butte Chalmont as far as the Monument des
Fantômes. Return to D229.
o up track on the left, then as far as water tower
8 G
on the right then back downhill to Armentières-surOurcq (viewpoint).
9 Bear right, go through village and alongside castle.
t junction take road on the left. Cross railway lines
10 A
(caution
). After Moulin Noël go straight on.
urn right onto D473 then left onto a track, 50m
11 T
further on.
t hamlet of Cugny, take road on left which will take
12 A
you back to Oulchy.
ear left and go into hamlet of Wallée. Bear right after
4 B
the church and carry on along track.
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5 Bear left and go through the hamlet of Les Crouttes.
6 On the bend, go straight on, cross a ford on the Ourcq
and go up to village of Nanteuil-Notre-Dame crossing
over the railway lines.
ake the D79 (towards Armentières), cross the
7 T
Ordrimouille stream and carry on for 500m.
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Soissonnais < Aisne < Picardy < France
The Butte Chalmont
Episodes in History
ROAD TRIP
An American
in the Great War
46 km – Depart Château-Thierry
A question of tactics
FROM THE CHEMIN DES DAMES TO THE MARNE
On 27th May 1918, at daybreak, the Germans
launched a powerful attack on the heights of the
Chemin des Dames which had been in French
hands since October 1917. On terrain judged to
be impregnable, it came as a complete surprise.
French and British troops were caught offguard and
surged back southwards with no time to destroy
bridges across the river Aisne.
In just a few hours the Germans advanced towards
Paris at lightening speed. They reached the Marne
on 30th & 31st May and captured Château-Thierry
on 1st June.
Joyce Kilmer, American poet
and soldier killed in the
2nd Battle of the Marne
1918:
Joyce
Kilmer,
the
American poet, came to fight
in France. 2013: Catherine,
a French-American student,
followed in his footsteps. An
American in the Great War is a
parallel story, between past and
present, featuring the poet’s
experiences
and American
World War 1 memorials around
Château-Thierry.
© agence Meurisse BNF Gallica
From this date and for the first time since the start
of the German offensive, allied forces managed to
contain then to stop their enemy. Fierce fighting
involving French, British and American troops
(battles of Château-Thierry, Belleau and Fère-enTardenois) halted the German advance on Paris.
On 18th July, under the command of Generals
Degoutte and Mangin, allied forces launched a
great counter-offensive which took the Germans
by surprise. Thousands of soldiers put the German
army to flight and it continued to retreat right up to
the signing of the Armistice.
Story of a sculpture
Portrait of General Mangin,
in command of July 1918 offensive
THE MONUMENT DES FANTÔMES
To commemorate the counter-offensive
which led to Allied victory in 1918, the French
state commissioned Paul Landowski, a
French sculptor of Polish descent (18751961) to create an extraordinary memorial
on the exact spot where the outcome of the
Second Battle of the Marne was decided.
Download route details
and audio guide on
www.audio-guide-aisne.com
One might have expected it to be a work
glorifying the Allied action, but not at all.
Heavily influenced by the pacifism of the
1930s, Landowski sculpted «fantômes»
(ghosts): seven dead soldiers, with vacant
eyes, wearing the different uniforms of
the French army corps. In their midst can
be seen the naked figure of a martyred
hero, symbolising the suffering of mankind
plunged into war.
See details of WW1
centenary events on
and in brochure available
for free in all Aisne Tourist
Information offices
Find «Aisne-14-18» on
© Archives départementales de l’Aisne
www.aisne14-18.com
This memorial in pink granite (symbolising
eternity) was unveiled in 1935 in the
presence of the French President of the
time, Albert Lebrun.
Unveiling the memorial
to the second victory on the Marne
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