Ambrose WWI September 2019: Sunday, October 6, 2019: Chateau Thierry, Aisne Marne, Belleau Woods, Musee de la Reddition, Reims

We arose in Reims this morning to another overcast and drizzly morning. We will return to the hotel tonight.

Our first stop of the day was in Chateau Thierry. This was the first significant American action. The Germans had started their Spring 1918 offensive and were making unusually good head way. They reached Chateau Thierry on the Marne River and, if they had pushed through, they would be only about 50 miles from Paris. This was a potential turning point of the war. The French were in full retreat. The Americans, who were still in training, were asked to help. They were rushed to this city and took up positions to block the Germans from crossing the Marne.

In the basement of this house, elements of the American 2nd Division set up a machine gun position and thwarted the advancing German column. The

This was the road the Germans were coming down.

The Americans blew up the bridges across the Marne and positioned other machine guns on the other side of the river. The few Germans that were able to get this far were mowed down from the fire from across the river. One of the famous historical quotes coming out of this battle was when a fleeing French officer suggested to an arriving American Marine officer that they should run for their lives. The American officer replied "Retreat?, we just got here!". The 5th Marine Regiment was deployed with the 2nd Infantry Division during this battle.

The American Memorial Church in Chateau Thierry. It was closed of course, being Sunday.

The memorial to the 3rd American Division was our next stop.

Next was the memorial to the American Divisions that fought at the Aisne-Marne Salient

We then returned to Chateau Thierry for lunch. Stephen and I found a Kebab sandwich joint. It was good. I had their signature dish, Kebab.

The Marne River

After lunch we wandered around for awhile. We found an old church riddled with bullet holes. It looked abandoned.

We then went to the American memorial at Belleau.

The chapel is covered with the names of the still missing.

Stephen, being the only Marine in our group, was asked to conduct a "sanding" of the cross of a Missouri Marine who died in the fighting around Belleau. The ceremony involves rubbing sand over the inscription on the grave cross. The sand fills in the inscription and it stands out. The sand was from the beaches of Normandy.

Then Stephen and our French guide placed American and French flags.

Another tradition of the USMC is that anyone visiting the memorial should drink from the Devil Dogs fountain. Devil Dogs is the name the Germans gave to the Marines due to their aggresiviness in battle. The fountain is located at the Thierry Chateau (which only partially still exists). This was a dressing station during the war. The fountain is still there emitting water as it did more than one hundred years ago. The legend is that any Marine who drinks from the fountain will have additional strength for the upcoming battle.

Stephen, being the only Marine in our group, got to take a drink.

Then we went to the actual ground the Marines charged in the Battle of Belleau Woods.

The open ground over which the Marines crossed.

The memorial at the center of the woods contained captured German artifacts. I did not capture the moment, but Stephen did what he said he would do, he kissed the ground of the battle field. Stephen admitted to me later that this was a much more emotional experience than he had imagined it would be.

It was getting late in the day, but we stopped at the school in Reims at which the WWII surrender of the Germans took place. They had a nice museum.

The actual table on which the surrender papers were signed

A replica of the surrender document.

Finally, we made it back to our hotel. We wanted to visit the famed Reims Cathedral and Basilica before they closed for the evening. The Basilica had an evening mass going on and somehow, we got into the procession.