Tuesday, October 8, 2019: Romagne, Montfaucon, Meuse-Argonne, Vauquois

 Another rainy day in France. It has rained on us every day of the trip. We started today in Cunel. This small town currently has 14 residents. Back in 1918, it was the home of 20,000 German troops.

The back wall of the church was used by the German firing squads.

In Cunel, we picked up Jean-Paul, the owner and operator of the museum in Romagne. He will be our guide today and tomorrow. He first took us to the Hindenburg Line. This is a fortified line of German resistance. Five rows of trenches.

The farm house below was once a German headquarters, then a German field aid station and then an American aid station.

Jean-Paul

We then visited the American Meuse-Argonne Memorial at Montfaucon. This memorial is located on the highest point in the region and used by the Germans for observation. Both Stephen and I walked the 234 steps to the top. It was too foggy to see much.

At the top looking down the stairwell

At the bottom looking up the stairwell

Behind the memorial are ruins where the Germans had their observation station. These were originally Roman buildings.

The Germans used the stones of the ruins to build their observation post so that, from a distance, it blended in with the other ruins surrounding it.

Entry to the observation post

On to what used to be the town of Vauquois. After a series of battles in which both the French and Germans repeatedly mined the hill, the town, and much of the hill it was atop, are gone.

What Vauquois once looked like

Monument to the "successful" test of the first French flamethrower. The testers were incinerated.

Trenches of the Hindenburg Line.

We returned to Romagne where Jean-Paul has his restaurant and museum. The ham and cheese sandwich was good.

Stephen found his souvenir for the trip. A decorated pair of French 75mm shell cases. Trench art.

Jean-Paul has been collecting artifacts for over 40 years. His museum contains about one half of what he has found within a three mile radius of the museum.

Our last stop on this rainy day was at the German cemetery.