The department of the Marne in Champagne was some of the most contested land during the war, site of the initial German invasion, the Battle of the Marne, the First and Second Battles of Champagne, the Champagne-Marne Offensive, Rheims Cathedral, Épernay, Châlons, Vitry-le-Francois, Ste-Menehould, and Perthes-les-Hurlus (First Champagne).

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No. 51. Marne - Formé en 1790 d'une partie de la Champagne. Ce territoire à été le theâtre de nombreux évenements historiques: défaite d'Attila, baptisme de Clovis, sacre des rois de France, prédication de la seconde croisade, invasion de Charles Quint, Guerres de la Révolution et de l'empire, Guerre de 1870 et de 1914. Victoire de la Marne. Reims est décorée de la Légion d'Honneur. CÉLÉBRITÉS: Urbain II pape; Colbert; St. Jean-Batiste de la Salle. CURIOSITÉS: Cathédrale de Reims, église N.D. de l'Épines à Chalons, chateau de Montmort, vignobles et caves. PRODUITS: Céreales, cerises, betteraves, élevage, moutons, tonnellerie, bouchons, lainage, blanc d'Espagne, vin de champagne, biscuits. Station thermale: Sermaize.



No. 51 Marne - Formed in 1790 from part of Champagne. This area was the scene of many historic events: defeat of Attila, baptism of Clovis, the coronation of the kings of France, preaching the Second Crusade, invasion of Charles V, Wars of the Revolution and the Empire, War of 1870 and 1914. Victory of the Marne. Reims is decorated with the Legion d'Honneur. CELEBRITIES: Pope Urban II; Colbert; St. Jean-Baptiste de la Salle. SITES: Reims Cathedral, Church of Our Lady of the Thorns in Chalons, Montmort Castle, vineyards and wineries. PRODUCTS: Cereals, cherries, beets, livestock, sheep, cooperage, caps, wool, Spanish white wine, champagne, cookies. Spa: Sermaize.

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Saturday, July 13, 1918

"The actual command for the operation came very late. I was just sitting and working over it, when a perfectly strange grenadier was announced. With excitement but modestly he asked if it were true that Americans were stationed over there and that our attack was betrayed. I quieted him, but inquired carefully here and there what the general opinions on the attack might be. There was thorough confidence in the leaders; but there was an indefinite feeling that the affair would not succeed. 'The infantry has the right instinct,' veterans of the front used to say.

. . . The enemy had taken several prisoners from us, among others an officer of photometry who, contrary to orders, had carried important maps with him. . . .

The enemy fire increased each day. When on July 13th we moved to the places of preparation, thick clouds of gas lay on the wood of Jaulgonne. 'It will turn out all right,' was the general consolation."

Quotation Context

Excerpt from an account of the immediate run-up to Germany's Champagne-Marne Offensive by Kurt Hesse, Grenadier Regiment No. 5, 36th Infantry Division. The attack would begin on July 15, 1918, and was Germany's last offensive of the war.

Source

The Great Events of the Great War in Seven Volumes by Charles F. Horne, Vol. VI, 1918, pp. 250–251, copyright © 1920 by The National Alumnia, publisher: The National Alumni, publication date: 1920

Tags

1918-07-13, 1918, July, Hesse, Kurt Hesse, Champagne-Marne Offensive