Hill 304

It was 6 degrees outside and foggy when we woke up. We put on the heater to bring the inside to a reasonable temperature so we could get out of bed.

The canal was totally calm as we drove over the bridge off the little island with fog still up in the hills.

We nipped across to the Leclerc supermarket to empty and fill the Motorhome. Leclerc usually have an area for servicing for free.

We then started driving in the general direction of Reims but we wanted to check out Hill 304 - an area of heavy fighting since it is in a strategic area. The Germans were desperate to take it but the French held out for a long time. Eventually the Germans bombed it continuously for 36 hours until reports said it looked like ‘flowing lava’ . They then took the hill.

There is a large memorial and lots of woods around.

We walked down some very muddy parts seeing lots of mounds and craters everywhere. There were also a few graves or individuals memorials here and there but a lot of men were never found. Off the paths are ‘red zone’ areas which are never to be disturbed where bodies and unexplored bombs lie.

We stopped at the nearby national cemetery where many of the soldiers were buried.

We then continued through the lovely countryside on this perfect sunny day - only a little cold at 14 degrees. The bull looked quite happy in his field.

Many of the villages had no old buildings as they had to be totally rebuilt.

We went through the town of Varennes-en-Argonnes where Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were discovered after having fled the French Revolution. They were taken back to Paris and guillotined a couple of years later. Apparently they chose to take a large coach with 6 horses instead of 2 faster less obvious smaller coaches - so it’s perhaps an indication of their arrogance thinking that they wouldn’t be stopped.

We stopped for lunch at a rest stop called Missouri. We then saw the memorial to the Missouri soldiers further down the hill and went to check it out.

The Americans came into WW1 in 1917 only after the German submarines torpedoed their ships. The war was then over by 1918 due to their involvement.

Driving on we found the town of Valmy with several statues including General Kellerman famous for defending the village from the Prussians when they decided to take advantage of the French Revolution causing chaos. There was also an American tank for an unknown reason.

The fields look vast over the flat area with no fences.

Coming into the village of l’Epine we were stunned by the size of the Notre Dame Basilica. It has been there since the 1300s. It’s quite amazing inside.

Outside had some interesting gargoyles.

We then went to find a place for the night now in the champagne area. Chalons en Champagne was too busy everywhere we looked.

We found a nice quiet place in Trepail, a little village in the vineyards - full of champagne producers. However they were all closed by 5pm when we arrived. It was a free aire up a very narrow road at the top of the village.

We went for a walk to check it out.

The only thing open in town was the 24 hour pizza machine. We weren’t game to try it and had a warming sausage and lentil casserole instead.