Germans take Craonne

On 1 September 1914 German troops took Craonne, a small village in the Aisne department, at the eastern end of the Chemin des Dames heights, between Laon and Reims. That day the Germans, pursuing the retreating French armies, reached this ridge and pressed on south, towards the Marne and Paris.

Craonne then had about 600 inhabitants and was of no military importance. The first German presence was in any case short-lived. After their defeat on the Marne they withdrew north and in mid-September dug in on the heights above the river Aisne. The Allies failed to drive them off the ridge, and Craonne ended up on the front line, in German hands. Here began the trench warfare that lasted for years.

The village’s name went down in history in 1917. In April the Chemin des Dames heights became the main objective of the Nivelle offensive. The French took the ruins of Craonne only at the beginning of May, after heavy fighting. The bloody and unsuccessful attacks contributed to the mutinies in the French Army, and the soldiers then sang the anonymous anti-war “Song of Craonne” (“La Chanson de Craonne”), banned by the military authorities. The old village was completely destroyed. After the war Craonne was rebuilt lower down, at the foot of the hill.