California plateau in the heart of the Chemin des Dames is exactly like the one of Verdun, an emblematic place of WWI. But whereas the one of Verdun has rapidly become a national symbol of the victory, California Plateau and the Chemin des Dames have been associated during a long time to the bitter defeat of Nivelle’s offensive of April 1917, to the mutinies that followed and to the break of summer 1918. After WWI, they were doomed to be forgotten and to know a process of occlusion and repression.

Before 1914, California Plateau, above the former village of Craonne, was a place of walks and rest.

After the war, it became a red zone, pine trees were planted as the ground wasn’t cultivable anymore. Today’s walkers will then be able to follow the marked out paths, from where they will be able to observe the remains of the trenches and shell craters.

Thematic signs about WWI, informative tables and panoramic sights on the Aisne Valley mark out the plateau all along the path.

To see on California Plateau :

Monument built in the memory of the soldiers from the 18th Infantry Regiment on a former German shelter made of concrete.

“They didn’t choose their grave” is a monument in the memory of the combatants of all wars, unveiled on November 5th 1998 by the 1st Minister Lionel JOSPIN, on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of 1918 Victory,