Memorial to the Battles of the Marne 1914-1918 Dormans

The monument was erected in the middle of a beautiful wooded park covering 26 hectares. In 1919, a committee was set up under the leadership of Madame de la Rochefoucauld, Duchess of Estissac, Monseigneur Tissier, Bishop of Châlons, and Marshal Foch. This committee ensured that the monument was built.
The memorial to the battles of the Marne was erected in memory of the soldiers who died during the First World War, and in particular those who died or were wounded along the Marne.

The crypt
The crypt is lit by a stained-glass window depicting Saint Michael defeating the dragon.
The crypt is made of blocks of natural stone quarried in the Meuse and Nord departments.
The names of the soldiers who died for France are engraved in red letters on the white stone.

Ossuary
Inside the burial chamber, 130 coffins contain the remains of 1,332 soldiers, only 11 of whom could be identified.

Gallery of Honour
The gallery of honour connects the ossuary to the chapel. It is a covered gallery resembling a modern cloister, with medallion portraits of Marshals Joffre and Foch, the two victors of the battles of the Marne, engraved in stone on one side, and the names of the army corps and divisions involved in the two victories on the Marne on the other.

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Source

• Text: Fedor de Vries + TracesOfWar
• Photos: Koos Winkelman (1, 2, 3), Adri Kramer (4, 5, 6, 7, 8)