The War Memorials of Aisne or Monuments aux Morts of Aisne are French war memorials in the Aisne, in the region of Picardy, commemorating those men of the Aisne region who died in World War I
Background This region saw considerable action throughout World War I. In 1914, the Allied armies retreated through the region before the advancing German armies, who were following Von Schlieffen's plan of attack. At the Battle of the Marne, the German army's advance was halted and they retreated to the Aisne region and then dug in there before the so-called "race to the sea". The "war of movement" was to be short-lived and replaced by a static war of attrition, dominated by the trenches. The region was thereafter an integral part of the Western Front, the "Chemin des Dames" area, in particular, seeing the French army in continual action. This article deals with the local memorials which were erected in every city, town and village in France.
Some of the monument aux morts in the Aisne region
WorkImageLocationDate(s)Subject, notes and referencesThe monument aux morts at Achery.Achery1925 The Achery war memorial features work by the sculptor N. Staquet. The inauguration took place on 29 July 1923. The same statue, which features a French infantryman or "poilu" can be seen at Versigny, this war memorial being inaugurated on 12 July 1925.Achery Les Monuments aux Morts sculptés en France: Aisne. Alain Choubard. Retrieved 25 September 2012The monument aux morts at AcyAcy1924The Acy war memorial entitled L'Ange de l'Apocalypse is one of the sculptor Henri Charlier's works and was completed in 1924. It stands in front of the parish church.Henri Charlier Biography. Some biographical information on Charlier. Retrieved 12 August 2012. Also in Acy, and on the Plateau d’Acy is the Pleureuse d’Acy, another Charlier work, this remembering the dead of the 1939–1945 war.Acy Les Monuments aux Morts sculptés en France:Aisne. Alain Choubard. Retrieved 25 September 2012The monument aux morts at BraineBraine1922The war memorial at Braine was inaugurated on 10 December 1922 and features a bronze allegory of France by the sculptor Charles Breton. Breton had worked on the war memorials of Saint-Mandé and Fontenay-sous-Bois in Val-de-Marne and that at Saint-Alban-sur-Limagnole in Lozère. The Braine bronze memorial was produced by the foundry Leblanc-Barbedier et Fils.The monument aux morts at Bucy-lès-PierrepontBucy-lès-Pierrepont1922The Bucy-lès-Pierrepont memorial features a work by the sculptor Charles-Henri Pourquet. Cast by the foundry Val d'Osne, the work was given the title Poilu No.853. It featured in the Val d'Osne catalogue, proved to be popular, and can be seen on war memorials throughout France. ThIs monument was inaugurated on 23 July 1922.Bucy-les-Pierrepont. Les Monument aux Morts sculptés en France: Aisne. Alain Choubard. Retrieved 26 September 2012The Monument aux morts at Chateau-ThierryChâteau-ThierryThe composition here is most dramatic and the sculptor Achille Jacopin has produced a sculpture depicting a dead soldier lying flat on the ground.Chateau-Thierry Petit Patrimonie. Retrieved 24 September 2012The monument aux morts at ChaunyChauny1930Émile Pinchon was the sculptor of the war memorial at Chauny with inauguration taking place on 6 July 1930. A maquette of this work is kept at the Historial de la Grande Guerre at Péronne. The Amiens born Pinchon's composition features three women. The central figure represents "La Republique" with "Douleur" on one side and "Jeunesse" on the other.Chauny Les Monuments aux morts sculptés en France:Aisne. Alain Choubard. Retrieved 24 September 2012The monument aux morts at ChavignonChavignon1933 Chavignon's war memorial involves sculptural work by Henri Albert Lagriffoul. There are two bas-reliefs on the monument, one depicting a soldier holding an antique sword and the other a woman carrying her child and a sheaf of wheat. The monument also remembers the action of the 4th Regiment of the French Army and those who fell in the action to expel the Germans from Chavignon on 23 October 1917.Chavignon "Picardie La Region". Retrieved 24 September 2012 This monument was inaugurated on 1 October 1933.The monument aux morts at Danizy.Danizy1923At Danizy the war memorial features work by N. Staquet; a depiction of a standing soldier. It was inaugurated on 15 August 1923.Danizy Les Monuments aux Morts sculptés en France: Aisne. Alain Choubard. Retrieved 25 September 2012The monument aux morts at Essigny-le-PetitEssigny-le-PetitAt the commune of Essigny-le-Petit is an Établissements H. Jacomet edition by the sculptor Étienne Camus. In bronzed cast iron it is called Poilu baïonnette au canon and is a well-known piece in France, as is Jacomet's Poilu au repos, another work by Camus. Jacomet's works are found in the Somme and Oise regions.Essigny- le.-Petit Monuments aux Morts sculptés en France: Aisne. Alain Choubard. Retrieved 26 September 2012The monument aux morts at FargniersFargniers1926In the commune of Fargniers east of Tergnier, the war memorial features a work by Paul Landowski whose work we encountered at Ault in the Somme. Fargniers suffered much destruction in the Great War and like many other communes was awarded the Croix de Guerre in recognition of her sufferings. This monument was inaugurated on 11 November 1926.Fargniers Les Monuments aux Morts sculptés en France: Aisne. Alain Choubard. Retrieved 25 September 2012The monuments aux morts at ForesteForeste1924The war memorial at Foreste features sculptural work by Raoul Josset. Josset had worked as an interpreter for the US troops during the Great War. The Foreste memorial was inaugurated in 1924. After the war Josset emigrated to the US and lived in Texas, where he completed several public works.Foreste Les Monument aux morts sculptés en France: Aisne. Alain Choubard. Retrieved 25 September 2012 The monument aux morts at Guignicourt.Guignicourt1924The war memorial at Guignicourt was inaugurated on 20 September 1924. The sculptor is unknown. The composition shows a couple, bent before some graves, perhaps including that of their son. The woman carries a bouquet of roses and is supported by her husband.Guignicourt Guignicourt Website. Retrieved 30 September 2012The monument aux morts at Guise.GuiseThe Guise war memorial features a work by sculptor André Joseph Allar. Allar depicts a woman, meant to represent Guise, who comforts a child. Guise was where Jean-Baptiste Godin, the humanist and philanthropist, built his factory which was intended as an example of how the working classes should be treated. Alongside the factory, Godin had built all the amenities which he considered the workers should have; housing, laundry facilities, a school, a theatre, gardens, a swimming pool, etc. In the grounds are a monument which remembers those Familistere men who lost their lives in the Great War, the Monument aux morts du Familistère de Guise, sculpted by the brothers Jan et Joël Martel (1896–1966). These brothers were well known as avant-garde and cubist sculptors.The Martel Brothers Retrieved 25 September 2012Battle of Guise First World War History. Retrieved 25 September 2012Lanrezac Memorial Amiens. Retrieved 25 September 2012 Guise was also the scene of a fierce battle in 1914 when the 5th French Army, retreating before the advancing German armies, stopped their retreat and engaged with the enemy. The 5th Army was commanded by General Lanrezac and the Martel brothers were sculptors of the monument which marks this battle. Several photographs of the "Lanrezac monument" are shown below as are photographs of the Familistere monument aux morts.
Images of Guise
WorkImageLocationDate(s)Subject, notes and referencesThe monument aux morts at Holnon.Holnon1926The Holnon war memorial features a work in bronze by the sculptor Grégoire Calvet. The monument was inaugurated on 30 May 1926.Holnon Monuments aux Morts sculptés en France: Aisne. Alain Choubard. Retrieved 26 September 2012The monument aux morts at JaulgonneJaulgonne1921At the village of Jaulgonne near Château-Thierry the war memorial has sculptural work by Louis Bertrand. The monument was inaugurated on 9 October 1921.Jaulgonne Monuments aux Morts sculptés en France:Aisne. Alain Choubard. Retrieved 26 September 2012The monument aux morts at Laon.Laon1926At Laon, the capital of the Aisne region, the war memorial features sculptural work by Marcel Gaumont.Laon Actuacity.com. Retrieved 26 September 2012The monument aux morts at Mézières-sur-OiseMézières-sur-Oise1923The war memorial in Mézières-sur-Oise features a bronzed cast-iron work by the Durenne foundry which was inaugurated on 10 June 1923. The authorship of the relief is not known and the same relief can be seen at Becquigny. In the parish church in Mézières-sur-Oise there is a war memorial by Charles Desvergnes (1860–1928) called Ange de la reconnaissance couronnant un soldat.Mezieres- sur-Oise Monuments aux Morts sculptés en France: Aisne. Alain Choubard. Retrieved 26 September 2012Parish Church Mezieres-sur-Oise Monuments aux Morts sculptés en France: Aisne. Alain Choubard. Retrieved 26 September 2012MontaiguMontaigu1926 The Montaigu monument aux morts has sculptural work by Eugene Durassier and was inaugurated 20 May 1928.Montaigu Monuments aux Morts sculptés en France: Aisne. Alain Choubard. Retrieved 26 September 2012.The monument aux morts at Origny-Sainte-BenoiteOrigny-Sainte-BenoiteMarius-Léon Cladel, who created a monument in Appilly in the Oise, was the creator of the Origny-Sainte-Benoite war memorial.The monument aux morts at PontavertPontavert1926At the commune of Pontavert there is a war memorial with a relief by Norbert Gaillard. The monument dates from 1926 and was inaugurated on 3 October 1926. The relief features a helmeted victor in profile whose right hand shows a winged figure holding in the left hand a crown of laurels. A gallic cock to the rear is accompanied by the word "PAX", the Latin word for peace.The monument aux morts at Saint-QuentinSaint-Quentin1927Saint Quentin, one of the major cities of the Aisne region, suffered major damage during the Great War. The war memorial, designed by the Prix de Rome winning architect Paul Bigot, has bas-reliefs by Henri Bouchard and Paul Landowski. The Saint-Quentin monument aux morts was unveiled on 31 July 1927 in the presence of General Debeney.
Bigot built a 31 metre long monument which consisted of nine columns supporting one huge pediment and on these columns are inscribed the names of those who died in the Great War, whether as soldiers or civilians killed during the German occupation. On the pediment itself are three bas-reliefs. That at the centre shows life in the trenches and scenes from the civilian exodus of March 1917 and at each end are bas-reliefs, one depicting a scene from 1870 and the other remembering the conflict of 1557. The wording on the monument was subsequently changed to remember those who had lain down their lives in the 1939–1945 conflict.Saint Quentin Petit Patrimoine. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
Images Saint-Quentin