Tag Archives: 35th Division

La Vie en France #34: Boureuilles: Jump-off Line for the 28th and 35th Divisions

  What a difference a year makes!  Last year, the Webmaster rented a gite in “The Punchbowl” of Doulcon for six months.  Doulcon was liberated by the 5th Division on 3 November, 1918–quite late in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive.  This year the Webmaster is renting the “Gite les Rosiers” in Boureuilles.  This gite is basically on the 28th and 35th Division jump-off line of 26 September–just a few kilometers south of Varennes-en-Argonne.  Said another way, the front-line of 26 Sept. ran east-west from Vauquois Hill (about Continue reading →

Travel Tips: New Luxury Hotel, Les Jardins du Mess, in Verdun now Taking Reservations

Readers Stefan Schweitzer and Christina Holstein report that Verdun’s new luxury hotel, Les Jardins du Mess, is now accepting reservations.  The hotel’s Facebook page advertises the property as a hotel, restaurant, bar, spa and arboretum (parc arboré).  A quick look at the website, http://www.lesjardinsdumess.fr/, and the room prices suggests that this will be a luxury hotel in the heart of Verdun.  As a reminder, the building was the former French officers’ quarters, situated right along the Meuse River.  Travelers looking for luxury reservations in the heart of Verdun should Continue reading →

Then and Now: Exermont

    Caption:  “A Man Who Goes Through Battle Does Not Get Over It.”  A moment after the preceding picture had been taken, the screech of a high explosive shell was heard and the men who had been loitering in the street of Exermont, which they had just captured, scrambled for cover. Location:  On the D142, right by the church. Source of Then Photo:  “Forward March!  Section 2.  The Photographic Record of American in the World War and the Post War Social upheaval.”  Disabled American Continue reading →