Châlons-en-Champagne

25 August 1914: Sub-Lieutenant Maurice Genevoix is part of the detachment which leaves to join the 106th RI, hit hard by the Battle of the Frontiers during the German invasion of Belgium in August 1914.
This detachment heads to the station, where it boards a train to Charny-sur-Meuse.
This marks the start of the saga narrated by Maurice Genevoix in “Those of 14”, which we invite you to discover with this itinerary…
"The order to depart struck like a thunderbolt: the city rushed around as if afraid of forgetting something (...) I was in the canteen when the order took me by surprise. I jumped up, crossed the avenue, and here I am, standing straight as a post in front of two rows of blue greatcoats and red trousers." (Quote from the book by Maurice Genevoix, Ceux de 14, Editions Flammarion)