Armistice day,deep in Compiegne.

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Madame & meself recently had a child free weekend & decided to visit La foret de Compiegne.

Admitedly,it was my selfish choice on my part but,as you will see,a magical region for all the family to go to.

I'll start with snaps of where the actual signing took place (as a visitors centre,you aren't allowed to take photos inside.

The line going to the French stop point.

Monument placed there for the old man himself.

More to follow

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The German train arret.No names,just 'The Germans'.

& inbetween the two,a huge slab carved in big letters denouncing the foul acts commited against France by the German aggressors.Lot of hatred in this place,just after the war the French still had it in for anything Germanic(which leads us onto WW2 ,repatriations etc.).I wont show it all or do a translation.Its online anyway.

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Here we have a huge statue to Marechal Foch himself.

A daunting sight & very well done.

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Entrance to the memorial museum/armistice carriage house(not the original though.That was last seen nr Berlin in 45 after the German Army nicked it & used it for propaganda tours.It was supposedly burnt/destroyed in an allied air raid but,some pieces where retrieved & sent by German historians back here,to the museum).

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Back,bin on the phone.

Here's the F! tank that resides outside the museum.

Its been very professionaly restored & painted in 1918 colours.

The earlier(later?) versions of this tank were taken by the invading forces in 1940,embedded in concrete(just the turret showing) & used to fortify the Atlantic wall.

Go to Fort Seclin & you will see one(between Douai & Lille).

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Here is the entrance to the parc/site.

This memorial to French soldiers of the 1st world war was one of the first things seen by Hitler when he arrived in 1940.A big honour guard lined the terrace at the time.There are photos inside the museum of the arrival.

The eagle was covered by a big NS flag so his piggy eyes wouldn't be offended by the German eagle being killed by the sword of justice.

He was not a memorial destroyer anyway,having served himself but,brown shirt = brown nose.

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& finally,the magical,tiny village that we stayed in that night.

From memory,I think it was Pierrefonds but,not sure.

Its like stepping into the film,'where eagles dare'.Very child/family friendly too.

Et voila,mes gens.

Definately a place to put on your visit list.Not far from the Somme,or Paris.Go see.

[harneyn]

Gorgeous pictures! Thanks for sharing...

Ann

& finally,the magical,tiny village that we stayed in that night.

From memory,I think it was Pierrefonds but,not sure.

Its like stepping into the film,'where eagles dare'.Very child/family friendly too.

[uncle bill]

Thanks for that. I've never been there so will try and squeeze a visit in.

[Chris_Baker]

I had last Armistice weekend in France (it was very cold and miserable on 11th itself). Stayed the previous night and woke up in Compiegne. It is one of my favourite towns in France. Went past the Clairiere de l'Armistice on my way down to walk around Marfaux.

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I will def be going back there as it is a lovely spot.

It'll be a nice 1st night stop while I start the Chemin des Dames research/photos this summer on the way to the bi annual trip to Verdun(whoopee ).

Its gonna be a magic summer,so it is!

Dave.