The present volume--No. 3 of the series: “The Americans in the Great
War”--see Volumes 1 (“The Second Battle of the Marne”) and 2 (“The
Battles of St. Mihiel”)--deals with the Argonne proper and with the
Marshes of the Argonne, that is to say, the greater part of the country
lying between the Battlefields of Champagne and Verdun, described in the
Michelin Guides: “The Battles of Champagne” and “Verdun.”
The Argonne was never independent, administratively or politically. It
has always been attached to a neighbouring State, large or small.
Originally a border-land between Champagne and Lorraine, it belonged
formerly to the three Bishoprics of Châlons, Rheims, and Verdun. Later
it became the Comté of Argonne, with Sainte-Menehould as capital, but
remained tributary to the three bishoprics. After the annexation of
Champagne, the King of France and the Duke of Lorraine each took that
part of the Argonne bordering on his territory. Later it was divided
between the Province of Champagne, the Duchy of Bar, and the Duchy of
Lorraine.
With the exception of several lateral valleys which divide it into
sections difficult of access to one another, the Argonne, covered with
thick forests, and for long roadless, presented an all but insuperable
obstacle to military operations. These valleys, or defiles, considered
from north to south, are: the passes of Chesne Populeux, Croix-aux-Bois,
Grandpré, Chalade, and Les Islettes. These five passes, famous since the
campaign of 1792, which ended in the French victory of Valmy, have often
been disputed.
[Illustration: THE DEFILES OF THE ARGONNE]