Compiègne Forest
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The Compiègne Forest is a forest in Picardie, France, located near the town of Compiègne. The area of the forrest is 144.85 km².
Armistices of 1918 and 1940
A railroad track in the forrest was the site of two armistices
- The treaty between the Allies and Germany at the end of World War I, also known as the Armistice with Germany.
- The site of the armistice treaty between Nazi Germany and France during World War II on the 19th of June 1940, also known as the Armistice with France.
Memorials at the site
- Alsace-Lorraine Memorial: a depiction of a sword (representing the allies) stabbing a fallen eagle (representing Germany).
- Marshal Foch's statue
- Memorial tablet placed at the precise location of the cease-fire signing: reads (in french) HERE ON THE ELEVENTH OF NOVEMBER 1918 SUCCUMBED THE CRIMINAL PRIDE OF THE GERMAN REICH. VANQUISHED BY THE FREE PEOPLES WHICH IT TRIED TO ENSLAVE. (This tablet was dismantled and taken to Germany in 1940. It was returned after World War 2).
- Copy of the original train carriage where the cease-fire was signed (the original was destroyed in Germany at the end of World War 2).
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