Had breakfast at 7 o’clock and left at 9. After a short ride, we came to where the Huns had been only 1 mile from the village, in 1914. Then we came to the forest where the French and Huns had fought the hard battle. We picked up a few shells and German helmets. There were many graves. All the homes were utterly ruined. Saw an English tank that had been badly shelled. Here were trenches where the Americans had made a big drive, in 1918, on the Soissons front. Saw one of the fields where some of our boys fought and were sleeping, and the dear old flag is floating over them. They were mostly from the 16th, 18th, 26th, and 28th infantries. As I looked at the graves of the brave boys, I promised again to do more, to live better and be braver in the struggle of life; and to love the flag more. We Salvation Army girls knew most of these boys, had worked with them in the camps and dressing stations; we had bid them goodbye as the left on their long journey. God bless our brave boys and their brave Mothers and wives.
We arrived at Soissons at 2 P.M. Ruins everywhere. Not one building in this large place had escaped. There were about six standing but they were very shaky. The whole village is nothing but stone and dirt. We had lunch in a place where the people had been back for six weeks and had cleaned up a bit. Got a room for the night also. We went out to see the place and buy a few cards.
Had our pictures taken and went to see the old Cathedral that was destroyed by the Huns in 1870 but which had not been harmed in 1917. The tall steeple was all that was left in 1870 and all that is left now. One can see it a long way off.
We went to see the battlegrounds of the place called Chepin des Dames. It was a large forest before the struggle. Now it is a stretch of miles or shell holes, some fifty feet deep; not even a stump of all those trees can be seen. They say that in one of the battles, 25 million rounds of 75s were fired. We rode for several hours and saw nothing but shell holes. It is impossible to describe the condition of the country. No villages, just heaps of stone. We returned to our cold room, had some eats, and went to bed to get warm. The people we are staying with had left their homes and came back. Then they stayed till the last train had left. The train had been followed by planes and bombed. These people had lived in the cellar for weeks at a time and now were praising the American for their deliverance.
More Information
The following section provides historical context and is not part of the original diary entry.
Likely location: Soissons, Aisne, France
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In January 1919, Margaret embarked on a remarkable motor tour through the former battlefields and into occupied Germany. She visited the devastated landscapes of Soissons, Reims, Verdun, and the Argonne before crossing into Luxembourg and Germany, reaching Koblenz where American forces were headquartered.
Research Links for Further Study
- U.S. Army Center of Military History. (n.d.). Occupation and demobilization, 1918–1923. U.S. Army.
- Regional History Institute. (n.d.). Coblenz — A real American city in Europe. In Stars and Stripes over the Rhine.
- Boissoneault, L. (2017, April 12). The women who fried donuts and dodged bombs on the front lines of WWI. Smithsonian Magazine.
Diary of a World War I Donut Girl 