Lonesome Memorial #19 The Gates of Château de Soupir (a Ruin)

As far as I can determine, this stately structure outside of the village of Soupir, just north of the River Aisne, has no official designation as a war memorial.  A survivor of the war, it stands alone, towering over an active farm field without any signage or informational kiosks.  It will, however, remain linked to the Great War as long as it stands, the only remaining element of a grand chateau that suffered destruction during the brutal actions of 1914 (First Battle of the Aisne), 1917 (Nivelle Offensive) and 1918 (Germany's Blucher Offensive and the Second Battle of the Marne.)  After the postwar site clearance, only this entrance survived, a veteran  and memory of the war.

The 16th century château had been an active military establishment during the war. It was initially used as a hospital by the French army. In November 1914, however, it was taken by the Germans and the wounded French soldiers inside became prisoners.  The French army managed to retake the castle and village during an offensive that same month. By April 1917 Soupir Château served as a command post for the 127th divisional infantry division and the 25th infantry battalion. The château was damaged severely that year, and more so in 1918 as the opposing armies fought back and forth through the sector.

 

The Château, Prewar and 1917

The poet and editor Malcolm Cowley served as an American Field Service Ambulance Driver in the area and was quite saddened by the badly damaged château and the immense park that surrounded it. In his 1922 poem "Château de Soupir: 1917" he wrote: "in tortured immobility, the deities of stone or bronze await a new catastrophe." After the war, most of the ruins that Cowley had viewed still stood on the site.  They were sold and cleared away in the 1920s.  Someone with aestheic and historical sensibilities decided, fortunately, that the relatively undamaged 1908 monumental entrance gates should remain.  These lonesome sentinals are now forever linked in some symbolic, but well-recognized, fashion to the First World War. 

Nearby in the village of Soupir its churchyard contains 36 British Commonwealth burials. A large German and two French Cemeteries lie one half-mile directly to the south. An Italian Cemetery, with 592 fallen during 1918's combat, is located one half mile to the southwest. These bear testament to the severity of the fighting in the area over the four years of the war.

Visiting:

The nearest city to Soupir is Soissons.  From there, Soupir is about a 30 minute drive east by auto — first via D925 with a turn north onto D88 at the Italian cemetery mentioned above. Drive immediately north of Soupir and look for the gates in the open field on your right. Find a safe place to park to view the gates.