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| The Original Carriage, 1918 |
4 JUNE 1914: Carriage 2419D is brought into service
Twenty-two identical restaurant carriages are put into service by the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits. Carriage 2419D is sent to the Gare Montparnasse station serving the western lines.
28 OCTOBER 1918: Carriage 2419D is requisitioned
Carriage 2419D joins the command train placed at the disposal of Marshal Foch.
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| At the Compiègne Forest during Armistice Discussion 2419D on Left, German Quarters on Right |
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| Allied Representatives with Signed Armistice Instrument |
11 NOVEMBER 1918: Carriage 2419D becomes the “Armistice Carriage”
On 11 November 1918, Marshal Foch and Admiral Wemyss, representing the Allies, and Minister of State Erzberger, representing Germany, sign the armistice at 5:15 a.m. It would take effect at 11 a.m.
11 NOVEMBER 1922: Inauguration of the Armistice Clearing
At the entrance to an avenue stretching 250 meters is erected the Alsace-Lorraine Monument in pink sandstone from the Vosges. Within the clearing, a granite slab reads: “Here, on 11 November 1918, the criminal pride of the German empire was vanquished by the free peoples it had sought to enslave.”
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| 1922 at Les Invalides |
1922: Exhibition of the carriage at Les Invalides
Symbolizing France’s victory over Germany, the carriage is exhibited in the main courtyard at Les Invalides, capturing the public’s attention
NOVEMBER 1922: The carriage is restored
During six years sitting outside at Les Invalides, the carriage must brave the bad weather. Newspapers finally cry out. Arthur Henry Fleming, an American millionaire, offers 10,000 gold francs for the carriage’s restoration and relocation to the clearing.
10 MAY-22 JUNE 1940: The Battle of France
In the space of 40 days, the German army occupies Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, and a portion of France.
21 JUNE 1940: Reading of the Armistice conditions
On 21 June, Hitler, surrounded by his general staff, welcomes within the carriage (reinstalled in the clearing) the French delegation led by General Huntzinger. After the reading of the Armistice conditions, Hitler leaves the clearing.
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| Adolf Hitler and Entourage at the Carriage |
22 JUNE 1940: The Signature of the Armistice
On 22 June, the Armistice is signed by Generalfeldmarschall Keitel and General Huntzinger.
JULY 1940: The carriage and monuments are taken to Germany
On Hitler’s order, the carriage is transported to Germany, as are the Sacred Slab and the Alsace-Lorraine Monument. The Marshal Foch statue is spared and protected during the clearing’s complete destruction.
1940 - 1945: The carriage in Germany
The carriage is initially exhibited in Berlin. It is then transferred to the Ohrdruf prison camp to protect it from the Berlin bombings.
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| The Carriage in Berlin |
1945: End of the Second World War
The carriage is destroyed in the accidental burning of the Crawinkel railway station next to the Ohrdruf prison camp.
11 NOVEMBER 1946: The monuments recovered
Recovered in Germany, the monuments are brought back to France in July 1946. They are reinstalled in the Armistice Clearing in time to commemorate 11 November 1946.
16 SEPTEMBER 1950: The carriage’s installation
A carriage from the same series is presented by the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits. It is identically furnished and fitted out and installed within a new shelter attached to a rotunda built to house 800 stereoscopic views.
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| The Identical Carriage at the Armistice Glade Today |
(Notes: The museum was enlarged in 1992 and further enhanced for the Centennial of the Great War in 2018)
Source: Le Mémorial de L'Armistice Website
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