The Fort and Cemetery of La Malmaison

Departure from Aizy-Jouy town hall, near the church. Park in the car park at the foot of the building, Place de la Mairie.

Yellow and green markings
Markings are present at major intersections, but relatively rare elsewhere.

(S/E) With your back to the town hall, turn right towards the church of Aizy. At the foot of the church, at a crossroads, turn left onto Rue du Guet. Go uphill and, at the end of the tarmac road, continue along a path between two embankments.

(1) At the crossroads (signpost), take the^first path on the right towards a wood. Climb steadily, make a hairpin turn to the left, ignore a path on the right and walk between unfenced meadows. Descend slightly and note the old stone shelters on the left.

(2) Come out onto a small road and follow it to the left. Climb back up and ignore the paths branching off to the sides. At the "give way" sign, cross the D15 (take care) and continue opposite on a gravel track between the fields.

(3) At^{the second} electricity pole, leave the track and take a grassy path on the left (north) which soon runs alongside a hedge on the right-hand side. At the end, cross the D18CD (take care) and continue straight ahead.

No markings

(4) Immediately turn right, cross the car park and go to the Royère viewpoint (information boards). Retrace your steps.

Yellow and green markings

(4) Follow the D152 to the right towards Filain. Pass the Sainte-Berthe Chapel on the right-hand side (information board, possible stop). Continue along the steeply descending road.

No markings

(5) At a right-hand bend, ignore a path on the left and continue into the village of Filain. Just after the entrance sign, turn right towards the German Monument 1915. At the foot of the church, turn left and walk along the cemetery wall on your right.

(6) At the corner of the wall, take a grassy path on the right towards the German Monument. You will find the monument at the end of the church. Retrace your steps.

(6) Continue down the street on the right. At the fork, go left. At the town hall (information sign), turn left onto the D152 towards the Sainte-Berthe Chapel (Rue du Chemin des Dames).

Yellow and green markings

(5) Turn right onto a wide grassy path. Walk along the left-hand side of an embankment and then a wood, and descend. At a crossroads (elevation 100), continue straight ahead along the edge of the wood.

(7) When you reach a field fence, turn right and walk along the field on your left. Enter a wood, ignore a vague path on the left and stay on the main path. Then walk along a field on your left.

(8) Turn left with the path and walk between the fields bordered by hedges. At the bench, turn right and enter a wood. Ignore a vague path on the left and walk along a meadow on your left. After a marker post, turn right and take a narrow lane. At the stop sign, cross the road and continue straight ahead into Rue du Bloc. Ignore the^first street on the left and continue to a crossroads (Tree of Liberty planted in 1989 next to the church).

(9) Turn left and walk past the church on your right. After No. 16, continue along a wide gravel path. Ignore a path on the right and walk steadily uphill through the undergrowth.

(10) After two isolated houses (including a rural lodge), continue straight ahead on a grassy path between copses. At a fork (not shown on the map), take the more obvious path on the right. Pass under a power line and you will reach a cultivated plateau.

(11) Walk west between the fields. At a fork (not shown on the map), near the Bois de Vau, turn left (do not enter the woods). You will come to a small road. Cross it and head towards the Fort de la Malmaison car park opposite (information boards; no public access).

(12) Follow the road south (to the right when reading the signs). After about 100 metres, you will find the car park and the entrance to the German cemetery (open to visitors) on your right. Continue south on the road, using the right-hand shoulder (there is no left-hand shoulder).

(13) Cross the D18CD (stele) and continue straight ahead on a small winding road. Follow this road, which is flat at first and then descends steeply, alternating between fields, the edge of woods and through woods. Cross a stream and enter Aizy-Jouy. At the foot of Jouy church, go straight on into Rue Chavignon. After about 150 metres, turn left with the street.

(14) At the corner of a reservoir, turn right onto Rue Sainte-Blaise. Walk along a wall on your right, where the tarmac gives way to a path. At the end of a copse, at a fork, turn left and walk along a field on your right. Pass below the cemetery. At the end of the path, take the^first road on the left. Pass a pond on the left and you will soon reach the town hall on the right (S/E).

Hiking boots recommended.

Water point in the cemetery adjacent to Filain Church, between (5) and (6), next to the three British military graves (at the back on the left as you enter). You can stop for a break and a picnic at the foot of the Sainte-Berthe Chapel, after (4). Toilets at the entrance to the German cemetery at La Malmaison (12).

A detailed map is useful (at least the one accompanying this description).

Hike completed by the author on 13 October 2018.

- Saint-Médard Church in Aizy (S/E). Built in the 13th century, heavily damaged during the fighting in 1917 and restored in 1933.

- Royère viewpoint (4).

- Sainte-Berthe Chapel, between (4) and (5). Built in the 12th century, it was damaged during the battle of 1814 and restored in 1871. It was destroyed in 1917, rebuilt in 1927, and restored in 2016.

- Notre-Dame de Filain Church (6). Built in the 13th century, destroyed in 1917 and rebuilt in 1926-1928.

- German monument in tribute to fallen soldiers, located at the chevet of Filain Church (6). Erected in 1915, it was not destroyed after the war because it remained buried under the rubble of the church for a long time. It was restored in 2007. One of the two plaques on the monument pays tribute to "Friends and enemies united in death, who rest in peace in the protective bosom of the earth".

- Fort de la Malmaison (1882). Built in the aftermath of the 1870 war, it served in the 1880s and 1890s as a target for test firing for the development of artillery (!). Disarmed in 1912, it was occupied by the German army from September 1914. It was recaptured by the French army on 23 October 1917, which had to leave it six months later during the German offensive of May 1918. It was not until the end of September 1918 that the fort returned to the hands of the French army.
For security reasons, the fort is not open to the public. Visits are by appointment on the^fourth Sunday of the month, except in December and January; tel. 03 23 25 14 18.

- Malmaison German Cemetery, created in 1941. It contains the bodies of 11,850 German soldiers killed in France during the Second World War, mainly in the department of Aisne and neighbouring departments to the south. Open to visitors, dogs not allowed. At the entrance, it is stated that "The dead in this cemetery are an exhortation to peace".