The Balcon Trench

This infamous trench on the Chemin des Dames is now maintained so that you can walk along it, following the course of the departmental road from its eastern end (known as the Jutland salient) to its western end near the statue of Napoleon (known as the Vauclerc turret).

And it certainly lives up to its name: as the highest point in the area, it provided the German troops with a natural fortress from which they could control the plateau and strafe anyone attempting to climb the slopes.

From 16 April 1917 onwards, casualties were therefore very heavy for the 201st Infantry Regiment, which stormed the hill; note that you can still see the tunnel entrances leading out from there, connecting all these trench systems.