France 4K - Rethondes to Dragon's Cave - Full Driving Journey

A Complete Journey from the Glade of the Armistice to the Dragon's Cave
The Glade of the Armistice (French: Clairière de l'Armistice) is a French war memorial in the Forest of Compiègne in Picardy, France, near the city of Compiègne approximately 60 kilometres (37 mi) north of Paris. It was built at the location where the Germans signed the Armistice of 11 November 1918 that ended World War I. During World War II, Adolf Hitler chose the same spot for the French and Germans to sign the Armistice of 22 June 1940 after Germany won the Battle of France. The site was destroyed by the Germans but rebuilt after the war.
Today, the Glade of the Armistice contains a statue of World War I French military leader and Allied supreme commander Marshal Ferdinand Foch, and the reconstructed Alsace-Lorraine memorial, depicting a German Eagle impaled by a sword.
The Route nationale 31 is a motorway in northern France. It connects the town of Rouen to Reims, it is also the European Route 46.
The road starts in the City of Rouen, the road starts heading east. The road heads through the Forêt de Lyons passing the Hêtre de la Bunodière. The road then passes the town of Gournay-en-Bray. The road crosses the Pays de Bray then by-pass the town of Beauvais. The old N 31 (now D 931) skirts the Forêt du Parc Saint-Quentin before entering Beauvais. In the town it crosses the N 1 (now numbered the D 1001). To the east of the town is a junction (15) with the A16 autoroute.
To the east of Beauvais the N 31 has been upgraded to a dual-carriageway. The original route is now numbered the D 931. At Clermont the road has a junction with the N 16 (now numbered the D 1016 and D 916). After Catenay, the N 31 is single carriageway again. After 15 km the road crosses the N 17 (now numbered the D 1017) and then has a junction (10) with the A1 autoroute. the road then enters the town of Compiègne. The road leaves the town to the north east through the Forêt de Compiègne along the banks of the river Aisne. At Soissons the road crosses the N 2.
The Route nationale 2 (N 2) is a route nationale in northern France.
The N 2 was initially defined in 1811 as route impériale 2, running from Paris all the way to Amsterdam via Brussels, Antwerp, Breda and Utrecht. The territory north of the present border with Belgium was removed from France in the 1815 Congress of Vienna, and thus route 2 was truncated to that line. In 1824 it was renamed route royale 2, and in 1830 it became route nationale 2.
The Chemin des Dames (literally, the "ladies' path") is part of the route départementale (local road) D18 and runs east and west in the Aisne department, between in the west, the Route Nationale 2 (Laon to Soissons), and in the east, the D1044 at Corbeny. It is some 30 kilometres (19 mi) long and runs along a ridge between the valleys of the rivers Aisne and Ailette.
It acquired the name in the 18th century, as it was the route taken by the two daughters of Louis XV, Adélaïde and Victoire, who were known as Ladies of France. At the time, it was scarcely a carriage road, but it was the most direct route between Paris and the Château de Boves, near Vauclair, on the far side of the Ailette. The château belonged to Françoise de Châlus, former mistress of Louis XV, Countess of Narbonne-Lara and former lady of honour to Adélaïde, whom the two ladies visited frequently. To make the way easier, the count had the road surfaced, and it gained its new name. The ridge's strategic importance first became evident in 1814 when Napoleon's young recruits defeated an army of Prussians and Russians at the Battle of Craonne.
The Dragon's Cave, known as La Caverne du Dragon in French and Drachenhöhle in German, is a captivating destination in the Aisne department of France. This unique geological formation, adorned with stalactites and stalagmites, offers a glimpse into the Earth's ancient craftsmanship.
During World War I, the Dragon's Cave served as a refuge along the strategic Chemin des Dames ridge. The cave's walls bear witness to the challenges faced by soldiers, providing a silent testimony to the resilience of the human spirit amidst the turmoil of war.