World War I Museum in Meaux

Andrew and Kelly left Thursday morning from Gare de l'Est for the town of Meaux.  Meaux is known for its brie cheese (Brie de Meaux) but that wasn't the reason for their trip.  They were headed to the new World War I Museum on the outskirts of Meaux.  The museum has over 50,000 objects and documents that were all collected by one man beginning in the 1960s.  The two Battles of the Marne were fought in the countryside around Meaux.  The area is full of World War I cemeteries.
Andrew found a little Renault tank in the musuem.  He and his friend Jackson put together models of this tank when they were kids.  It was one of the first tanks built and used near the end of World War I.

Andrew and Renault Tank

The museum shows how rapidly life and conditions changed between the first Battle of the Marne in 1914, which was fought more like the Franco-Prussian war of 1870, and the second Battle of the Marne four years later, when technical advances had changed warfare out of all recognition.  It was the end of the old order and the beginning of the world as we know it today.  There were French and German trenches built in the museum that even had the smells of the war.  Kelly and Andrew also walked in barracks and looked at trenches down below.

Andrew in the Trenches

Machine Gun in the Trenches

The museum is in front of the American monument Liberty in Distress, erected in memory of the soldiers who fell at the two battles of the Marne. It was presented to France by the United States in 1932.

Liberty in Distress

Kelly and Andrew said they would love to go back and do more exploring.  It is only a 25 minute train ride and then a little bus ride from Paris.  Another great adventure for the guys in France.