Aux Morts des Armees de Champagne

The monument which is officially called Aux Morts des Armées de Champagne, but usually referred to as the Ossuary of Navarin in English, was inaugurated in 1924. It commemorates the sacrifice of soldiers who fought in Champagne in the First World War.

It is situated in the county (département) of Marne, on the D977 between Sommepy-Tahure and Souain-Perthes-les-Hurlus near the former Navarin Farm. It is one of the National Necropoles.

In the aftermath of the First World War a multitude of associations set to work raising funds for memorials. The Ossuary was the brainchild of two French generals and the money raised by public subscription. During 1923 there was a massive national press and leaflet campaign to raise awareness of the project and to solicit donations. The first stone was laid in November 1923 and it was clear that the population had a need to create sites of remembrance. Later, the management and ownership of the 5 hectare site was taken over by a permanent association. 

Gradually it became an ossuary, as more and more remains of mostly unidentified soldiers without proper graves were collected. Today it contains the bones of more than 10 000 soldiers. In 1948 General Henri Gouraud who had commanded some of these men from the IVth Army was also interred there at his request on his death. In 1969 General André-Gaston Prételet, who had been the Chief of Staff of the IVth Army, joined them on his death.

To ensure the monument's future it was ceded to the State in 2019 and became a Necropole Nationale. The Association which was the former owner continues to exist and organises the annual memorial ceremony and opens the monument to the public.

The pink sandstone monument is in the shape of a pyramid surmounted by the figures of three charging soldiers, one of which is General Gouraud. The giant statue is by Maxime Real del Sarte, who used his fallen younger brother as the model for the other French soldier. The third soldier is an American, modelled on Quentin Roosevelt, son of President Theodore Roosevelt, who was a pilot killed in the War.

Inside is a list of the 102 French divisions, 4 American divisions, 2 Russian brigades, a Czechoslovakian brigade and a Polish regiment that made up the Armies of Champagne. There are a number of personal memorial plaques, including one to the four sons of the French President Paul Doumer who lost their lives.