Audio tour Soissons 1918 : reconstruction after the war

Soissons found itself on the frontline during World War 1. The Germans had set up camp in hills to the north on the other side of the Aisne river, and bombarded the town over the course of four years.

The town's population was more than fourteen thousand citizens before the war. Of these fourteen thousand, only two were present in June of 1918 when the Germans attacked. Many fled or were evacuated in December of 1914.

 At the end of the war, more than thirty thousand shells and bombs had fallen on Soissons. Out of three thousand homes, over two thousand were destroyed or uninhabitable.

 The reconstruction would require a lot of time and energy, spanning twenty years and finishing in 1937, just before the second World War.

© The photographic resources found at the Service Patrimoine and the museum of the city of Soissons.

Thanks to Jena for her help for translation.