Chemin des Dames


Chemin des Dames

(shəmăN` dā däm) [Fr.,=ladies' road], road running along a crest between the Aisne and Ailette rivers, N France. Built during Roman times, the road was the site of the battle (57 B.C.) in which Julius Caesar defeated the Gauls. Chemin des Dames received its name in the 18th cent. when Louis XV's daughters traveled along the road to Bove Castle with their ladies-in-waiting. During World War I the Germans held the road.