In parts of the city, it was only possible to get about by making use of the communication trenches which ran along the side of the roads. One such trench ran the whole length of the Boulevard Jeanne-d’Arc (photo above), while others crossed the Town-Hall gardens (See p. [40]) and the streets near the Aisne.
Moreover, getting about was restricted to certain quarters of the city as, just beyond the centre, the defensive works (barricades, trenches, etc.) began.
These works are described in the second Itinerary (p. [52–64]) which takes the tourist from the centre of the town to the first line trenches of the 1915–1917 front (Vauxrot, Saint-Paul and Saint-Médard), via the Mail, Saint-Waast suburb, etc.
THE OLD FIRST FRENCH LINE.
The Distillery see p. 56.
SOISSONS
POPULATION · 14,458 inhabitants.
ALTITUDE 180 feet.