Varenne Road –
Pioneer Cemetery and Walhalla Signaling Station

Due to current events (December 2025):

Due to Scolytinae infestation (bark beetles) and the drought of recent years, a large part of the coniferous forest planted from the 1960s onwards in the southern area of the Bois de la Gruerie has died off and has since been completely removed. Reforestation with tree species better adapted to current climatic conditions was planned. Unfortunately, this did not happen. A wild, impenetrable wasteland has emerged in the former combat area. The photos included in the article show the still intact condition of the forest up to 2018. They are retained for documentation purposes and will be supplemented with current photos where appropriate.

General

The “Varenne Road” (D 67 and D 38 respectively) was, alongside today’s D 4 between Chatel-Chéhéry and Autry, one of only two paved east-west cross-connections over the main Argonne ridge. It therefore had high military-strategic significance for both French and Germans.

After the German 4th and 5th Armies, as a result of the Battle of the Marne, had begun their retreat into the northern part of the Argonne Forest as well, the main Argonne ridge initially remained unoccupied. The two cross-connections through the Argonne Forest, today’s D 66 and D 442 between Apremont and Binarville as well as the former Varenne Road, today’s D 38, were secured only in a stronghold-like manner by individual units of Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiments 26 (26th Landwehr Infantry Regiment). It was not expected that the French would penetrate the impenetrable forest area themselves and use it for military operations. They did so nonetheless. Due to misunderstood orders, Varenne Road was lost as early as September 1914 and became the scene of bitter fighting, especially in early October 1914 around the position of the “Barricade Pavilion”.

Today, at first glance, hardly anything reminds us of these hard struggles at the beginning of the fighting in the Argonne Forest. However, if you look closer, you will already find many remnants in the immediate vicinity of the former Varenne Road, such as trenches, galleries, and two other interesting positions that are described in more detail below. These are the former cemetery of the 1. Feld-Kompanie des 2. Lothringischen (Festungs-) Pionier-Bataillons 20 (1st Field Company of the 2nd Lotharingian (Fortress) Pioneer Battalion 20), and on the other hand, the remains of the “Walhalla” signaling post.

Today, apart from parts of the wall and some grave covers, the two pillars of the entrance portal still exist from the cemetery. Until autumn 2014, these pillars still held the original double-leaf metal gate. The gate was stolen by metal thieves, much like much else on the Western Front in recent years. During the forcible removal of the gate leaves, the two pillars were heavily damaged. Without restoration, they will not stand in their original form on site for much longer.

Some contemporary military maps document the corresponding cemetery and monument location. Unfortunately, remains of this second cemetery can no longer be found in the terrain today.

Current (As of May 2021)

Current (As of September 2021)

Optical Signaling Station Walhalla

In connection with the shift away from mine warfare implemented in early February 1918, as well as the relocation and defense in depth into several rear position areas, the communications system in the central Argonne sector also had to be completely reorganized on the German side. Since mobile radio communications were still in their infancy and could not meet the demand for information exchange between individual command posts and units, reliance continued to be placed on proven means of communication, essentially cable-based telegraph and telephone connections. Since these were very vulnerable to damage from artillery fire, they had to be supplemented in front-line areas by other transmission techniques. Alongside the traditional dispatch runner and the messenger dog, optical telegraphy was used primarily.

The best-known signal station in the Argonne sector is certainly the “Walhalla” central signal station. It is located about 150 meters north of the Varenne road (today’s D 38) and just east of the remains of the pioneer cemetery directly bordering the road.

Various myths surround the facility, probably due to its heroic name and the unusual appearance of the still visible remains. The most persistent rumor is that the Walhalla signal station was started in construction but never completed. This widespread assumption is based not only on the unverified adoption of outside information, but also on the fact that the metal reinforcement protrudes from the above-ground remains of the facility. From this it is concluded that further structural components, in particular the loophole and ceiling areas of the bunker, were yet to be poured with concrete.

Whether the above-ground parts of the installation were completely finished in concrete in accordance with the outlined plans cannot be stated with certainty based on the sources accessible to date. While the above photograph suggests this, the remains still visible on site today make it at least questionable. In the immediate vicinity, there are also no larger chunks of concrete that would suggest demolition or other massive destruction.

Current (as of September 2021)

In the vicinity of the Walhalla signaling post, the Römer-Graben is part of the II. Argonnen-Linie, which can still be followed over long distances both to the east and to the west.