The Somme tourist board

The modern part of the museum has been inserted into a very imposing fortification which, like the rest of the town, was damaged during the fighting. Here can be found the military or personal reminders of soldiers of the main combatant nations, the possessions of those wretched men who, like the writer Louis-Ferdinand Céline, "enriched the land". Here you can discover the daily life of the British, German and French civilians who where quickly drawn into the first "Total War". The Museum of the Great War illustrates the immense efforts of industralization, propaganda and social effect.

© CDTS - JLabesse

The Museum of the Great War runs 56 period films, from the visit of Poincaré to Russia in July 1914 to the return of German troops who paraded through the Brandenburg gate in 1918 to the wild acclaim of the crowds. The Museum's collections are outstanding : posters, pictures, objects from civilian and military daily life, carefully selected to offer the visitors a precise and faithful understanding of the war, at the front and behind the lines.

From the moment when it was occupied by the Germans in August 1914, Péronne became a crowded centre of military activity and logistical support, particularly during the Battle of the Somme. Despite 8 months of heavy French artillery bombardment it was held by the Germans until their withdrawal to the Hindenbourg Line in March 1917.
Occupied once again in the final German advance, in March 1918, the town was finally recaptured by the 2nd Australian Division on 2 September 1918.
In November 1916, in the ocean of mud created by weeks of torrential rain, the French offensive died out at the foot of the fortified hill of Mont-Saint-Quentin.This imposing mass, which is visible from the Bouchavesnes road, was finally and bloodily taken by the Australians on 31 August 1918.