Islamic Headstones in Cerny-en-Laonnois Cemetery, France for Douro Koudiougou, killed April 17, 1917, and Sarkou Modey, with no known date of death. © 2014 by John M. Shea
Sarkou ModeyMort pour la FranceDouro Koudiougou69e BTS.Mort pour la France le 17.04.1917
"Georges Gaudy (57th Infantry) and his comrades were at the front near Vassonge on 17 April when they began to realize that things were going wrong:'We were shaken awake. Every man stood up and rubbed his eyes. It was raining now and the snow had melted. We heard whispers that the regiment was returning to the rear . . . The battalion marched in silence down unfamiliar tracks . . . passed by troops going up to the line. Why were they going up when we were coming down? . . . That's when our misery overwhelmed us. We didn't speak for fear of bursting into tears. We no longer thought for fear of understanding what was going on. Somewhere within our ranks a voice groaned, 'It's never going to end, never!''"
French Commander Robert Nivelle launched the Second Battle of the Aisne on April 16, 1917 after several days of delay, due to poor weather including snow. The attack against the heights of Chemin des Dames was the French component of his spring offensive, the British being the Battle of Arras begun April 9. After a successful first day, the British stalled. Attacking uphill, in rain and snow, against well-entrenched troops, in the confusion Georges Gaudy describes, the French, whose morale was reported to be high, saw little but failure.
They Shall Not Pass: The French Army on the Western Front 1914-1918 by Ian Sumner, pp. 153–154, copyright © Ian Sumner 2012, publisher: Pen and Sword, publication date: 2012
1917-04-17, April, 1917, Nivelle Offensive, Second Battle of the Aisne
