The Red Zone - itinerary

In northern France, the destroyed areas of the 1914-18 war were divided into 4 categories: (1) damage free areas, (2) areas with minor damage, (3) areas with significant damage, and (4) red zone: completely destroyed.

This route that sends you as much as possible on slow and rural roads takes you beyond the spots of the "Red Zone". These red zones extended west of Lille, via Arras, near Cambrais, Amiens, Compiègne, Soissons, Laon and Verdun.

In many places along this road you will find forests, as many areas of the Red Zone could not be restored and were forested. These became the forests of war, or the forests of war like those of the forest of Verdun and that of Vimy north of Arras.