[Illustration: ALL THAT IS LEFT OF CHATTANCOURT. IN THE BACKGROUND: MORT-HOMME] _On leaving the village, G.C. 38 turns to the left and climbs the side of_ =Hill 275=, _from the top of which there is_ a fine view of Mort-Homme Hill and Hill 304; _a little to the left_, Montzéville village, situated in a hollow, and, behind, the Valley of the Meuse, Poivre Hill, Talou Hill and Samogneux, are also visible. [Illustration: ESNES CHURCH, HILL 304 (LEFT) and G.C. 38 (BEHIND THE CHURCH)] _The road next descends; at the sides are_ numerous military works and French graves. _2 km. 200 beyond Chattancourt there is a crossroad: the Montzéville road lies ahead, while G.C. 38, turning to the right, climbs a crest from which there is_ a view of Esnes and Hill 304. =Esnes= (_4 km. 200 from Chattancourt_), partly ruined, _is reached_: Panorama of Hill 304 (_photo, pp._ 34-35). [Illustration: WAYSIDE CROSS OF ESNES ON HILL 304. AVOCOURT ROAD (LEFT) AND MALANCOURT ROAD (RIGHT)] _G.C. 38 passes in front of the church (photo, p. 35) and then rises towards_ Hill 304. _1 km. from Esnes, near a wayside cross_ (photo above), _is a fork_; _take the road on the right (G.C. 18) to the top of_ =Hill 304.= _On the right there is a fine view of_ the Valley of the Meuse. _The road crosses the old front lines, then zigzags down to_ =Malancourt= (_5 km. from Esnes_). _At the entrance to the village, on the right of the road, is a_ concrete blockhouse (_photo below_). [Illustration: GERMAN BLOCKHOUSE, WITH MACHINE-GUNS, AT ENTRANCE TO MALANCOURT] =Malancourt= was completely devastated. _Pass in front of the ruins_ of the church, quite near to which there is another blockhouse. _Keep along_ [Illustration: CUISY-SUR-MEUSE. AMERICAN SOLDIERS IN FRONT OF RUINED CHURCH _The road on the left leads to Gercourt; that on the right to Béthincourt._] _G.C. 18, leaving on the left, in the village, the Avocourt road._. _Climb_ Hill 251, _from the top of which_ Montfaucon Ridge _is seen_. _3 km. 400 beyond Malancourt (and 1 km. before Montfaucon) the road joins G.C. 19, which take to the right in the direction of Consenvoye._ _One kilometer further on, at the fork, keep along G.C. 19, which turns to the left (the Cuisy road, straight ahead, is impassable). On the right, in a tiny valley, is seen the village of_ =Cuisy=, completely ruined. _1 km. 200 further on, to the right, there is a road leading to Cuisy. G.C. 19, after rejoining the Septsarges road, reaches_ =Gercourt=, _5 km. beyond Cuisy_. Several concrete German defence-works are to be seen in Gercourt, while the ruins of the houses and church present a terrible scene of desolation (_photo below_). Opposite the church stands a house lined with concrete, in which the Germans had installed a telephone exchange. Cuisy and Gercourt were within the German front lines from 1914, and were only retaken in 1918 during the American offensive of September 26. [Illustration: RUINS OF GERCOURT CHURCH