_Return by the Rue de l’Eglise to I.C. 4, which take to the right down the hill. Half-way down, at the fork, take I.C. 4, on the right, to_ =Cierges= (_4 km. 500 from Montfaucon_). From 1914 to 1918 the Germans had an aviation camp at Cierges. The camp and station were frequently bombed by the Allied aviators. In September, 1918, during the first days of the American offensive, fires broke out in the village, to which the Germans held on stubbornly. On the 28th, they launched several counter-attacks, but at the beginning of October were forced to abandon the village. On October 4, the capture of Gesnes (through which the tourist passes on his way to Exermont) finally cleared Cierges. _On reaching the Rue de l’Eglise, turn along the first road on the left, which, 1 km. 300 beyond Cierges, runs into G.C. 2 bis._ _Turn to the right and follow G.C. 2 bis for 1 km., then take the Chemin Vicinal (local road) on the left--German dug-outs, 200 yards away on the left--which leads to the interesting village of_ =Gesnes=, lying in a little valley. Many of the houses were destroyed. _The road passes in front of the church, then turns to the left, skirts_ a German cemetery, _then goes straight to_ =Exermont= (_8 km. 800 from Cierges_). Numbers of German dug-outs, sometimes forming veritable villages, are met with on the way. [Illustration: CIERGES. RUINED CHURCH AND HOUSES IN RUE DE L’EGLISE] The folklore of the district, like that of many villages in the Argonne and the Ardennes, is rich in stories of fairies, demons and witches. Near the well called Fontaine-St. Germain, about a kilometre north of the village, is a place called “Ronde-de-Danses,” where the grass never grows. Here, the fairies of the “Château d’Ariétal,” near the spring of the same name, used to meet and dance all night. [Illustration: GERMAN SHELTER AT FERME-AUX-BOIS, NEAR CIERGES. AFTERWARDS POST OF COMMANDMENT OF THE 315TH AND 318TH R.A.C., 2ND AMERICAN ARMY] Exermont was retaken by the Americans on September 28 1918. [Illustration: GESNES VILLAGE AND CHURCH, _seen coming from Cierges_] _Beyond the church turn to the left and at the fork_, 300 _yards after the last houses, take the left-hand road (I.C. 4). After crossing the river and over Hill 183, the road cuts N. 46. passes over the river Aire, then the railway (l.c.), and after joining the Apremont road, enters_ =Châtel-Chéhéry= (_4 km. 300 from Exermont_). This village, which suffered little (_photo, p._ 84), was abandoned by the Germans without much resistance, on October 7, 1918. in the face of the advance by the Americans, who had, however, encountered great difficulty in capturing the outskirts. Gérard de Melcy, one of the heroes of the siege of Sebastopol, was buried in the cemetery which surrounds the church. [Illustration: EXERMONT. GERMAN PRISONERS] During the Franco-American offensive of September, 1918, the Americans found among the papers of the German Town-Major the following document.