Meuse Argonne Battlefield Tours

Maarten Otte is a long term resident of the area and is a battlefield guide, amateur historian and author of ten titles on the American Expeditionary Forces in the Great War, published by Pen & Sword Books in the UK. Specialising in the AEF, since 2011 Meuse-Argonne Battlefield Tours organized morning tours, day tours and personalised ‘in the footsteps’ tours for hundreds of satisfied customers.

With Maarten as your battlefield guide, Meuse-Argonne Battlefield Tours offers a wide range of touring options. Using his intimate knowledge of the battlefield and of the sources, Maarten can explain the events that took place in the battlefield areas of the Meuse-Argonne, St. Mihiel, Verdun and the 1870 campaign of Sedan. He will show you well known sites, trenches, bunkers and memorials that are still visible as well as many others that are far less visited, a hundred years and more after those events took place.

The fee for a 2.5 hours long morning tour of, for example, Nantillois or Montfaucon, is €25 per person.

During a day tour you can not only visit the highlights of a particular battlefield, but also lesser-known sites. Anything is possible, including following the footsteps of individual soldiers. We are happy to put together a day tour in consultation with the client. The fee for an ordinary day tour starts from €250. Different rates apply for large groups and coaches/buses and may depend on the amount of research/preparation that might have to be done. Entrance fees for museums are not included in the price of the tours.

What to expect?

For each area only the main points of interest are indicated; each tour can be adapted to your requirements. All tours commence at our museum 14-18 Meuse-Argonne in Montfaucon d'Argonne.

Verdun:

This would include Ouvrage de la Falouse, the destroyed village of Fleury, the Ossuary, Fort Douaumont and the Trench of Bayonets.

The Meuse-Argonne:

The Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery, the Montfaucon American Monument, the Butte de Vauquois, Patton in the Argonne, Sgt. York’s Medal of Honor action and the Lost Battalion.

St. Mihiel:

Montsec American Memorial, Thiaucourt American Cemetery, remaining trench systems, German camps and bunkers.

Champagne:

Suippes, the Main de Massiges trench system, Semide, the Lange Max gun site, Blanc Mont, Ferme de Navarin and the crash site of Roland Garos.

Sedan 1870:

Sedan, La Dernière Cartouche museum, the Franco-German Ossuary, Floing (‘the last cavalry charge’) and various monuments.

A combination of tours is also possible: for example, a tour of Verdun in the morning could be combined with one of the Meuse-Argonne in the afternoon.

Reviews

Great & helpful guide.

The only thing better than his guide books is to go on tour with Maarten (which I have done and which I heartedly recommend!). I doubt there is a better guide to the WWI battles and geography of this area.

The man to go to.

The absolute highlight of our visit to France was a visit to the M-A battlefield. If you are looking for a clear understanding of the battlefield, Maarten is the man to go to. An absolute expert on the AEF and author of several books.

Once-in-a-lifetime experience.

On October 25, 1918, 105 years ago today, Harry Johnson and his companions boarded a train at Le Mans. Two days later, they arrived at Aubreville and began their work supporting the offensive. The countryside is now so exquisitely beautiful that it is hard to imagine the muddy hellscape of 1918. But, visting Aubreville, Avocourt, Malancourt, Cuisy, Montfaucon, and all of the other places where Harry Johnson served, gave us a real sense of place and was very moving. He died before Bonnie was born, but visiting the places he described in his journal made both of us feel much closer to him. Bonnie and I are so grateful for a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Our visit to Montfaucon, our stay at 14-18, and Maarten’s remarkable tour retracing the travels of Harry Johnson were magical and will stay with us for the rest of our lives.

Highlight of our stay.

The highlight of our stay was Maarten’s tour of the World War I battlefield. Our grandfather served in WWI in the area. Maarten organized a custom tour that took us to places where our grandfather likely fought. Maarten’s knowledge and passion for the history of the region made the tour more impactful and moving. Walking the same grounds where our grandfather had once fought was an emotional and unforgettable experience. Maarten also provided information of the area not often found in history books. The blend of history, personal connection and the warm welcoming atmosphere of the B&B made our trip truly special. We highly recommend Maarten & Didi’s B&B to anyone who wants to explore the area while enjoying top-notch hospitality and comfort. We can’t wait to return with other members of our family.

More than I could have possibly hoped for.

Maarten's knowledge of WWI history is astounding. I'm so pleased I could purchase one of his books. Their museum and tour was more than I could have possibly hoped for. This is the place to visit for anyone interested in the battles that ended WWI.

An astonishing proximity to history.

On a multi-country, multi-week tour of Europe this fall our stay at 14-18 Montfaucon remains a highlight of our journey. We enjoyed Didi and Maarten’s hospitality, their expert knowledge, their friendliness, and the comfort of their historic inn. We were very pleased with Didi’s delicious and pleasing preparations for breakfast and our optional dinners were always happy occasions, well prepared, generous, and comforting without being bland or predictable. We chose 14-18 for its central location in the area, particularly to the key American Great War sites, and it did not disappoint. Maarten’s friendly and knowledgeable expertise was a terrific addition to this central location, making it all the more precious. To have our feet on this hallowed ground combined with Maarten’s guidance and his appreciation of our own interests was a bonus of inestimable value. In short, if you value a stay at a spot that’s unpretentious and comfortable, with excellent dining, an astonishing proximity to history, with the proprietors feeling more like colleagues than owners, then we believe you will certainly enjoy a stay with Didi and Maarten at 14-18 Montfaucon. Don’t miss the excellently curated museum in this historic inns old ballroom.

A great opportunity to relive a part of our family history.

We were retracing my wife’s grandfather’s WWI diary. This property served as a perfect base. The owner Maarten Otte is the author of several WWI guidebooks and served as our guide during our three day visit.

Donation to the museum of Clarence Carvolth’s uniform and personal belongings.

Dear Maarten,

Thank you for the safe keeping of my father’s World War I paraphernalia. He would be so grateful for your efforts to keep that war documented in such a meaningful way. I am happy to pass the items and memories I have of him to you for safe keeping. I can’t think of a better way to preserve them. It was wonderful Karen contacted you a few years ago and look how far that meeting has come! The memories I have of that day [the tour] are still very vivid and again thank you for them. Clarence Carvolth’s legacy lives on and we are thrilled that these memories of his contribution to WWI can be seen by you today.

My brother and I were truly moved.

The personalized tour you provided, Maarten, was SO very meaningful to my brother and I – tracing the path followed by our grandfather (a farm boy turned steel worker from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, recruited as a simple private infantryman into the 146th regiment of the 37th Division in April 1918), as his regiment was brought into action on Sept 27, 1918. You guided us from location to location, providing pertinent information regarding the AEF offensive, with specifics regarding movement of the 37th Division – information that you looked up ahead of time in order to prepare for our visit. While the area is currently comprised of well tended farm fields interspersed with lush woodlots, as per your description, the reality in those days in late September 1918 were of large expanses of muddy cratered quagmires due to the near constant cold rain and continual artillery shelling, and of wood lots that were reduced to stumps and splinters. My brother and I were truly moved trying to imagine the misery the soldiers (and in particular Grandpa) endured and the courage it took to keep moving forward.