July 8: Reims
Route: Mailly-Champagne -> Reims -> Prouilly (this is the second time I'm making this entry. On the finishing line the blog lost my draft and I needed to start all over again...) Part 1: battle around Reims Reims - the capital of kings and crowns. And the home for one stubborn, loyal homie. When war broke, Jean-Baptiste Langlet was already 75 years old. He began his second term as a mayor of Reims. And still, he was the "one man army" without actually going to the front. Throught the short German occupation (September 4 - September 12, 1914), Langlet kept his cold blood and dealt with everything what war brought (e.g. refugees, the wounded, food supply). It might be that he had a big impact on only a fraction (1 500) of the inhabitants (115 000 in 1914) leaving during the final German offensive in 1918. It was Langlet who, after the war, initiated first reconstruction projects. For all of his work, the city named one of the main arteries after him whil...