WWI Vet - Follow-up - Louis De Cazenave

The BBC has followed-up on the original reporting of the death of Louis De Cazenave, who was until this past weekend one of the two surviving French WWI Veterans. The follow-up gives a bit more of a biography to Messr. De Cazenave. It sounds like he experienced first-hand some of the worst that "The World War" had to offer.

In April 1917, assigned to the Fifth Senegalese Rifles, he fought in one of the most disastrous French actions of the war, at the Chemin des Dames, during the Second Battle of the Aisne.

...

Forewarned, the Germans dug in so well that the creeping artillery barrage ahead of the French advance did little to dislodge them.

Across the battlefront the French lost 40,000 men on the first day.

Some reports say the advancing French bleated in mocking acknowledgement that they were lambs to the slaughter.

The article, though brief, is well worth reading.

Au revoir, Monsieur.

(Messr. De Cazenave's English Wikipedia page here. Original exitramp discussion here. Or just scroll down an inch or so.)