Also known as the Colonne des Britanniques, this monument was erected not far from the former Cerny-en-Laonnois sugar refinery (“such a trying place for the combatants”, according to Nicolas Offenstadt), where the first battle of the Chemin des Dames took place in 1914.Blocked there in September, British soldiers had to dig trenches, and bitter fighting ensued until early 1915, when this sector fell to the Germans. Many British soldiers are now buried in the Vendresse-Beaulne cemetery, built below, in the direction of Bourg-et-Comin…