The Calvary of Bois de Vignon is a World War I memorial dedicated to Lieutenant Joseph Charlet and to the soldiers of the 170th and 174th Infantry Regiments, standing east of Sommepy-Tahure in the Grand Est region of France. Erected in remembrance of the men of Epinal who fell during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, the monument reflects both personal loss and regimental sacrifice. Its design was conceived by Henri Chailleux, an architect who himself served in the 170th Infantry Regiment, while its construction was carried out by the Parisian contractor Charles Campazzi. Today, the memorial endures as a solemn tribute to the courage and suffering of the French troops who fought in the forests and fields surrounding Bois de Vignon.

Ordeal of the Bois de Vignon

During the Meuse-Argonne Offensive on 26 September 1918, Lieutenant Joseph Charlet and his section of the 170th Infantry Regiment push deep into German lines to seize a strategic stone Calvary. Cut off from their regiment, the Swallows of Death transformed the Calvaire du Bois de Vignon into a defensive bastion, refusing to retreat despite being surrounded and subjected to overwhelming artillery fire. The monument was eventually pulverized by direct hits, and Charlet was killed alongside nearly all his men in the rubble; their sacrifice became a legendary symbol of French tenacity, leading to the site's 1922 classification as a Monument Historique to preserve the memory of their final stand. The site of the Calvaire du Bois de Vignon is about 200 meters north of the current monument. - AsNotedIn