Craonne

Craonne (French pronunciation: [kʁa(ɔ)n]) is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France, northwest of Reims.

It was the site of the Napoleonic Battle of Craonne in 1814.

The former town was totally destroyed by the French artillery during the Nivelle Offensive in World War I, inspiring the song La Chanson de Craonne.

The town that exists today was rebuilt from the 1920s.The river Ailette forms part of the commune's northern border.

This Laon arrondissement geographical article is a stub.

Craonne March 1917, watercolor of a German soldier