Exhibition: “From One Battle (1914) to the Next (1918) – Aces and the Birth of Military Aviation”
From early April through November, the Memorial to the Battles of the Marne 1914–1918 in Dormans (51) is hosting an exhibition highlighting the flying knights of the Great War and their aircraft.
An event to relive the “War to End All Wars” from the air! Through the fall, the aces of World War I (and with them, the birth of military aviation) are in the spotlight at the Marne Battles Memorial in Dormans. Ideal for families and school groups, the exhibition features some thirty panels with texts and photos from the Air and Space Museum, as well as watercolors, all organized into two sections.
In the first part, discover the careers and aircraft of those who fought in World War I across numerous fronts (or in many skies): the French pilots Charles Nungesser, Georges Guynemer, and Roland Garros; the British pilots James Mac Cudden and William Bishop; the American Edward Rickenbacker; the Belgian Willy Coppens; the German Manfred von Richthofen (aka the Red Baron), etc.
The second section focuses on the pilots and aircraft that played a decisive role in the two Battles of the Marne. Among them were Louis Breguet, André Watteau, and Georges Bellenger during the First Battle of the Marne (in September 1914); Henri Forquet, Jacques Penigaud, Xavier Moissinac, and even the son of the former U.S. president, Quentin Roosevelt—the latter two having been killed near Dormans during the second Battle of the Marne in the summer of 1918.
In short, this is a unique, educational, and engaging exhibition that allows visitors to discover the heroism of these early “heroes of the skies” in uniform, while also appreciating the technological advances made during those four years of conflict.
Exhibition: “From One Battle (1914) to the Next (1918) – Aces and the Birth of Military Aviation.” Memorial to the Battles of the Marne 1914–1918, Château Park, Avenue des Victoires, 51700 Dormans. Through November 11, 2026.
