The Battle of the Marne during World War I erupted from September 5 to 12, 1914, as French soldiers searched for and gazed upon the bodies of German soldiers lying at the bottom of small defensive trenches.

 　The Battle of the Marne during World War I erupted from September 5 to 12, 1914. In the Soie-aux-Bois region of France's Marne department, two French soldiers discovered the body of a German soldier lying at the bottom of a small defensive trench.

　This photograph, along with the discovery of a German soldier's remains during the 2013 investigation at Betigny, led to the excavation by INRAP at Betigny-sur-Marne of a series of small holes arranged in two parallel rows stretching approximately 60 meters. These graves contained the remains of several German soldiers who had died around September 17 or 18, 1914, early in the war. Initially separate holes were later joined together, forming a small trench several meters long, about 70 cm deep, and approximately 50 cm wide. Two shells destroyed the trench, exploding and scattering the remains of at least seven German soldiers. The impact of the explosion was suggested by the twisted, unnatural positions of the bodies.

　Artifacts indicate the German combat unit at Vettigny belonged to the 73rd Fusilier Regiment, which deployed numerous soldiers early in the hostilities. Reinforcements comprised units with non-modern equipment. The excavation occurred during the final days of mobile warfare before trench warfare began.

　 Over two million soldiers participated in the First Battle of the Marne. French and German casualties were estimated at approximately 250,000 each, with French dead at 80,000 and German dead at around 67,000. British forces suffered 13,000 casualties, including 1,700 killed. For France, the decisive battle of the “Miracle of the Marne” occurred along the front stretching eastward from Paris along the Marne River. The German war plan had reached an impasse. Far from securing a decisive Allied victory, it left a trail of casualties and trench warfare scars across the Western Front for the next four years.