The armistice that put an end to WWI was signed in a thick forest 6.5km east of Compiègne, inside the railway carriage of the Allied supreme commander. On 22 June 1940, in the same railway car, the French were forced to sign the armistice that recognised Nazi Germany's domination of France. These momentous events are commemorated with monuments, memorabilia, newspaper clippings and 800 stereoscopic (3D) photos.
Taken to Berlin for exhibition, the railway carriage used in 1918 and 1940 was destroyed in April 1945 on Hitler's personal orders, lest it be used for a third surrender – his own. The wooden rail wagon now on display is of the same type as the original, though some of the interior furnishings, hidden during WWII, were the ones actually used in 1918.
From Compiègne, take the road towards Soissons.