Fort de Condé - sur - Aisne The Fort de Condé , or Fort Pille , is a fortification of the Séré de Rivières system , built in France between 1877 and 1883 to defend the area between Soissons and Laon . It is located on the heights of the confluence of the Aisne and the Vesle near the communes of Condé - sur - Aisne and Chivres - Val . Although the fort was considered obsolete at the start of World War I , its command of strategic ground made it a coveted objective throughout the war , changing hands several times . Following the war it was used in support service before its abandonment and purchase by a local community . It has been under preservation since 1979 and may be visited . Military function . The Fort de Condé comprised part of the outermost defenses fortifications that denied access to Paris for an invading force , one of several similar forts in the vicinity of Laon . These forts were constructed in response to the French defeat in the Franco - Prussian War , in which France lost its eastern provinces to Germany , forcing France to build new and updated frontier fortifications . The Fort de Condé controlled the high ground along the Chemin des Dames , which linked Reims , Laon and Soissons , and could bombard the Aisne and Vesle valleys . The fort also provided support to the nearby Fort de la Malmaison . Description . The five - sided masonry fort was built by Dollot and Fortier at a cost of 1 , 850 , 000 francs - d ' or . The fort covered and could accommodate almost 650 men and 20 officers . An infirmary for 80 invalids was also provided , as well as stabling for 12 horses , powder and ammunition magazines , a forge , a workshop and two wells . The fort featured two Mougin casemates mounting 155mm guns , as well as an initial18 guns on the rampart and 8 guns in a separate battery . Two casemates in the main fort were planned to provide indirect fire . The fort is roughly pentagonal , and features two double caponier s and a single caponier . One of the double caponiers provides covering fire to the fort ' s entrance . History . In 1885 two companies of the French 67th Infantry Regiment ( 500 men ) occupied the fort . Unfortunately , technological progress in explosives had overtaken fortress design and construction , and the fort was obsolete , insufficiently resistant to high - explosive artillery shells . The fort became a simple casernement for military personnel . The fort was abandoned in 1912 as a result of its functional obsolescence . The fort ' s location close to the Chemin des Dames made the fort a coveted objective by both sides during the First World War . Captured without resistance by the Germans on 1 September 1914 , the fort was recaptured by French and British forces on 15 September after several attacks , but was re - taken by the Germans in a counter - attack . The site was used as a German hospital until it was returned to France without opposition in the Chemin des Dames offensive on 16 April 1917 . Generals Pershing and Franchet d ’ Espérey observed fighting along the Chemin des Dames from the post in October 1917 . The fort was recaptured by the Germans on 28 May 1918 during the May offensive , and recaptured by France on 7 August 1918 . It was finally decommissioned as a fortification in 1927 . The fort served as a center for the disassembly of explosive shells until it was purchased by the commune of Chivres - Val for use as a quarry in 1959 . An association to restore the fort was formed in 1979 , handing over custody of the fort in 2000 to the " Communauté de Communes du Val de l ’ Aisne " which has undertaken restoration work . The site is used for exhibitions , theater and " son et lumière " shows . Since 2001 the Fort de Condé has been recorded on the French " Inventaire Supplémentaire des Monuments Historiques " .