Origins
The area around Chaumont-Semoutiers Air Base has a long history of American military presence. During World War I the Haute-Marne département was one of the bloodiest areas of France with many battles fought on its soil. In 1917, the headquarters of the American Expeditionary Force was located in the city of Chaumont, Haute-Marne. A bronze tablet in the city commemorates the efforts of two million American soldiers under General John J. Pershing.
Starting in the mid-1930s, a grass airstrip was used near Chaumont by the French Air Force for training. After the fall of France, the Luftwaffe also used the facility as a training station. During the liberation of France, the American Third Army defeated a German counter-attack in the area on 13 September 1944.
After the war, the airstrip was left unused.
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