Adrien Henry at the Chemin des Dames in April 1917. Standard-bearer of the 161e RI, he receives the Légion d'Honneur in the trenches.
It was while returning towards the French lines that an attempt was made to present him with the Légion d'Honneur on that 16 April! The distinction, promised a few days earlier, could not be formally bestowed in the trenches due to German 77mm shelling. He is (apparently) the only subaltern infantry officer of the 1914-18 war to have received this decoration in the trenches.
He served as liaison officer between the brigade and the 161e RI. But on 16 April, the first day of the offensive, he volunteered to replace a comrade who was to serve as liaison with the 150e RI, and attacked alongside that regiment. Casualties were very heavy from the outset. He passed through the canal locks several times. In this photograph, the German lines are to the left.
One can imagine the pride Adrien Henry felt in carrying the colours of the 161e RI, though he would also have liked to command a company.
A moment of rest and review, behind the lines, at the locality of Vaux Varennes.