The Aisne, a French department, is a territory in its own right, with "borders" stretching from Belgium to the Ile de France and from Picardy to Champagne. In the context of the First World War, it was the last door before Paris. It was a key and strategic territory for both the Germans and the French. Mainly agricultural, before the war, the department was ranked second in the country for the production of sugar beet and sixth for the production of cereals. After the war, the destruction of almost all of the plots of land highlighted the need for a rapid and vital reconstruction of this territory, for food, economic and demographic reasons.