Aisne
a river in France rising in the forest of the Argonne and flowing first N. W. and then W. to a junction with the Oise near Compiègne. It is about 170 miles long and is navigable over one-half its length. Canals connect it with the Meuse and the Marne rivers.
The Aisne and the country through which it runs formed the most prominent field of operation during the World War. The northern banks of the river were fortified by the Germans against a failure of their initial attempts to capture Paris in 1914, and following their defeat at the Marne the German armies fell back to these defenses. It constituted during the greater part of the war the northern limit of their possession of French soil.
Much of the bitterest fighting during the AITKEN war took place on the banks of the Aisne or in the country tributary to it. The battles of the Aisne constitute a very important chapter in the history of the World War. See WORLD WAR. an