Early on in the war, the German troops began construction in two natural amphitheatres located in the section of the forest overlooking the village of Apremont (Ardennes), working to an extremely detailed plan. These vast natural depressions were to be the site of a rest camp for one battalion of the regiment defending this sector, and a base for some of the logistical services covering this stretch of the Western Front. Connected to the existing road network, rapidly joined by a narrow railway line, the camp stretches for almost one mile east to west and 1000 metres north to south. There was also a hospital and a cemetery here. The development was christened Borrieswalde Lager in reference to General von Borries, the Chief of the Defence Staff for the army which held this section early in the war.