Record Wreck

Wildly cheered by the patriotic populace of Modane near the Franco-Italian frontier, 1,200 French soldiers climbed aboard a troop train. Half an hour later 535 were dead and 243 injured in "the worst train wreck in history.'' This grim fact which has been a military secret since it occurred in 1917, was released by the French Government last week. The release came apropos of an investigation into the recent wreck at Lagny in which 200 people died (TIME, Jan. 1) after which the President of the Republic asked mourning Frenchmen not to light the candles on their municipal Christmas trees.

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