Eugenie was born in 1901 into a bourgeois family in the centre of Paris, she was cradled in a quiet childhood and lacked nothing, in order to preserve the honour of the family her father placed her in 1911 in an elitist military academy, where her grades were excellent, she was however mobilised in 1915 in the 18th platoon of the 358th regiment of the 12th infantry division. She stayed behind the front because of her social situation and only really fought in 1916 during the battle of Verdun when she was saved by Nicolas during a German attack. Nicolas' light-hearted temperament made her fall in love with him and they both fought until she was recalled to the rear of the front where they only saw each other a few days a month. She hopes to marry him at the end of the war, even though she has not yet had the courage to confess.