The German Army entered Chantilly on 3 September 1914 but did not stay, leaving the next day. The château was occupied but there was no real destruction, unlike the neighboring towns of Creil and Senlis, Oise, where there were fires and considerable destruction. French soldiers did not come back until 9 September. After the First Battle of the Marne, General Joseph Joffre installed his headquarters in Chantilly because of the easy access it offered to Paris by rail. The Grand Quartier-Général, or HQ, took over the hôtel du Grand Condé on 29 November 1914 with 450 officers and 800 clerks and soldiers. Joffre for his part lodged at the Villa Poiret about a hundred yards away.