III The Pass of Revigny Châlons — Vitry — Bar-le-Duc
Châlons
Origin and Chief Historical Facts
Châlons is of very ancient origin and was in the third century the capital of the “Catalauni.” In that part of the Plain of Champagne which surrounds it, known as “the Catalaunian Fields,” numerous invasions were brought to nothing. The invasion of 1914 recalled the epoch of Attila’s Huns, who were beaten here in 451 by the Roman General Actius; Merovic, King of the Franks; and Theodoric, King of the Visigoths. It is between Châlons and Troyes, rather nearer the latter town, that the most eminent authorities assume this great victory over barbarism to have taken place.
Up to the eighteenth century the bishopric of Châlons was one of the most important in France.
Châlons in 1914
The town, which had been evacuated by three-quarters of its inhabitants, received a few shells on September 4. Some of the stained glass windows of the cathedral were smashed; a part of the roof of the Hôtel-Dieu was broken in, and the children’s ward, which was fortunately empty, received a 4·2 shell.
Saxon troops entered the town at 4 p.m., and the Mayor, M. Bernard, having left, M. Servas—his deputy—took over the direction of municipal affairs. The bishop, Mgr. Tissier, and the Abbé Laisnez, his chaplain, were equally heroic during these tragic times. A contribution of £1,200,000 was demanded for the Department of the Marne by the Germans. Mgr. Tissier was able to persuade them to lower it to £20,000 for Châlons.
From September 7 to 11, great numbers of German wounded came in, and were treated in the military hospital, the Hôtel-Dieu, the town-hall, and, when these overflowed, in the barracks, the college, and even in private houses. On September 11 the Saxon troops left the town hurriedly, and on the 12th the French re-took possession.
Visit to the Town
(See map opposite)
Of great interest: the Cathedral (pp. 199-202); Notre-Dame (pp. 203-205); Notre-Dame-de-l’Épine (pp. 210-212).
Of interest: Saint Alpin (pp. 206-207); to archæologists: Saint-Jean (p. 207); pretty walk: the Jard (p. 208).
Cathedral of Saint-Stephen
(historical monument)
(See map opposite)
The Cathedral has had a very eventful history. It dates from the Carolingian times, and was destroyed in 963, when the town was taken by Robert of Vermandois. It was rebuilt, only to be destroyed again in 1138 by a fire, caused by lightning. It was once more rebuilt and enlarged, but in 1230 a similar disaster overtook it. The rebuilding this time took many years to accomplish, for at the beginning of the fifteenth century the nave was unfinished and the western doorway not yet begun.
In 1520 there was set up in the north tower of the transept (see photo below) a wooden spire covered with lead and richly ornamented, about 310 feet in height. In 1628 the two final bays of the nave were completed and the western doorway entirely built (photo above). Unfortunately, its style jars with the Gothic of the rest of the church. In 1668 the cathedral was struck by lightning for the third time; the spire fell and drove in the vaulting and the crypt. After another restoration, the two towers of the transept were embellished with stone spires, which were reconstructed in 1821, but, later, removed. In 1850 the south front of the transept was entirely rebuilt. In 1862 all the sixteenth century chapels in the aisles off the nave were done away with. Quite recently the two towers, together with the doorways of the transept, have been restored.
On the whole the cathedral is an imposing edifice. We have seen above that the west front dates from the seventeenth century and is in the Classical style. Corinthian columns and pilasters flank a Gothic rose-window. A balcony runs along each storey, and a pediment surmounts the whole. A much damaged bas-relief above the entrance-door represents the stoning of Saint Stephen. The long nave, with its lines of elegant flying-buttresses, rejoins the transept, of which the north front (photo opposite) is the most interesting. The southern one was completely rebuilt in the nineteenth century.
The north tower of the transept is the older. The lower part of it dates back to the ancient Romanesque cathedral. The walls are pierced by round-arched bays. The south tower belongs to the thirteenth century. Its bays are Gothic in style. Three radial chapels, dating probably from the fourteenth century, open off the apse.
In the interior the nave comprises nine bays, the first two of which, starting from the west front, date from the seventeenth century; the others, and also the choir and transept, are of the thirteenth century.
As in the Cathedral of Rheims, the choir advances into the nave, of which it occupies two bays. The high altar, under a canopy (see photograph below), supported by marble pillars, belongs to the seventeenth century. In the north branch of the transept is a fine sixteenth century bas-relief representing Christ lying in His tomb (see p. 201), which is attributed to Ligier-Richier, the Lorraine master, whose masterpiece we shall see in St. Peter’s Church at Bar-le-Duc (p. 245). The cathedral is paved with tombstones. The most beautiful ones are to be seen in the ambulatory, especially two adjoining the pillars of the choir.
In the sacristy, which opens off the south branch of the transept, may be seen the treasure (see p. 201). This is composed of a little thirteenth century enamelled brass shrine called Saint Rémy’s, with medallions representing the apostles; and a twelfth century mitre and shoe, said to be Saint Malachy’s. The mitre is of red silk embroidered in gold and silver; the shoe is of red leather inlaid with gold.
The stained glass windows of the cathedral are very remarkable, although most of them have been restored. The three upper windows at the back of the apse belong to the thirteenth century, as also the rose-window in the north arm of the transept dedicated to the childhood of Christ, and the twelve panels of the triforium representing the apostles.
Lights in the First South Window
(fifteenth century stained glass)
The stained glass windows of the north aisle are almost all modern, and in imitation of the style of the thirteenth century. Those of the south aisle belong to the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, except the ninth window nearest the transept, which dates from the thirteenth century. Our illustration give an idea of the simple yet skilful composition of these little masterpieces, but cannot reproduce the beauty of their colouring.
Lights in the First South Window
(fifteenth century stained glass)
The second window on the south represents scenes from the life of the Virgin. The third and fourth are devoted to Christ; the fifth to the life and stoning of Saint Stephen; the sixth to the Virgin, and different saints and donors; the seventh to the life of Christ; the eighth to the life and miracles of Christ; the ninth to the baptism of Christ and to various saints. All this stained glass has been removed and put into a place of safety for the duration of the war.
Notre-Dame de Vaux
(historical monument)
(See map inserted between pp. 198-199)
Like the cathedral, Notre-Dame dates back to Carolingian times. In the eleventh century it possessed no transept, but included a semi-circular apse flanked by two towers, on the site of which rise the two present ones (see p. 205), which date from the twelfth century and recall those of the cathedral. There remains of the twelfth century Romanesque church, besides almost the whole of the transept, the south door under the porch, the pillars and the aisles of the nave, as well as the ground floor of the west front.
In 1157 Notre-Dame collapsed, and was partly reconstructed. The apse was rebuilt with three radial chapels. In the nave and choir the round arches of the tribunes and arcades were replaced by pointed ones: the walls were raised in height and pierced by windows, below which was established a triforium (photo below). Gothic vaulting in the nave and transept replaced the wooden roof. The two storeys and the pinnacle of the west front, between the towers, belong also to this period.
In the fourteenth century the four towers were surmounted by wooden spires covered with lead, painted and gilded. To the fifteenth century belongs the beautiful porch in the Flamboyant style which precedes the south door of the twelfth century. The Revolution destroyed three of the four spires in order to utilise the lead, and mutilated the sculptures of the doors. Notre-Dame was completely restored about 1852. The steeple of the north tower of the west front was reconstructed, but the towers of the apse remained despoiled of the elevated pyramids which gave to Notre-Dame a very characteristic silhouette recognisable in the centre of the old engraving reproduced on p. 198.
The south porch, visible in the opposite photograph, was built in 1469. The bay is surmounted by an angular pediment, and the gable is ornamented by graceful arcading in the Flamboyant style.
The south front of the transept (photograph opposite) which adjoins the Gothic porch, is a fine piece of work in the Romanesque style, with its round arches and its sculptured rose-windows. The little thirteenth century sun-dial on the buttress in the middle-front below the windows is worthy of note. It is one of the oldest known.
The interior of Notre-Dame is simple and dignified (see below and on p. 203). It has been completely restored. The pillars which support the arcades are those of the early Romanesque church (see photograph p. 205). Their capitals are finely sculptured. Above the lower arcades runs a gallery which opens on to the choir and nave by means of bays composed of twin lights. A little triforium separates this gallery from the higher windows (see below).
The windows of the aisles of Notre-Dame are filled with beautiful sixteenth century stained glass, which at the beginning of the war was taken down and put away for fear of damage from air-raids. We reproduce a panel from one of them, which represents the donor kneeling in prayer to Saint Martha, her patron saint, who is trampling under foot the “Tarasque,” a mythical monster of Tarascon. The saint is subduing it by sprinkling it with holy water.
The principal stained-glass windows in the north aisle are: in the first window beginning at the great doorway, the battle of “las Novas de Tolosa” won by the Spaniards over the Moors in the thirteenth century; donors; patrons; the transfiguration. The next window deals with the death and coronation of the Virgin and represents the donors (the panel reproduced on p. 205 belongs to this window). The third window is dedicated to the life of Saint Anne and the Virgin; the fourth represents the Adoration, the Massacre of the Innocents, the Flight into Egypt, the last Supper; the fifth, the Passion; the sixth, the Ascension, the Virgin, Christ crowned; patrons and donors. In the south aisle, the first window represents the life of Saint James, the Transfiguration, Christ appearing to his disciples; the second, scenes from the life of the Virgin; the third, the Last Supper; the fourth, the life of the Virgin and the legend of Saint James.
As in all the churches in the neighbourhood, mortuary stones are numerous.
Church of Saint Alpin
(historical monument)
(See map inserted between pp. 198-199)
This was at first merely a chapel dedicated to Saint Andrew. In the ninth century it was placed under the patronage of Saint Alpin, when the body of this Bishop of Châlons was transported there.
Saint Alpin, like Saint Loup at Troyes, and Saint Geneviève in Paris, went out to confront Attila, and succeeded in obtaining a promise that the town should be spared by the “Scourge of God.” A sixteenth century stained-glass window (the first in the south aisle) commemorates this episode in the life of the saint (photograph below). The bishop, his mitre on his head, the cross in his hand, surrounded by clergy and laymen, is pleading the cause of the town before the King of the Huns, seated on a sumptuous throne amidst his warriors. At the foot of the throne are captives in chains.
As we have seen on p. 198, fifteen centuries later the same scene was enacted. In September, 1914, Mgr. Tissier, Saint Alpin’s successor in the bishopric of Châlons, was obliged to plead for his town with the invaders.
The Church of Saint Alpin was reconstructed and enlarged in the twelfth century. From this period date the west front (see above), the nave and its side aisles. The north branch of the transept belongs to the fourteenth century, the south branch to the sixteenth.
The apse goes back to the sixteenth century, as does the tower surmounting the middle of the transept, also the chapels of the side aisles. At the same period, doors leading into each aisle were pierced on either side of the doorway of the West Front.
The church was subjected to important repairs in the nineteenth century, and statues of Saint Andrew and Saint Alpin, its two patrons, were installed in niches on either side of the central doorway.
In the interior we find a fine collection of sixteenth century stained glass in the windows of the south aisle and of the ambulatory. As in the other churches in Châlons, the war caused them to be removed to a place of safety. We reproduce two of them: Saint Alpin before Attila (see p. 206), and the life of the Virgin (photo opposite).
In the latter the top of the right hand light represents the birth of the Virgin; the lower portion of the middle light, the Presentation in the Temple. Saint Anne and Saint Joachim, bringing the sacrificial lambs and doves, lead Mary to the high priest. The upper portion of this light depicts the glorification of the Virgin. On the left of the window is Saint Martha, in a rich Renaissance costume, holding in her hand the vessel of holy water and the sprinkler which she used to subdue the “Tarasque” (see p. 205).
Mortuary stones are also to be seen here; and let into the wall of the ambulatory is a beautiful sixteenth century bas-relief of the Virgin and Child; two donors and their patrons. On one of the southern pillars of the transept is a fine “Ecce homo” on a background of gold, also of the sixteenth century.
Church of St. John
(historical monument)
(See map inserted between pp. 198-199)
This church is the most ancient building in Châlons. The nave dates from 1050; the choir, the apse, and the transept belong to the thirteenth century; the principal front to the fourteenth. The tower of the transept was built in the seventeenth, when the side aisles were vaulted and reconstructed. The Romanesque nave with its round arches, has a seventeenth century wooden vault; but above it, the wooden framework of the interior of the roof contains some skilful fourteenth century carpentry. The capitals and the pillars are very plain and some seem to be anterior to the eleventh century; the branches of the transept are doubled by side-aisles transformed into chapels, which flank the choir. The apse terminates in a flat wall. Important restorations were carried out in this old church in the nineteenth century.
The Jard
(See map inserted between pp. 198-199)
The Jard is a very pretty park of extremely ancient origin, being mentioned in thirteenth century documents. The marshy ground was drained, raised, and planted with trees. In the eighteenth century it was laid out as it is to-day. The walks were bordered with elms which, after a century of existence, were cut down in 1870 and replaced by horse-chestnut trees. On Sundays and Thursdays concerts are given here.
The garden, which occupies the north-east portion of the Jard and reaches the banks of the Nau Canal, was made in 1861 for a horticultural exhibition. The old seventeenth century castle of Marché, now transformed into the savings bank, looks on to this canal. The photograph opposite gives an idea of its picturesque aspect.
The English garden stretches between the canal and the Marne. It was laid out in the beginning of the nineteenth century. A foot-bridge (photo below) connects it with the Jard. From the top of this bridge there is a pretty view of the canal which divides at this point to surround a wooded isle.
Other Monuments and Objects of Interest
(See map inserted between pp. 198-199)
Church of Saint Loup
This dates from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, but was rebuilt in the nineteenth. The front, the tower, and the spire which rises above the transept are entirely modern, and the old seventeenth century doorway has been removed to the courtyard of the museum in the town-hall.
In the interior, in the second chapel of the right aisle, is a little sixteenth century Flemish triptych representing the “Adoration of the Wise Men.” At the end of the right aisle, near the branch of the transept, is a fifteenth century wooden carving of Saint Christopher.
Hôtel de Ville
The present building replaced at the end of the eighteenth century the old Renaissance town-hall. It contains the library and the museum, the latter looking on the Place Godart. Enter by the Rue d’Orfeuil (open to the public on Thursdays and Sundays, from noon to 5 p.m. and every day to visitors to the town). The museum contains interesting collections of sculpture, ancient paintings, and a natural history section.
Préfecture
This, built in the eighteenth century, was formerly the hôtel of the “Intendance de Champagne.” The north wing was built in 1846. The préfecture contains a remarkably fine fifteenth century chimney-piece (photo below), on which is carved a mythological triumphal procession, flanked by figures representing faith and charity.
Sainte-Croix Gate
Here is a triumphal arch erected in 1770 for the passage of Marie-Antoinette, on her arrival in France to wed the Dauphin. It was never finished.
National School of Arts and Crafts
This institution, founded by Napoléon in 1806, is one of the five important State schools for turning out engineers and skilled foremen. The buildings are of the eighteenth century. The school possesses fine laboratories and industrial collections.
Sainte-Croix and Saint-Jean Avenues
Both are fine avenues, remains of the boulevards which surrounded the town.
The Military Cemetery
Rue Kellerman, in the eastern part of the town, near the cavalry quarters, is on a lower level than the old civilian cemetery. It contains the remains of several thousand soldiers who died in the hospitals of the town.
Notre-Dame de l’Épine
(historical monument)
(See plan inserted between pp. 198-199 and map between pp. 212-213)
In order to reach Notre-Dame de l’Épine, which is eight kilometres from Châlons, leave Châlons by the Avenue de Metz, which begins at Saint-Jean Square. This avenue rejoins N. 3, in which turn to the right. It is a straight road to l’Épine. Notre-Dame comes into view suddenly at the entrance to the village, which, as the above photo shows, has suffered greatly. A large number of its houses have been destroyed by fire, but the old church had a miraculous escape. Notre-Dame, which dates from the fifteenth century, replaced an earlier edifice built on the spot where, according to legend, a heavenly light disclosed a statue of the Virgin in a bush. From the beginning of the thirteenth century, pilgrims flocked to say their prayers at the foot of the miraculous statue. Although now seven hundred years old this pilgrimage still retains its famous reputation.
The church was built by the inhabitants of the district, pious workmen coming from as far as Bar and Verdun; and the expression “aller à l’Épine,” meaning to work for nothing, still exists. The church was finished in the sixteenth century. Three doorways in the fifteenth century front open on the ground floor, and are surmounted by angular pediments. The central doorway, the largest and most interesting of the three, is dedicated to Christ. A crucifix is to be seen in the centre of the pediment. In the tympanum is represented the Birth of Christ; and scenes from the Passion are carved on the lintel. A sixteenth century Virgin, holding in her arms the Infant Jesus, stands with her back to the pier which supports the tympanum and divides the entrance into two parts. The curve of the arch and the side doors of the porch were ornamented with sculptures, of which many now are missing or mutilated. A beautiful rose-window and two large windows light the front below the towers.
The spires of unequal height are of stone, and are formed of eight branches united in a crown in their middle: that on the right is a royal crown with the lilies; that on the left is an imperial one, bearing eight eagles. In 1798 Claude Chappe, the inventor of aerial telegraphy, installed an apparatus on the left spire. This was destroyed, but was restored again in the nineteenth century.
Walk round the exterior of the church in order to examine the succession of gargoyles projecting from the buttresses. They have been carved in a keen, satirical spirit.
The south doorway is flanked by two turrets, each containing a stairway. All the statues which ornamented the curve of the arch, the jambs and the pier are missing. On the much-damaged lintel is a representation of the life of Saint John the Baptist. The doorway is dominated by a beautiful window. The chapels round the apse were added in the sixteenth century.
The interior of Notre-Dame de l’Épine, which has been completely restored, is very interesting. The most striking parts are the transept and the choir. In the north arm of the transept, visible in the photo opposite, the Renaissance woodwork of the organ is noteworthy. In the sculptured figures with which it is decorated, Greek divinities, Jupiter, Venus, Apollo, etc., are side by side with the apostles.
A well, with fine wrought-iron fittings, seen in the photograph, dates from the origin of the edifice. It is the Virgin’s Well, from which pilgrims drink and carry away the water.
The curious rood-loft at the entrance to the choir shelters the miraculous statue. One obtains access from the choir to the rood-loft by two spiral stairways. It was from the upper gallery that in former times the epistle and gospel for the day were read. The name of “Jubé” is derived from the formula by which the reader previously besought the blessing of heaven: “Jubé, Domine, benedicere.”
The Virgin is in a modern gilded shrine, which may be seen under the first arch in the photograph at the foot of p. 211. The statue has been restored in modern times. The choir is surrounded by a stone cloister whose style varies from Gothic to Renaissance.
On the left side of this cloister is a beautiful Gothic edifice which contained sacred relics. It may be seen in the photograph below.
Five chapels adorn the apse. The first on the right, shut off by a stone balustrade, is used as a sacristy; the next one contains a sixteenth century stone carving representing the Entombment.
After visiting Notre-Dame de l’Épine, return to Châlons by N. 3, the road along which we came.
If it is desired to begin at once the tour of which indications are given on p. 19, turn to the right at Saint-Jean Square, taking the Rue du Général-Compère. Follow the tram-lines which cross the Place des Ursulines, and take Rue Pasteur on the left. Cross the canal, and by the Rue d’Orfeuil reach the Place de l’Hôtel-de-Ville. Turn to the left, then following the Rue de Marne, leave the town by the Faubourg de Marne.
Visit to the Field of Operations of the Fourth French Army — I — From Châlons to Vitry-le-François
(62 km.)
via Vatry, Bussy-Lettrée, Dommartin-Lettrée, Soudé, Sompuis, Humbauville, Huiron, Courdemanges, Frignicourt.
(See map inserted between pp. 212-213)
Leave Châlons by the Faubourg de Marne, taken on arrival there. At the end of the Faubourg, turn to the left into the Avenue de Paris, then to the right into N. 77 in the direction of Vatry (18 km.). In this village, leave the “route nationale” in order to take, on the left, G. C. 12 going towards Bussy-Lettrée, reached after having crossed a level-crossing. Enter the village as far as the middle; there, turn to the right, then to the left, leaving the church on the left (20½ km.). The road next leads to Dommartin-Lettrée (26 km.) and passes before the quaint church reproduced above. Its two doorways are interesting; the western one which faces the road is reproduced on p. 215; the southern one may be remarked under the porch in the general view of the church.
Continue straight on, arrive at Soudé, pass through it, turning to the right in the Square, and come out into N. 34 (30 km.). Turn to the left in it, then leave it almost immediately to take, on the right, G. C. 12, which continues as far as Sompuis (38 km.), after passing under the railway embankment. We are entering the field of operations of the extreme left of Langle de Cary’s Army. Several graves have been made in the embankment; one of them, visible in the photo on p. 214, marks the place where, on September 10, the same shell killed General Barbade and Colonel Hamon, who were commanding the two Brigades of the 23rd Division, as well as their aides-de-camp. The body of General Barbade is buried in the cemetery.
On the right of the road, closing in the horizon, are the wooded heights on which the Germans had organised strong positions. They were taken from the Saxons on September 9-10 by the 21st Corps.
Cross straight through Sompuis, passing before the church, which is surrounded by a graveyard (see p. 214).
On the evening of September 6 the Germans entered the village unopposed, a fact which did not prevent them from setting fire to several houses, or from taking a number of hostages under various pretexts. One of them, M. Arnould, was taken because he had set up on the roof of his house a chimney-pot to replace one destroyed during the bombardment. Some soldiers passing at this very moment saw in this humble domestic task an attempt to signal to the French troops.
Abbé Oudin, Rector of Sompuis, aged 73 years, and his servant, aged 67 years, were also arrested, the installation of electric bells in the rectory causing suspicion. They were shut up in their cellar, where several other hostages were soon sent to join them. Here they were left without any food until the afternoon of September 8. The abbé had been taken out for a short period in the morning in order to assist at the celebration of Mass in his church, where Abbé Prince Max of Saxe officiated.
The hostages were led away towards Châlons. “It was evident,” said one of them in his statement before the Commission of Enquiry, “that on account of his age and feebleness, Abbé Oudin could not walk far. We were obliged to carry him, so to speak. Near Coole (7 km. to the north of Sompuis) our escort made us halt, and two soldiers who had seen a butcher’s cart standing abandoned in a field, dragged it on the road, and said: ‘Get in, Curé.’ The poor man was so feeble that he was unable to do so. The Germans tipped up the cart, and as the back did not open, they made the old priest sit on the edge, then raised the shafts so quickly that he fell on his back into the bottom of the cart, his feet in the air. The old servant got up beside him, and the Germans made signs to us to put ourselves between the shafts and to drag the cart. As we set out, they all threw their haversacks on the top of the Abbé and his servant, as they would have thrown them on to a bundle of hay.”
The hostages thus traversed Châlons and arrived at Suippes, where, in the rain, they spent the night out of doors, in the playground of the school. “At Vouziers, during the whole of Sunday, the 13th,” declared a witness, “Abbé Oudin was unceasingly ill-treated by the German officers, as well as by the soldiers, but principally by the officers. The latter came in large numbers, and each of them, in passing, spat in the Abbé’s face or struck him with their riding whips. I saw officers and soldiers kick the poor man with their spurs. He was so weak that he no longer stirred, in spite of all that he must have been suffering. I saw soldiers, too, strike him with the butt-end of their rifles; but I insist that the officers were worse than the men. These atrocities only ended in the evening. Abbé Oudin passed the night lying on the ground like us; we hardly heard him once complain.”
The Abbé’s old servant did not escape ill-treatment either. On the Sedan Road, in Tannay Church, four soldiers seized her, threw her into a blanket of which they held the four corners, and tossed her on to the altar steps; then, laying hold of her again, they threw her into the midst of the seats, not troubling about the piercing cries which her many bruises drew from her. Sedan was Abbé Oudin’s last stage; there death put an end to his sufferings. His servant, after careful nursing in the hospice, recovered, but another victim, a hostage named Mougeot, aged 72, succumbed to the results of German brutality. He was brought in a hand-cart to Pafert barracks, with four ribs broken by kicks, and thrown on to a bundle of straw, where he soon expired.
While these events were in progress the battle of the Marne had been won. Sompuis was retaken amidst fierce fighting at 5 p.m. on the 10th by the 21st Corps, which freed another victim in the village itself: an old man of 70, named Jacquemin. He had been tied to his bed by a German officer and left there without food for three days. “Each time that he asked for food or water,” declared his daughter-in-law, “he was struck.” A shell fell on the house and killed the tormentor on the spot. The corpse of the officer was found in the house of his victim, who died two or three days after his deliverance as the result of the ill-treatment he had received.
On leaving Sompuis, continue straight along G. C. 12 to Humbauville.
On September 8 the heights seen on the right were gallantly defended against Saxon attacks by a detachment of Bretons.
On the 9th the latter were thrown back in disorder by the 13th Division, which had been sent as a reinforcement.
At the entrance to Humbauville (42 km.) turn to the right, then, at the church, take on the left G. C. 14 in the direction of Huiron. We are now on the battlefield of the 17th Corps. G. C. 14 formed the French position at the beginning of the battle; on the 6th the road was left behind, and the Germans driven back northwards as far as the railway line going from Sompuis to Huiron. But on the 8th the 17th Corps was repulsed in its turn, and G. C. 14 became the German line. The French troops clung to the heights to the south of the road and particularly to Certine Farm, where General Dupuis was killed. The fighting was of a desperate character. The Germans, in their fury, revenged themselves on the wounded; eight badly hurt soldiers of the 88th Infantry Regiment, whom Sub-Lieutenant Baudens had been obliged to leave behind, were afterwards found with hands tied behind their backs, their bodies riddled with bullets and bayonet wounds.
On the 9th and 10th the 17th Corps counter-attacked vigorously and, with the aid of the Goullet Division which had been attached to it, succeeded on the night of the 10-11th in re-crossing the railway line.
We reach Huiron (53 km.) which was completely destroyed by the fire kindled by the Germans on September 7, after having taken the village from the 12th Corps. The interesting twelfth century church, and the ruins of the abbey buildings backing up to it, have been ravaged by the flames. The pillars of the nave have crumbled away, and in the photograph opposite fragments of broken columns may be seen scattered about. Huiron was only retaken on the night of the 10-11th.
400 yards from the church turn to the right into G. C. 2; then after about 700 yards, turn to the left in order to enter the village of Courdemanges. This has suffered much from fire and bombardment. On the right of the street stood the castle, which has been completely destroyed.
Courdemanges, which was occupied on the 6th by the 12th Corps, was attacked with great violence. It was abandoned at 5 p.m., and retaken during the night. Continuously shelled by the Germans on the 7th and 8th, it fell on the latter day into their hands. The 12th Corps counter-attacked energetically, but succeeded only on the 11th in re-entering the village.
After going as far as the church, return again by the same road to G. C. 2 and cross it in order to go straight towards Frignicourt. On the right is Mont-Moret which played an important part in the fighting in this region. The batteries of the 12th Corps were installed there on September 6. After heavy shelling and infantry attacks, Mont-Moret fell on the morning of the 8th, but units of the 12th Corps, aided by the Colonial Corps, counter-attacked with determination, and in the evening obtained possession of the ridge, capturing a few machine-guns. They remained there in spite of fierce assaults, which caused heavy losses to the Germans and gave no result.
The road crosses the railway in a low-lying plain often flooded by the Marne, as seen in the photograph on p. 216; Mont-Moret can be distinguished in the background.
100 yards before arriving at Frignicourt, on the right and on the left of G. C. 14, are the graves depicted in the photos on this page. The soldiers who lie buried there are those who gallantly defended the passage of the Marne on September 6. The French troops, overwhelmed by the fire of the German artillery at Vitry, were obliged to fall back on Courdemanges and Mont-Moret. The Germans in their turn were violently shelled by the French guns, but succeeded in holding out in Frignicourt until the 11th.
After crossing the Marne, enter Frignicourt (60 km.), whose ruins are being gradually reconstructed. Turn to the left to reach Vitry-le-François (plan p. 218). Passing through the toll-gate, take the Rue du Passage-Supérieur on the left, then, after crossing the railway, turn again to the left into the Avenue du Colonel-Moll. Cross the Boulevard François I, and take the Petite-Rue de Frignicourt on the left, which leads into the Rue de Frignicourt. Along this main road turn to the right to reach the hotel (62 km.).
Vitry-le-François
Origin and Chief Historical Facts
Vitry-le-François dates from the sixteenth century. The town was built in 1545 by order of Francis I. in order to replace Vitry-en-Perthois, burned the year before by Charles V. The ruins of old Vitry were utilised for the construction of the new, which was named after its founder. This complete rebuilding explains the remarkable regularity of the town, plans of which were drawn up by an Italian architect, Marino. Vitry was fortified, but its ramparts were condemned and demolished in the nineteenth century.
Vitry-le-François in 1914
At the beginning of the war, Vitry was the seat of the French General Headquarters Staff. On September 5, almost the whole of the population evacuated the town, together with the civil authorities. Out of a population of 8,500, barely 500 to 600 persons remained. In the morning a rearguard action commenced to the north and east of Vitry. About 5 p.m., German shells began to fall in the suburbs, and in the evening Uhlans entered the town by the Châlons Road. In default of the mayor, the curé, M. Nottin, and his curate were at once arrested as hostages, and M. Nottin was directed to find two more. Two patriotic citizens, M. Paillard and M. Bernat, offered themselves for this onerous duty. Together with M. Foureur, the schoolmaster, they took upon their shoulders the charge of maintaining order, ensuring requisitions, the victualling of the inhabitants, and the treatment of the wounded. MM. Nottin, Paillard and Foureur, were amongst the first civilians to be mentioned in dispatches.
Up to September 10 the battle raged round Vitry. The allied and enemy shells crossed one another over the town: the German batteries established on the heights to the north replying to the French guns on Mont-Moret. The wounded came crowding in. On the third day, they numbered 2,500, of whom 200 were French. The hospital being full the church was then transformed into one, as well as all the teaching establishments and the savings bank.
On the evening of the 10th the evacuation by the Germans began. It took place in an orderly manner. The next evening the French re-entered the town.
Apart from the gas works, which suffered from the shelling, and a few burnt houses, the events of September have left few traces at Vitry. A few houses and shops were pillaged, but, thanks to the influence and activity of Abbé Nottin and his companions, the town was spared the horrors which the surrounding villages experienced.
Visit to the Town
(See map p. 218)
Leaving the hotel, follow the Rue de Frignicourt to the Place d’Armes in which is the Church of Notre-Dame, shown above. The first stone of this edifice was laid in 1629. The king gave 300,000 livres (about £12,000) towards the cost of construction, and numerous families in the neighbourhood subscribed also. They bought, by means of a heavy burial duty, the right to be buried in the church itself. The subsoil of Notre-Dame became on this account a veritable ossuary.
When the high altar was moved about twenty skulls were unearthed. In 1850, when the present paving was laid, thirty-two mortuary stones were removed from the nave. The chapels were built by rich parishioners, who placed their tombs there and dedicated the altar to the patron saint of their family. The apse was constructed in 1835, and the work of building finished in 1895.
Notre-Dame recalls Saint-Sulpice in Paris, and its interior is worth visiting. The first chapel on the left has a fine eighteenth century railing. In the last chapel, off the nave on the left, the reredos above the altar should be noted. A bas-relief depicts Saint-Jerome kneeling beside a lion.
In the south branch of the transept is a fine mortuary stone in black marble, showing a knight standing with hands joined, his foot on a greyhound.
The four pillars at the intersection of the choir and of the transept are decorated with sculpture.
After having visited the church, take on the opposite side of the Square the Rue du Pont leading to the monumental gateway reproduced above, which dates from the seventeenth century and formed part of the old enclosure. Turn to the right along the side of the Marne by the Quai des Fontaines as far as the mills. Turn to the right again, take a few steps from the Place des Moulins alongside the river in order to obtain the picturesque view of the old ramparts shown in the photo below. Take the Rue des Moulins, which is continued by the Rue d’Enfer, and at the barracks turn to the right into the Rue des Minimes, then into the Rue des Sœurs. In the middle of the latter turn to the left, in order to glance at the old wooden market-buildings. Pass round them to the left and regain the Place d’Armes by the street opening on to the market on the opposite side to that by which we entered. Cross the “Place,” and take the Rue Domine de Verzet which skirts Notre-Dame on the left. Opposite the town-hall (the old monastery of the Récollets, which dates from the end of the seventeenth century and contains the Library and Museum), turn to the right, into the Petite Rue de l’Hôtel de Ville, then to the left into Boulevard Carnot. Leave this in the middle of the Place Carnot in order to take the Faubourg de Saint-Dizier on the left.
VISIT TO THE FIELD OF OPERATIONS
OF THE
FOURTH AND THIRD FRENCH ARMIES
II — From Vitry-le-François to Bar-le-Duc
(82 km.)
via Vauclerc, Écriennes, Favresse, Étrepy, Heiltz-le-Maurupt, Pargny, Maurupt, Cheminon, Trois-Fontaines, Sermaize, Vassincourt.
(See map inserted between pp. 212-213)
After leaving Vitry by N. 4, crossing the Marne and a level-crossing, Marolles (3 km.) is reached. In this village an old man of 70 years, M. Mathieu Coche, was seized by German cavalrymen and led away tied to a horse, with which he was obliged to keep pace. On arriving in the neighbourhood of Vitry-en-Perthois (nearly 30 km. to the north of Marolles) the poor old fellow’s strength gave out, he fell and was dragged along by the horse until death ensued. His body was then left behind, and could not be buried until after the German retreat.
N. 4 next passes through Vauclerc (6 km.). On the left of the road a great number of new roofs are to be seen, although many of the houses are still in the same state as that in which the shelling and the fire left them. During the whole of the battle this village was the objective of the Lejaille Brigade. It was only retaken, by the Colonial Corps, on September 11.
About 1,300 yards beyond Vauclerc, where graves border the road on either side, is, on the right, a road leading to Écriennes. Before taking it, follow N. 4 for 400 yards further, in order to see a burying-place of the Colonials, shown in the photo below. The view gives an idea of the immense plain, where furious encounters took place between this crack corps and the troops of the Duke of Wurtemberg.
In that part of the plain which lies to the right of the road, beyond Écriennes, near Matignicourt, there took place in 1891 the famous review of troops by President Carnot. It was the first important military demonstration since the war of 1870. It signalised the resurrection of the national spirit, and because of this fact it produced a very deep impression both in France and in foreign countries. Monuments to the memory of President Carnot have been raised on the field of the review, at Vitry; in the Carnot Square; and at Châlons in the Place de l’Hôtel-de-Ville.
Taking the road leading to Écriennes (10 km.) we arrive at this village, which has been completely devastated, as may be seen in the photos on this page. The church, the upper part of which is of timber-work, was blown in by shells.
Écriennes was hotly disputed from September 6 to 11. It was taken on the 6th by the Germans, in spite of an heroic defence by the 21st Colonials; then retaken only to be lost again by the French on the 8th, and retaken finally on the 11th.
After passing in front of the church, turn to the left in order to rejoin N. 4, along which turn to the right in the direction of Farémont. The road is bordered on both sides by graves, for the fighting here was very violent. On the road and to the south of it the Colonial Infantry fought doggedly, sometimes gaining, sometimes losing ground. To the north of N. 4 the Lejaille Brigade tried to push towards Vauclerc.
We enter Farémont (12½ km.), some of the houses of which have been burned. On emerging, leave N. 4 and turn to the left in order to reach Thiéblemont (13½ km.). This village was also completely devastated by shells and fire, but the church is still standing. This side of the church, turn to the left into G. C. 60 leading to Favresse. Graves may be seen along this road. On September 6, that portion of the Colonial Corps which held Favresse followed G. C. 60 in the opposite direction, falling back on Farémont, while the Lejaille Brigade came to take their place at Favresse.
Favresse (16½ km) was gallantly defended on the 7th; taken and retaken several times on the 8th, and finally remained in the possession of the Lejaille Brigade, whose chief was wounded by a shell-splinter during the afternoon.
The village, which was violently shelled, suffered heavily, but has been partly rebuilt. The beautiful little church, of which the photos on this page give a general view, as well as a detailed one of the Romanesque doorway, bears traces of numerous shells. As at Écriennes, and in many little country churches in this region, the upper part of the walls of the nave is of timber work.
Turn to the right alongside the church and leaving it on the left, take G. C. 16 to Haussignémont and Blesmes.
On this ground on September 8 the Eighth German (reserve) Corps tried to break through between Favresse and Blesmes. At one time this effort seemed about to be successful, but, reinforcements having been opportunely sent to Haussignémont, the Lejaille Brigade was able to hold the position.
In Haussignémont (17½ km.), turn to the left near the church, and continue along G. C. 16 to Blesmes, which is reached after passing over a level-crossing.
In the centre of Blesmes (20 km.), turn to the left in order to pass in front of the church. Numerous houses in the village were destroyed by shells, and the roof of the church was damaged; but most of this damage has been repaired.
On leaving Blesmes, pass over a level-crossing, then under the railway. At the cross-roads immediately beyond turn to the right, then at the fork in the road, turn to the right again into G. C. 14 in the direction of Étrepy.
Half-way thither, on the right, is Sorton Farm, which was fiercely disputed. As may be seen in the photo on p. 223, it was completely destroyed. The Eighth German (reserve) Corps managed to take it on September 8, but, on the following day, the troops of the Second French Corps re-took possession of the ruins and held them. Along the road in front of the farm are the graves of some of its defenders.
At Étrepy (25 km.), we pass in front of the church (see above). There are numerous ruins in this village, which was set on fire by the Germans on September 7.
Of the seventy families who remained at Étrepy during the battle, sixty-three were homeless after the incendiaries had passed by. Two old people, more than eighty years of age, M. and Mme. Miliat, were led away almost naked to a distance of 3 km. from the village and horribly ill-used. In order to quicken their pace, rendered slow by age, they were struck with the flat of swords. Mme. Miliat died four days afterwards as a result of this treatment. On leaving the village, on the right is the entrance to the castle of the Morillot family. (The son of Count Morillot, a naval lieutenant and commander of the submarine “Monge,” went down with her, after having made the crew put off in their boats, rather than surrender to the enemy.) The castle, which is built at the meeting place of the Saulx and the Ornain, and is surrounded by a moat, dates from the seventeenth century. It was set on fire by the Germans.
The position of Étrepy is important, being a bridgehead on the waterway formed by the Saulx, the Ornain, and the canal from the Marne to the Rhine. The passage was defended on September 6 by the Third Division of the Second French Corps, but the bridges were forced in the evening, and at dawn on the 7th the village fell into the hands of the Germans. It was only retaken on the 11th.
After crossing in succession the Saulx, the canal, and then the Ornain, which flows through a frequently flooded plain, we arrive at Heiltz-le-Maurupt (29½ km.) and, after turning to the right, take the left towards the church.
On September 6, on the arrival of the Duke of Wurtemberg’s troops, the beautiful Romanesque church was devastated by fire, at the same time as the little town. Before setting fire to the houses, the Germans pillaged them. The spoils were placed on waggons under the superintendence of an officer. These removals having been effected, German soldiers were next seen, two by two, carrying buckets slung on poles and filled with inflammable liquid, which they threw on the houses. The result was a huge outburst of fire, in which the church, the town-hall, the school, and 187 houses out of 210, were destroyed.
The photos opposite show that the roof of the church has disappeared, exposing the nave. The vaults of the transept and of the apse have resisted the flames. The Romanesque apse is very interesting; the vaulting is round-arched, and on the exterior are sixteen blind windows, also round-arched, separated from each other by small pillars. The old Romanesque tower was surmounted by a spire about 100 feet high built in the sixteenth century. It collapsed in the flames. The western doorway is also in the Romanesque style (photo below). The work of restoration is in progress, as may be seen in the photo opposite.
The Germans had installed at Heiltz-le-Maurupt an important heavy battery which, during the whole of the battle, seriously tried the French troops entrusted with the defence of Pargny, Maurupt, and Sermaize.
In order to regain the line of the Ornain and the Saulx, take the street on the right a little to the east of the church. On reaching the fork, again take the right, and follow the line of telegraph posts as far as Pargny.
The road passes over the Ornain then over the canal from the Marne to the Rhine, of which the two photographs opposite and below give two views: the first to the west, the second to the east. The struggle was violent on the banks of the canal. The infantry of the Third Division was guarding the bridges, which were taken by the Germans on September 6, but the French, entrenched in Pargny (towards which the road leads the tourist), held out during the whole of the day of the 7th in spite of the terrific shell fire, which completely destroyed the little town. On the 8th, attacked on the north and east, Pargny fell. The next day, the valiant troops of the Second Corps re-took it. On the 10th it fell again into the hands of the Germans, to be definitely retaken by the French on the 11th.
Pargny church (33½ km.), in front of which we pass, had its roof pierced, and the vaulting broken in. The spire was truncated by shells.
After having passed the church, we reach the principal street, in which we turn to the left. The scene is very desolate (see pp. 226-227).
Having followed the principal street, we take the first turning on the right towards the level-crossing. Immediately beyond the crossing, we turn to the right in order to reach Maurupt by G. C. 61.
Before reaching the village, the tile-field of Pargny comes into view, as seen in the photograph at the foot of this page. The fighting here assumed a particularly violent character, as the French, having lost Pargny, endeavoured to check the German advance on Maurupt. A large grave contains the remains of the brave fellows of the 72nd Line Regiment who fell on this part of the battlefield. The tile-field was for many days an important position of the French artillery which swept the line of the Saulx and the Ornain from this point.
The supplying of the tiles and bricks necessary for the reconstruction of the whole region gives occupation to these works, now reorganised.
Maurupt is separated from the tile-field by a dip in the ground, clearly visible in the panorama on p. 228. The road, bordered by telegraph poles, which traverses the region from right to left, is G. C. 61, which the tourist is following. It is thus easy to realise the importance of the tile-field as an advanced position. Whilst the French held it they were able to utilise the valley (out of sight of the enemy coming up from Pargny) for massing reserves of troops and artillery. The position once captured, Maurupt became singularly exposed.
In point of fact, Maurupt fell on September 8, the same day as the tile-field. The German attack came, not only from Pargny, but from the east; the loss of Sermaize by the right of the Second Corps having made this flanking movement possible to the enemy. On the 9th, the French threw the Germans back on Pargny, but on the 10th, the tile-field and the village were lost anew. Violent hand-to-hand fighting took place in the streets of Maurupt, and in one hour the ruins were taken and retaken. The Germans were making progress to the west of Maurupt, however, and the French troops, in order to avoid being enveloped, were obliged to abandon the position and retire towards Cheminon. On the 11th Maurupt was definitely regained.
G. C. 61 comes out into Maurupt opposite the church (36½ km.); visible in the photo on p. 228. This fine Romanesque edifice, restored in the fifteenth century, is classed as an historical monument.
It has suffered greatly.
The spire has been smashed, the tower torn open, the roof and the barrel-vaulting have given way. The town-hall, near the church, met with the same fate (view above).
Turn to the right opposite the church, and then proceed for 800 yards towards the Hill of Le Montois.
Half-way up is to be seen the burial-place reproduced below. Farther along the road other graves are visible on the left, for at this point the 128th Line Regiment put up a splendid resistance against superior German forces.
These attacks on the west, joined to those on the north and east, led as we have seen to the fall of Maurupt.
Return to the village, which is in course of reconstruction, and at the church go straight on, then turn to the right, towards Cheminon, into G. C. 16, which follows the line of telegraph posts.
On arriving in Cheminon (43 km.), turn to the left to descend the principal street, shown in the photo above. Cheminon did not experience the German invasion, and, after the desolation of the villages which we have traversed, this little township gives an impression of repose, with its picturesque houses sloping down towards the old thirteenth-sixteenth century church, which is classed as an historical monument.
We pass under the market (beware of the depression in the ground), then turn to the right towards Trois-Fontaines.
Reaching the fork in the road, go straight on. Pass through Le Fays (47½ km.). 800 yards further on, leaving the road to Saint-Dizier on the right, turn to the left to enter the village of Trois-Fontaines (49 km.). At the end of it the monumental doorway of the old abbey of Trois-Fontaines is visible, as shown in the photograph on next page.
The Germans did not get as far as Trois-Fontaines, but fighting took place to the north and to the north-east, in the forest.
This region, where the Fourth and Third French Armies linked up, was particularly important. At Trois Fontaines, the Germans would have been 9 km. from Saint-Dizier, from whence they would have been able to outflank the whole of the Army of Langle de Cary. The Second Corps’ admirable resistance, and the aid given by the flank attack of the Fifteenth Corps of Sarrail’s Army, brought about the German defeat.
The abbey is at the present time the property of the Count of Fontenoy. After asking permission to visit, cross the court to the left, in order to view the ruins of the church which are still standing in the corner of the park.
The photos on pp. 231, 232 and 233 depict the interior and the exterior.
The abbey was founded in the beginning of the twelfth century by Saint Bernard.
The major portion of the church dates back, however, a century earlier. It was sacked during the Revolution, but the ruins now covered with verdure have an impressive grandeur.
Enter the principal nave by the doorway seen on the left in the view opposite.
After traversing the body of the church, consisting of the central nave and two side aisles, we see enormous fragments of the arches strewn on the ground. As seen in the photographs on p. 232. Nature has resumed her sway, and tall trees rise from what was the choir and the apse of the old church.
By way of the small but charmingly planned park, we arrive at the abbey buildings proper (see p. 233), which form the habitation of the proprietor. They are formed of two wings, built in the eighteenth century, and united by a charming arched gallery covered with climbing plants. These buildings were much more extensive before the Revolution, and several hundred monks devoted themselves in the calm of this remote forest-valley to a life of contemplation, interrupted only by rural tasks.
A river traverses the abbey from one end to the other, but the monks made important works in order to render it subterranean for a portion of its length. Thus it passes under the buildings and crosses the centre of the park, flowing through underground arches, so solidly constructed that the passage of centuries has left no apparent weakness.
At the end of the park, the river comes again to the surface in order to form part of a skilfully arranged decorative scheme in which water, trees, and lawns combine to make a harmonious whole.
After this short inroad into the far past, the tourist takes once more the road to Cheminon (55 km.). In this village, pass under the market again, then turn to the right into the road (visible in the photograph at the foot of p. 230) opposite the inn.
Cross the river Bruxenelle, then, on reaching the fork, turn to the left towards Sermaize. The way lies through woods into which part of the extreme right of the Second Corps retreated after abandoning Sermaize. The pursuing Germans began to creep towards Cheminon and Maurupt, and, as we have seen, succeeded in reaching the latter village, but Cheminon did not fall into their hands.
Affording a fine view of the Valley of the Saulx, the road enters Sermaize (61 km.).
The town was occupied on September 6 by the Fourth Division of the Sixth Corps. Violently attacked on the north and east, and threatened with being cut off from the rest of the French line by the German advance from the west, Sermaize, already set on fire by shells, was evacuated on the 7th by the French troops, who retired towards Maurupt and Cheminon. The Germans entered the little town and completed the work of the shells, but first they pillaged the houses. It was proved to the Enquiry Commission that “German Red-Cross nurses came with carts, in which they piled up the goods which the soldiers passed to them from the drapery and millinery establishment of M. Mathieu, a merchant serving with the colours.” 505 houses were completely destroyed; only forty-four remained standing.
Numerous personal outrages were committed. About fifty hostages were taken; some, rigged out in cloaks and casques, were obliged thus to guard the bridges. Here is the declaration of the road-man of the district, Auguste Brocard: “My son and I, together with my grandson aged 5½ years, were led away on September 6 by the Germans, who shut us into the sugar factory, and kept us there under guard for four days. When they arrested us, my wife and my daughter-in-law, insane with fear, ran to drown themselves in the Saulx. I managed to run after them, and tried three times to rescue the unhappy creatures, but the Germans forced me away, and left the poor women struggling in the water. I ought to add that when we were set free four days afterwards, and went to find the corpses, the French soldiers who helped to bury them pointed out to us that both my wife and my daughter-in-law had bullet wounds in the head.”
On arriving in the town, turn to the right. The street leads to the central square, which is adorned by a fountain (see below). The enormous rubbish heap which the town represented after the battle is gradually being cleared. The inhabitants have returned, and bravely set about the rebuilding of their homes. Helped by various organisations, French and foreign, and above all by bodies of Quakers known as the “Society of Friends,” who have set up numerous wooden houses throughout the countryside, they are bringing this desolate region back to life.
Take the Rue Bénard, on the left of the Square, in order to visit the church, which is in the lower part of the town, near the Saulx. The photo below was taken from the right of this street. In the foreground is the doctor’s house, of which only the brass plate remains; in the background is a temporary shanty run up by the chemist.
We reach the Saulx, on the opposite side of which stands the church, which was shelled and then burned by the Germans. The Romanesque porch, which stood out from it, has been destroyed; the nave is open to the sky; and the spire has collapsed. The Romanesque vaulting of the transept and of the apse has alone survived.
A fine fifteenth century wooden carving of Christ has been burned, or perhaps more probably taken away by the Germans.
Retracing our steps, we take, on the left before arriving at the Place, the Rue d’Andernay, from number 35 of which the central photograph on the following page was taken. A little further on we rejoin the road (G. C. 15, which becomes G. C. 1 on leaving the county), and follow it out of the town. On the right, two kilometres further, is the “Établissement thermal,” whose waters are used for drinking purposes, as well as for baths and shower-baths. Pass through Andernay (64½ km.), where a few houses were burned down. Cross over the Saulx, then, without entering Contrisson, turn to the right (66 km.) and follow the railway along the road.
Two kilometres further take the level-crossing, and then, leaving the railway, which breaks off to the right, follow G. C. 20. Continue straight along G. C. 1.
G. C. 20 follows the Valley of the Saulx, which, gradually narrowing, stretches southwards. The Germans came up the valley, driving in a wedge between the Fourth and Third French Armies. During September 9 and 10 the Fifteenth Corps was working astride this valley, trying to re-establish connection. On the evening of the 10th, the 30th Division of this Corps took Mognéville (2 km. distant along G. C. 20), and practically reached the spot where the tourist is now standing. The danger of a break through was thus averted.
G. C. 1 leads the tourist to Vassincourt (71 km.), which has been entirely destroyed by fire and shells. The photo below depicts the entrance to the village, those of p. 237 the sacked church.
On the evening of September 6 Vassincourt was the extreme left of Sarrail’s Army. It was attacked furiously by the German troops which had just carried Revigny, and sought to take possession of the plateau commanding the valleys of the Saulx and the Ornain, by which they hoped to push on towards Bar-le-Duc and Saint Dizier. On the 7th, the 46th Line Regiment was clinging to the edge of the village. Colonel Malleterre, commanding this fine body of men, inspired them with his own indefatigable energy. On the 8th the 57th Brigade of the Fifteenth Corps, attacking from Mognéville tried to free the west of Vassincourt, and to drive back the Germans towards Revigny. Two dashing attempts, resulting in heavy losses to two Light Infantry Battalions of the 57th Brigade, failed before the German resistance, supported by a great superiority of guns. The 46th maintained its positions from Vassincourt to the Ornain. On the 9th the attack began again at dawn, and by the evening the burning village was closely surrounded on the east and to the south by trenches which the French troops had dug hastily. In the course of this day, Colonel Malleterre, who had taken over the command of the 19th Brigade and was directing operations, was seriously wounded. It was only on the 11th that the Plateau of Vassincourt was completely cleared of the German troops who had entrenched themselves there.
Turn to the left in the middle of the village, in order to visit the church, of which the spire has been brought down and the interior laid waste, then return to the road.
After Vassincourt, G. C. 1 passes through Mussey (74 km.). Varney and Fains, further up-stream, constituted with Mussey three passages which were covered by the Fifth French Corps. The Crown Prince had given orders to the Thirteenth German Corps to make themselves masters of the bridges, but the splendid resistance of the French troops did not allow the enemy to cross this part of the waterway, which, however, had been crossed further down, at Revigny.
After leaving Mussey cross over the canal, which the road follows on a lower level, and pass Varney on the left. At Fains (79 km.) the canal has to be crossed again, turning to the right. Then turn to the left, along the canal bank. This leads to the high road to Bar-le-Duc G. C. (D. 4). Follow it, and enter the town by the Boulevard de la Banque, the Rue d’Entre-deux-Ponts, and the Boulevard de La Rochelle, where the hotel will be found (82 km.).
Bar-le-Duc
Origin and Chief Historical Facts
Bar-le-Duc is of Gallo-Roman origin. The name of Bar is very probably derived from the bar which the Ornain forms at the spot where the Notre-Dame Bridge now stands. The few dwellings erected at the edge of the river were called Barrivilla, and occupied the site of the present “faubourg” of Couchot, where the “Rue des Romains” still exists. At a later date, and on the opposite bank of the Ornain, rose a fortified township named Burgum Barri, which is to-day the district traversed by the Rue du Bourg. In the middle of the tenth century Frederick I., Count of Bar, built a castle on the hill overlooking the Ornain, to the west, and thus the upper town was created. When Frederick I. became Duke of Haute-Lorraine the name of the town was changed into Barro Ducis, whence Bar-au-Duc, then Bar-le-Duc.
In the middle ages Bar-le-Duc experienced the restless life of fortified places. In the twelfth century Henry V., Emperor of Germany, then, in the fourteenth century, the King of France, Philippe le Bel, declared their suzerainty over the Counts of Bar. In the fifteenth century Anne of Beaujeu gave up the district of Bar to the Dukes of Lorraine. During the seventeenth century Bar changed hands ten times. The most celebrated siege was that by Turenne in 1652, the lower town being taken at the end of a fortnight and the upper town succumbing two days later. In 1670 Louis XIV. caused all the fortifications, with the exception of the “Tour de l’Horloge,” to be razed to the ground. In 1737 the last hereditary Duke of Lorraine, Francis II., ceded the province to Stanislas Leczinski, the dethroned King of Poland, on whose death it was to return to France. When this occurred in 1766 Bar was definitely incorporated in French territory.
Francis, Duke of Guise, and Marshals Oudinot and Exelmans, were born at Bar.
The town was occupied from 1870 to 1873 by the Germans. In 1914 the Crown Prince thought he would be able to enter it without difficulty, but Sarrail’s Army undeceived him very decidedly, and the battle of the Marne spent itself a few kilometres from the gates of the town. During the period of trench warfare there were numerous air raids, although Bar is an unfortified town (photo above).
Visit to the Town
(See plan p. 239)
Lower Town.—See Notre-Dame Bridge and Church of Notre-Dame.
Upper Town.—See The Castle; Gilles-de-Trèves College; The Clock-Tower (tour de l’Horloge); The Esplanade; The Place and Church of Saint Pierre.
This town is famous for its celebrated red-currant jam; the pips of the fruit being removed one by one before cooking. Also “Vin gris.”
The Lower Town
Notre-Dame Bridge
This was first built of wood, then towards the middle of the fourteenth century, of stone. The Chapel to the Virgin on one of the piles has been in existence since the seventeenth century. It escaped destruction in the troubled times of the Revolution in consequence, it is said, of the prudent substitution of the busts of Marat and Robespierre for the statue of the Virgin.
There is a pretty view of the Ornain from the bridge; but in order to see the bridge itself in its most picturesque aspect, take a few steps along the edge of the south bank, whence the photo below was taken.
Notre-Dame
This church may be seen from the bridge. Parts of it date from the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries, whilst one front and one tower belong to the eighteenth. The bas-relief of the façade representing the Assumption belongs to 1750. In the interior, in the right branch of the transept, is an interesting fifteenth century bas-relief representing the Virgin and symbolic figures.
The Upper Town
The upper town is the most interesting part of Bar-le-Duc.
The two photographs on this page show it as it appears from the lower town.
Motors can reach it easily by following the Boulevard de la Rochelle, then taking, on the right, the Rue Lapique, which passes before the town-hall and leads to the Avenue du Château.
At the top of this avenue after passing, on the left, the Romanesque entrance to the old ducal castle (reached by about twenty steps) by turning to the right one can follow on foot the Rue Gilles-de-Trèves for about one hundred yards, as far as the ancient college of the same name, which is classed as an historical monument. It has an interesting Renaissance front looking on to the courtyard.
Return to the Avenue du Château, which is continued on the left by the Rue du Baile. It is from there that the photographs on p. 242 were taken, the one looking towards the lower town, along the castle walls, the other towards Old Bar.
At the end of the Rue du Baile, on the left is the Clock Tower shown in the photograph on p. 243.
Pedestrians need not follow the above itinerary, but can gain the Clock Tower directly by taking the Rue d’Entre-deux-Ponts and the Rue Rousseau, visible in the foreground of the photo on p. 241. The Rue Rousseau after skirting the Place Reggio (see page 241), crosses the Canal des Usines. In doing so, the little Church of Saint-Anthony may be seen astride the canal. It dates from the fourteenth century. Turn next to the left into the Rue Oudinot. After about 200 yards, take on the left the Rue Saint-Antoine as far as the bridge over the Canal des Usines, from whence there is a picturesque view of the old houses which throng this narrow stream of water. We retrace our steps and go beyond the Rue Rousseau in order to take the Rue de l’Horloge on the left. This street mounts to the upper town and passes at the foot of the Clock Tower. One rejoins the latter by means of a stair, the beginning of which is seen on the left in the photo at the top of page 243. The fourteenth century Clock Tower is all that remains of the fortifications of Bar, which, as we have seen on p. 238, were destroyed by order of Louis XIV. in 1670. From the top of the stair, to the left of the tower, there is a fine view of the lower town and of the valley. The photo at the foot of p. 243 was taken from this spot. If one wishes to climb the tower, the guardian must be consulted. Turn to the right on leaving the Clock Tower, in order to reach the Castle Esplanade, which is planted with ancient trees. From this point there is a view of another part of Bar-le-Duc (see photo p. 244).
To the left of the esplanade are the remains of the old ducal castle. The photo at the foot of p. 244 depicts the Romanesque doorway which is the oldest part of it. We saw this doorway from the other side when ascending the Avenue du Château. It was formerly on the level, but in 1871, when the carriage road was made, it was united to the avenue by steps.
The castle occupied formerly the whole of the plateau. It was built in 964 by Frederick I., Count of Bar, and altered in succeeding centuries. All that remains are a few sixteenth century buildings, seen in the photo at the foot of p. 244, and of which the external view is reproduced at the top of p. 242. The buildings and the chapel seen between the Clock Tower and the esplanade belong to an old Dominican convent built in the nineteenth century.
After going round the esplanade, return to the Rue du Baile and follow it towards Old Bar. Take, on the right of the Place-de-la Fontaine, Rue des Ducs de Bar, which has preserved some quaint sixteenth and seventeenth century houses. Turn to the left in this street in order to enter Place Saint-Pierre, at the extremity of which stands the church of this name, classed as an historical monument.
The Place has retained its old world aspect. Sixteenth and seventeenth century houses, of which the most beautiful, No. 21, is a museum, form a fitting frame to the old church.
The museum is open to the public on Sundays, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., and at any time to strangers to the town (gratuity).
It contains collections of painting, sculpture, and natural history.
Saint-Pierre is the oldest church in Bar-le-Duc.
It was begun in the fourteenth century; the front, reproduced on p. 245, dates from the sixteenth century, with the exception of the quadrangular cupola surmounted by a lantern, which crowns the tower.
This portion, which jars with the transitional Gothic of the rest of the edifice, was added in the seventeenth century. The plans for the right hand tower were never executed.
In the interior, in the right branch of the transept, is the masterpiece of the great Lorraine sculptor of the sixteenth century, Ligier-Richier, pupil of Michael Angelo. It is the funeral monument of René of Châlon, Prince of Orange, and is commonly known as “the Skeleton.”
René de Châlon, who was killed in 1544 at the siege of Saint-Dizier, is said to have expressed the wish to be impersonated on his tomb as he would be three years after his death. It was in order to conform to his wish that his widow, Louise of Lorraine, ordered Richier to execute the strikingly realistic monument seen in the photo below. The “Skeleton” was carved in stone, then placed in a bath of oil and wax which gave it the appearance of old ivory.
Opposite the pulpit and suspended from the pillars in the nave, is a carving of Christ between the two thieves. This crucifixion-group dates from the sixteenth century and is in walnut wood, but has been repainted in modern times.
It has sometimes been attributed to Ligier-Richier. In a chapel to the left of the choir there is kept a sixteenth century bas-relief representing St.-François d’Assises, patron saint of François Brûlé, rector of Saint-Pierre, between Saint Peter and Saint Max, Abbot of Chinon.
In the right aisle there is a beautiful Renaissance chapel and the baptistry.
Motors descend again into the lower town by the same road taken in coming up.
Other Secondary Places of Interest
Monument des Michaux, at the corner of Rue Rousseau and Rue du Bourg, was erected in 1894. The two Michaux were the carriage-builders who invented the fitting of pedals to bicycles.
The “Café des Oiseaux,” in the theatre in the Rue Rousseau, the hall of which is surrounded by glass cases containing more than 50,000 natural history specimens.
The Rue du Bourg is famous for its old Renaissance houses.
The Public Garden lies behind the town-hall.
The Church of Saint-Jean at the end of the Boulevard de la Rochelle was begun in 1882 in the Romanesque style.
The “Porte de la Couronne” (Place de la Couronne) dates from 1751.
FIELD OF OPERATIONS
OF THE
THIRD FRENCH ARMY
III — Tour Round Bar-le-Duc
(66 km.)
(See map inserted between pp. 212-213)
Via Villers-aux-Vents, Brabant-le-Roi, Revigny, Nettancourt, Sommeilles, Laheycourt, Louppy-le-Château, Louppy-le-Petit, Génicourt, Vavincourt
Leave by the Boulevard de la Banque. Cross the Canal des Usines, then take on the right the road to Revigny or G. C. D. 4, 1,500 yards further. Cross the railway by a level-crossing and then the Marne-Rhine Canal.
The road dips down to the left in order to follow the railway, and then crosses the Ornain, of which it follows the right bank. We come to the hamlet of Venise, but continue in the direction of Laimont (12 km.). Half-way thither, on the right, may be seen the woods which constituted the ultimate line of resistance of the Fifth Corps during the violent attacks which it experienced on September 6, and in which it lost about ten kilometres. Snatched from the Tenth Division of the Sixth Corps on the night of the 6th, Laimont was only retaken on the 11th by the Fifteenth Corps. As may be seen in the above photo, the church was damaged by shells. Many houses were destroyed. When they left Laimont the Germans took away seven hostages, among them the rector.
G. C. D. 4 branches off to the left to cross through Laimont, and passes in front of the church; but instead of following it, leave the village on the left and continue straight along the road which becomes G. C. D. 15.
2 km. 4 further on, take the “Chemin vicinal” to the right leading to Villers-aux-Vents. After crossing a stream, turn to the left at the entrance to the village, following a winding road which leads to the church. Villers-aux-Vents (16 km.) was completely destroyed by the fire which the Germans kindled before leaving. It was attacked on September 6 by masses of infantry coming up from the north and north-west, and gallantly defended by the Tenth Division, which occupied the village and its neighbourhood. Violent fighting took place to the north of Villers, near the Grand-Morinval Pond, in the course of which General Roques, who was commanding the Division, was mortally wounded. Giving way under force of numbers, the Tenth Division was obliged to evacuate Villers and fall back on Laimont. As we have seen above, this village also was lost during the night, and the line of defence was taken up in the woods to the east.
The Germans took three hostages at Villers, under circumstances of which one of them, M. Vigroux, gave details before the Commission of Enquiry. He was coming out of his house when he perceived another resident, M. Minette, surrounded by soldiers. “At the same time,” he declared, “a Prussian came up to me, seized me, and led me away, his revolver pointed at my head, without my having threatened or gesticulated. I next saw the Prussians strike Minette with their fists and with the butt-end of their rifles; they also tore off his clothes, finally leaving him naked.
“They then secured his hands with an iron chain.”
The hostages were led one kilometre from the village. Minette was separated from the group and made to kneel. He was then shot. As far as his companions were able to understand, the Germans appeared to have found in his house an old and useless revolver. After the death of Minette, the other hostages were set free.
At the other end of the village from the church, in a field on the left, is a subterranean shelter, known in the village under the name of the “Crown Prince’s Dug-out,” the photo at the top of this page shows the entrance to it. This shelter was dug during the German occupation, and the armchairs from the church were placed in it to make it more comfortable. According to local authority, the Crown Prince stayed for a time at Villers, and the shelter was made for his convenience.
Descend from the plateau on which the village is built, and at the foot of the hill, after having crossed the river, take on the right the “Chemin vicinal” which leads back to G. C. D. 15. It is the little road which is seen in the above photograph. G. C. D. 15, planted with trees, appears on the horizon.
At the meeting of the roads, turn to the right towards Brabant-le-Roi (20 km.). In this village, turn to the left near the church and continue straight forward to Revigny (22 km.) by G. C. 20, which crosses the picture at the foot of p. 247.
It was between Brabant and Revigny, near the railway which follows the road on the right, that the Zeppelin L.Z. 77 was brought down on February 21, 1915, at 9·15 p.m. The carcase of the great air-ship is visible in the above photo; opposite is the photo of the motor-cannon which brought it down. It was under the orders of Adjutant Gramling (on the right in the photo) and was pointed by the Chief-Pointer Pennetier (at his post of observation behind the shield).
Revigny, like Brabant-le-Roi, fell on September 6, in spite of a brilliant defence by the Fifth Corps. On September 12 it was re-occupied by the Fifteenth Corps. In Revigny, after passing a level-crossing and continuing straight on, turn to the left, in order to reach the church shown in the photograph below.
The Church of Revigny is classed as an historical monument. It is a fifteenth and sixteenth century edifice, the most interesting part of which is the apse. The gargoyles on the buttresses are curious. The steeple was destroyed by the fire lighted by the Germans; the roof fell in and the interior was ravaged by the flames.
On returning to the street by which we entered, continue towards the centre of the town, then turn to the left into the principal street, from which, over the ruined houses, the photo (below) of the church was taken. At No. 21, at the corner of the Rue du Four, is the bakery of which we give photographs, both of the interior and the exterior, at the foot of the page. Hundreds of houses are in this state or have completely disappeared.
We reach next the Place de l’Hôtel-de-Ville; the town-hall has been completely destroyed.
The fire was preceded by pillage. Numerous waggons were laden with articles deemed of interest, and sent down the line. The walls of the houses were then sprayed with paraffin from hand syringes. Packets of tablets made of compressed gunpowder, and sticks of inflammable matter thrown into the burning houses, stimulated the flames. During three days the fires which died out were thus relighted. Only the houses where the officers were staying were spared. As they declared to the rector, the Germans did this from no other motive but to spread terror, and they did it systematically.
1,200 yards beyond Brabant may be seen, on the left, the panoramic view of the valley of the Ornain shown in the photographs above. The river, the railway from Bar-le-Duc to Vitry-le-François, and the canal from the Marne to the Rhine pass through it, and take up the south of the depression behind Revigny. On the left beyond Brabant-le-Roi the valley narrows towards Bar-le-Duc; on the right it widens in the direction of Sermaize and meets the Valley of the Saulx. The whole constitutes what is known as the Pass of Revigny, and was the object of furious attacks by the Germans who sought to separate the Third and Fourth French Armies in this region. As early as September 6 under a violent offensive, the Fifth Corps lost Brabant and Revigny, and was thrown back on the plateau in the centre of which is Vassincourt, where the tourist has already passed. The German advance was stayed in the neighbourhood of this village, thanks to the admirable resistance of the Fifth Corps, aided by the Fifteenth.
On arriving at the Place de l’Hôtel-de-Ville, we shall retrace our steps as far as the Church of Brabant-le-Roi, then turn to the left towards Nettancourt by C. G. D. 15.
Continue along the road and go over a level-crossing, then follow the valley of the Chée to reach Nettancourt (30 km.), and turn to the left to reach the chapel. The church is not in the village, but on a hill to the west. It dates from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and is classed as an historical monument. It has suffered from fire and from shells.
Nettancourt fell into the hands of the Germans on September 6. On leaving the village, strike off G. C. D. 15 and take on the right the Sommeilles Road or G. C. 27. Go over a level-crossing and turn immediately to the left. At Sommeilles (34 km.), turn to the left to reach the church, then to the right in order to visit the town-hall. The church is capable of restoration, but of the latter only the front remains. As for the houses, they were completely destroyed by fires lighted by the Germans under the same conditions as at Revigny—by spraying them with paraffin from hand-pumps.
It was on the 6th, when the 51st German Infantry Regiment arrived, that fires broke out in the whole of the village. The inhabitants fled before the flames, but the soldiers seized them and asked for information regarding the movements of the French troops, threatening at the same time to shoot them. Eight hostages were led as far as Brabant-le-Roi, where they were released after having been made to kneel, whilst their captors made a dumb show of firing at them.
The Germans committed still more inexcusable crimes at Sommeilles. On September 12, when the Light Infantry entered the village, the officers and the doctor found in the cellar of the Adnot family’s house, seven corpses. Death had taken place under particularly atrocious conditions. The Official Report gives the following details:
“We discovered the body of a man of about sixty (M. Adnot) who had been shot, he had two wounds in his chest, and his eyes were still bandaged; that of a woman of about the same age (Mme. Adnot) with no visible wounds; another of a woman of about thirty-five years, whose right fore-arm, entirely severed from the rest of her body, had been thrown at some distance. Her clothing had been torn off (this woman appeared to have been violated). Then that of a little girl of about twelve years, who seemed to have met the same fate; those of three children of from five to ten years, two of whose heads had been cut off and thrown near the bodies.”
After visiting Sommeilles, we retrace our steps as far as the cross-roads, which we met on arriving at the village, and continue straight on towards Laheycourt by G. C. 35. In Laheycourt (39 km.), through which we pass, the monumental town-hall on the right, shown in the photo below, is worthy of note. It was burned by the Germans. The church opposite was turned into a hospital, and was spared for this reason. A certain number of houses were burned, or destroyed by shells.
On leaving Laheycourt, pass a level-crossing, then follow the railway for about 2 km. The railway then leaves the road and goes towards Villotte and Lisle-en-Barrois, while the road continues along the Valley of the Chée towards Louppy-le-Château.
The right wing of the Fifth Corps experienced violent fighting in this region on September 6. After having lost Sommeilles and Laheycourt, it turned to bay at Louppy-le-Château, as also at Villotte on the 8th.
Traversing Louppy-le-Château (44 km.), three-quarters destroyed by fire, the church will be noticed on the right, in a piteous condition from shelling, as shown in the photographs on p. 253. It dates from the thirteenth century and was restored in the nineteenth. The steeple was destroyed and the roof has fallen in. The bell, which was recovered from amidst the ruins, has been set up on the ground, and still summons the inhabitants to the services held in the roughly repaired choir.
The Germans committed revolting acts of brutality and immorality at Louppy-le-Château during the night of September 8-9, in a cellar where women and children had taken refuge from shell-fire. Two married women of 74 and 70 years, a spinster of 71 years, and a mother of 44 years and her children were odiously misused. The mother made the following declaration before the Commission of Enquiry:
“I was in M. Raussin’s cellar with my five children and other persons from the village, when three Germans, with revolvers in their hands, entered. One of them commanded me to lie down on the ground. I was obliged to obey.... Meanwhile, I received numerous blows. The Germans left the cellar, but two came back again. I made a dash for the stair and was not again mishandled, but I heard sounds of the scenes of violence to which the women who remained in the cellar were subjected. Among them were my two daughters aged thirteen years and eight years respectively. Both were violated, the latter, who was killed by a shell splinter on the following day, being unable to walk.”
The brother of the little victims, a boy aged eleven, made the following declaration: “I was sleeping in M. Raussin’s cellar, when two Germans woke me, and tore my trousers. I cried out: ‘I am a little boy.’ They gave me a sound thrashing and struck my head with their fists.”
On leaving Louppy-le-Château, turn to the left into I. C. 55 in the direction. of Louppy-le-Petit. Cross the Chée, then turn immediately to the right. 2½ km. further on cross a tributary of this river, and thus reach Louppy-le-Petit (49 km.). The defenders of Louppy-le-Château, subjected to a violent shell-fire, were obliged to abandon the village on September 8, and fall back on Louppy-le-Petit, which they were compelled to abandon likewise on the 9th. The line of defence was removed further east to Génicourt, which the tourist will pass after Louppy.
In Louppy, turn to the right towards the church, where the bombardment has caused much havoc. Descend towards the Chée and, cross it. Immediately afterwards, I. C. 55 turns to the left in the direction of Génicourt-sous-Condé (51½ km.).
Pass straight through Génicourt, go over a level-crossing, then over the river, and 200 yards beyond, at the entrance to Condé, turn to the right into G. C. 28 leading to Hargeville (54½ km.).
We are leaving the zone of the fighting of September. Turn to the right in Hargeville to cross the river, then to the left towards the church and continue straight on.
On leaving Hargeville, cross the railway twice by level-crossings. At Vavincourt (58 km.), turn to the right in order to pass the church, and go through the village to the far end. On leaving it, take the road on the right (I. C. 16), which branches off from G. C. 28. I. C. 16 goes through Behonne then descends into the valley of the Ornain and Bar-le-Duc. At the foot of the slope, cross the railway and the canal, then again the railway. Turn to the left immediately afterwards into the Rue des Romains; then take the Rue Couchot (3rd on right). Leave it to follow the Rue de l’Hospice on the left, which passes Notre-Dame. On arriving at the church, turn to the right towards Notre-Dame Bridge by Rue de Bar-la-Ville. After crossing the bridge take the Rue Notre-Dame which is a continuation, then Rue d’Entre-deux-Ponts on the left. On the left is the Boulevard de la Rochelle, where the hotel will be found (65 km.).
FIELD OF OPERATIONS
OF THE
THIRD FRENCH ARMY
IV — From Bar-le-Duc to Verdun
(63 km.)
(See map inserted between pp. 212-213)
via Naives, Vavincourt, Marats, Rembercourt-aux-Pots, Vaux-Marie, Beauzée, Amblaincourt, Seraucourt, Issoncourt, Heippes, Souilly.
Leave Bar-le-Duc by the Boulevard de la Rochelle, at the east end of which, before St. John’s Church, turn to the left and cross the Pont-Neuf. Then turn to the right into the Rue Ernest Bradfer; 300 yards further on, turn to the left into the Rue du Passage-Inférieur. After crossing the railway, turn to the left into the Rue de Popey. 250 yards farther on the Rue de Saint Mihiel will be found on the right, and this is continued by the G. C. S. 1 bis.
At Naives (5 km.), turn to the left and take G. C. 28, which climbs the plateau, at whose foot we have been travelling since leaving Bar-le-Duc. Pass straight through Vavincourt (8 km.) and take I. C. 16, a hilly road, leading to Marats-la-Grande (14½ km.). Descend into the village, turn to the left; and on leaving it by its western end, take, on the right, I. C. 48 leading to Rembercourt-aux-Pots (18½ km.).
We are entering the zone of action of the Sixth Corps. Rembercourt was attacked on September 7, but held out, thanks to the defences which had been strongly organised round it. It was abandoned on the 10th and retaken on the 12th.
The road passes in front of the church, which is classed as an historical monument (photo below). It is one of the most remarkable in the Department of the Meuse. It dates from the fifteenth century, but its beautiful front is Renaissance. The roof of the nave and that of the left aisle have been destroyed by German shells, but fortunately the front only suffered slightly. Take the street on the right on leaving the church; it leads out of Rembercourt by G. C. 35.
3 km. farther, turn to the left in order to pay a visit to Vaux-Marie Farm (22 km.), which was one of the most important centres of resistance in this part of the battlefield.
A few yards from the cross-roads, on the right, is a large common grave, of which the photograph is given below. Soldiers belonging to the 132nd Line Regiment and the 26th Battalion Light Infantry are buried there. The farm stands at a distance of 1,500 yards from the cross-roads. As shown in the photos on pp 256-257, its buildings have suffered badly from the violent shell-fire to which they were subjected, particularly on September 8. The attacks were fierce, but the defences which the Light Infantry had established round the farm enabled them to hold out until the 10th. The farm was abandoned at the same time as Rembercourt, and retaken on the 12th with the latter village. The whole of the plateau extending from Rembercourt to Vaux-Marie was the scene of combats which were among the most violent of the Battle of the Marne.
Continuing along the road, after leaving the farm, go over first one level-crossing, then another. The line runs between embankments, and was utilised as a line of defence. French and German graves (seen in centre of this page) were dug along the slope. On the right of the road is Hill 302, on the left Hill 293, which were comprised in the line of resistance of the Twelfth Division of the Sixth Corps on September 6, and of the 107th Brigade on September 7.
Before descending from the plateau into Beauzée, there is a very fine view. The photograph at the foot of this page shows the valley of Seraucourt, which the tourist will visit after Beauzée. It was there that the 40th Division of the Sixth Corps manœuvred. The photo at the top of p. 258 was taken looking towards Beauzée, whose steeple is visible. The numerous graves on either side of the road recall the violence of the struggle on September 6, when German pressure obliged the Twelfth Division to evacuate Beauzée and fall back on Hills 302 and 293, which the tourist has just passed.
Before entering Beauzée, go over two level-crossings. Follow the principal street, and turn to the right in order to arrive at the church (27 km.).
The photographs on pp. 258-259 give some idea of the state in which the German bombardment left this fine building. The church dates from the sixteenth century, as is shown by the rich ornamentation of the west front (see at the top of p. 259). This part of it received several shells, and in the photograph the shattered fragments resulting from this may be seen strewn on the ground. The nave, the apse, and the transept suffered most of all. The tower, restored in modern times and crowned by a spire, escaped destruction. It will, perhaps, be possible to save the panellings of the stalls and confessionals, which date from the eighteenth century.
A large number of houses in the village, and particularly around the church, were destroyed by shells.
Turn to the right in front of the church, into the street shown in the photograph at the foot of p. 259. Then turn to the left towards the river and cross it. There is a very picturesque view of the village from this spot (photograph p. 260). Immediately after passing the Aire, turn to the right into I. C. 26, which goes up the valley towards Amblaincourt (29 km.).
This little village was destroyed. The view in the centre of p. 260 shows what remains of the town-hall, which was formerly a church. In Amblaincourt, turn first to the right and then to the left, without crossing the railway. I. C. 26 going to Seraucourt follows the valley which appears on the panorama on p. 257. A tributary of the Aire and the little railway from Bar-le-Duc to Verdun follow the windings of this valley.
The 40th Division of the Sixth Corps fought on the two heights which command the valley to the north and to the south. The southern one (and especially Chanet Wood, which we can see on the right) served as a place of retreat when the attacks of September 6-10, which aimed at taking the northern crest, failed. On the 10th, in spite of an heroic resistance, the 40th Division was obliged to abandon Chanet Wood and to retire for several kilometres. On the night of the 12-13th the Germans, having been completely beaten on all other points of their front, evacuated their positions, which the French re-occupied the next day.
Pass straight through Seraucourt (31½ km.). Part of its houses were destroyed by shell-fire.
From Seraucourt to Lemmes we are going over the battlefield of the reserve divisions placed at the disposal of the Third Army, in order to strengthen and prolong its right wing, and to attempt to outflank the enemy’s left.
Tn the neighbourhood of Seraucourt the 65th (reserve) Division linked up with the 40th Division of the Sixth Corps.
Still following the valley, we reach Rignaucourt (33½ km.). To the north of the village, on the plateau, is Blandin Wood, which was occupied until September 10 by the 65th (reserve) Division. From there it hurled its daily attacks to the west against the flank of the enemy. On the 10th it was thrown back violently to the south-east, beyond Landlut Wood, which crowns the plateau to the south, and lies to the right of the road. The German retreat took place on the night of the 12th.
In Rignaucourt, turn to the right in order to pass in front of the church; descend towards the railway, and beyond the level-crossing go over the river, and turn at once to the left towards Issoncourt (35½ km.). At the entrance to the village, turn to the left into G. C. D. 6, which is the main road from Bar-le-Duc to Verdun. After two railway-crossings we arrive at Heippes (39½ km.). The 65th and 75th (reserve) Divisions fought desperately to the west of this road in Ahaye Wood, until September 10, endeavouring to give relief to the Sixth Corps by an attack on the German flank.
Leaving Heippes church behind, I. C. 24 leading to Saint-André comes into view on the left. This road formed the pivot of the attacks of the 75th Division, one part of which was operating to the south, with the 65th Division in Ahaye Woods; the other to the north in the Woods of Châtel and Moinville. After a fierce struggle the reserve divisions were forced to retire. Whilst the 65th Division clung for a time to Hill 342 or the Signal d’Heippes, which commands the village to the south-west beyond the railway, the 75th held out in Heippes, but on the 10th both were driven back to the east of G. C. D. 6.
After Heippes the road goes towards Souilly (43½ km.). On the heights to the left of the road the 75th (reserve) Division fought, Souilly was abandoned by it on September 10.
During the great battle of Verdun in 1916 General Pétain had his headquarters at Souilly Castle. The photograph opposite shows the victor of Verdun in company with General Joffre.
Go straight through Souilly to reach Lemmes (48 km.), after twice crossing the railway. To the west of the road is the battlefield of the 67th (reserve) Division and the mobile defences of the entrenched camp of Verdun which, during the Battle of the Marne, worried the German communications by frequent raids against their flank.
G. C. D. 6 rejoins N. 3 beyond the hamlet of Moulin-Brûlé (54 km.). The railway is again traversed by two level-crossings.
This little line, which comes from Bar-le-Duc, and which we have followed from Beauzée, was at the beginning of the Battle of Verdun the only one possible for victualling the troops. The main line from Châlons to Verdun was under the fire of the German artillery, and that from Bar-le-Duc or from Toul to Verdun was occupied in its centre, at Saint-Mihiel, by the enemy. The capacity of this single branch was so small that all the heroism of the defenders would have been vain, and the Germans would have entered as conquerors into the old city, if, by a remarkable feat, motors had not been able to replace the feeble railway. The road which the tourist followed on leaving Bar-le-Duc, and which he rejoined at Issoncourt, has been known since that epoch as the “Voie Sacrée” (the Holy Way). An average of 1,700 motors transporting troops, ammunition and stores, went by each day in both directions, making one vehicle every twenty-five seconds. The view below gives an idea of this line of cars winding across the country.
At the junction with N. 3, shortly after passing the spot where the railway crosses the road, turn to the right in the direction of Verdun (63 km.). This town and its entrenched camp, whose renown has become worldwide, are the subject of a special volume.