The Battle of Saint Mihiel

A Visit to St. Mihiel

Itinerary

Enter the town via the Faubourg de Nancy and the Rue Porte-à-Nancy (1). St. Etienne Church (A); Place Ligier Richier (4); Hôtel-de-Ville (H); Rue Porte-à-Metz (6); Promenade des Capucins; Les Sept-Roches.

Cross the Meuse by the temporary bridge (14), Chauvoncourt, and Paroches Fort.

Return to St. Mihiel by the temporary bridge. Place des Halles (17); Place du Collège (20); Church of St. Michel (B); and Hôtel de la Division.

Leave St. Mihiel by the Commercy road.

Plan of St. Mihiel
Arbitrary Signs
A.—St. Etienne Church.	7.—Rue Carnot.
B.—St. Michel Church.	8.—Rue du Général Blaise.
C.—Cavalry Barracks.	9.—Rue Haute des Fossés.
CC.—Chauvoncourt Barracks.	10.—Rue des Annonciades.
CS.—Sénarmont Barracks.	11.—Avenue des Roches.
H.—Hôtel-de-Ville.	12.—Place du Marché.
J.—Palais-de-Justice.	13.—Place du Manège.
O.—Octrois.	14.—Temporary Bridge.
	15.—Destroyed Bridge.
1.—Rue Porte-à-Nancy.	16.—Rue du Saulcy.
2.—Rue Grande.	17.—Place des Halles.
3.—Rue de l’Eglise.	18.—Rue du Pont.
4.—Place Ligier Richier.	19.—Rue Notre-Dame.
5.—Rue de la Vaux.	20.—Place du Collège.
6.—Rue Porte-à-Metz.	21.—Place aux Moines.

Starting point: The Church of St. Etienne.

The Church of St. Etienne, often called the “Eglise du Bourg,” contains several remarkable Renaissance sculptures, chief among which are a bas-relief in St. Joseph’s Chapel (photo, p. 58), a large reredos behind the high altar (photo, p. 58), and above all, in the central bay of the south aisle, behind a railing (photo, p. 57) in a sort of grotto or crypt, the chef-d’oeuvre of Ligier Richier, commonly known by the incorrect title of the “Sepulchre of St. Mihiel.”

The “Sepulchre,” by Ligier Richier

This comprises a group of thirteen figures, rather more than life size, executed between 1554 and 1564, and placed after Richier’s death in the church, where it stands to-day (photo above).

The figures are arranged as follows: on the left, Salome lays in the coffin, the shroud which is to enwrap Christ, while two disciples, Joseph and Nicodemus, carrying the body of their Divine Master, stand in the foreground. Nicodemus carries the body by the shoulders, while the unsupported head rests against his arm. Joseph of Arimathæa, one knee on the ground, supports the legs of Our Lord. Near him Mary Magdalene helps to carry the feet, which she touches with her lips. In the background the Virgin, leaning on St. John, and Mary, the wife of Cleophas, turn a last look on Christ.

Between Mary, the wife of Cleophas, and Salome, stands an angel bearing the Cross—an unfounded tradition says that this is a portrait of the artist.

On the right of the central group, and next to Nicodemus, a woman, often called Veronica, carries the crown of thorns. Behind her, in the background, two men-at-arms are casting lots for the seamless coat. At the other end, on the right, a Roman officer, often, without justification, called the Centurion, is seated on a shield with a sword in his left hand. He is the captain of the guard in charge of the tomb.

This is a strong, touching work by a French master-sculptor, who had not yet come under Italian influence and methods.

Ligier Richier

Numerous legends surround the life of the “Master of St. Mihiel.” The only son of Jean Richier, a master-sculptor, he was born at St. Mihiel about 1500. Brought up as a Catholic, he was converted to Calvinism about 1560. There is a legend that Michael Angelo came to St. Mihiel, admired the work of the boy Ligier Richier, and took him to Rome; but it is known that Michael Angelo never visited Lorraine.

Ligier Richier, not being able to carry out his commissions single-handed, gathered around him apprentices and companions, who have been called his brothers. It is true that he had a son (Gerald) in 1534, and that the latter worked in his father’s studio, and had in his turn five sons, also sculptors, who settled in Nancy, Metz, Lyons and Grenoble. In 1764, in consequence of the persecution of the Protestants, he settled in Geneva, where he died about 1567.

Numerous groups of sacred figures, scattered over this district, attest the happy skill of Ligier Richier: a reredos of many-coloured stone in the church at Hattonchâtel (p. 38); Christ Crucified between the Virgin and St. John, in the church at Génicourt, on the road from Verdun to St. Mihiel; Group of Notre Dame-de-Pitié, in the Sacré-Cœur Chapel of the church at Etain; a Calvary (six statues of wood variously coloured) in the chapel of the new cemetery at Briey; a large Christ carrying the Cross in the Chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Pitié in the Church of St. Laurent, at Pont-à-Mousson (p. 92); and lastly, in St. Mihiel itself, two of his masterpieces: “The Swooning Virgin,” in the church of St. Mihiel (p. 67) and the important group, “The Sepulchre” in the Church of St. Etienne (p. 56).

After visiting the Church of St. Etienne take on the right the Rue de l’Eglise, at No. 3, of which there is a curious old house.

Follow the continuation of the Rue de l’Eglise (Rue du Général Audéoud), which leads to the Place Ligier Richier.

The statue of Ligier Richier used to stand in the centre of this Place. It was removed by the Germans during the occupation.

At the left-hand corner of the Place take the Rue de la Vaux. On the right of the street is the 17th century Hôtel-de-Ville, at the corner of the Rue Porte-à-Metz. On the left of the Rue Porte-à-Metz, stairs lead to the public garden called “La Promenade des Capucins,” which overlooks the town and the valley of the Meuse (fine panorama).

If the tourist enters St. Mihiel by the Rue Porte-à-Metz, he will see a large cemetery containing more than two thousand granite monuments, opposite the first houses of the town. Over six thousand Germans were buried there, killed for the most part during 1915, and a few in 1916.

No Frenchman, soldier or civilian, has been buried in this cemetery.

The cemetery can also be reached by returning along the Rue Porte-à-Metz as far as the last houses.

Return to the Rue de la Vaux, which take on the right.

At No. 3, on the right, is an old Renaissance house with curious gargoyles; and at No. 2, opposite, a curious old house.

At the beginning of Rue Carnot, which is a continuation of Rue de la Vaux, see the 16th century house called “Du Narrateur,” at No. 36.

Opposite this house, take the terraced Rue du Général Blaise (old house at No. 30).

Follow its continuation (Rue Haute des Fossés), at No. 7 of which is Ligier Richier’s house.

Take the Rue des Annonciades as far as the Avenue des Roches, which leads to the “Seven Rocks,” situated at the gates of the town (see p. 62).

The Seven Rocks

On the edge of the Verdun road, which is an extension of the Avenue des Roches, and overhanging the Meuse just beyond the town, rise seven rocks, known as the “Cliffs of St. Mihiel.”

In the first, surmounted by a stone cross, a grotto has been hollowed out containing a tomb in which lies a great stone Christ. A staircase in the rock gives easy access to it.

This calvary is a place of pilgrimage on Good Friday. The sixth rock, worn away by water, resembles a gigantic mushroom and is called the “Devil’s Table.”

These rocks are represented in the St. Mihiel coat of arms, which is: “Three rocks argent on an azure field, two in chief and one in pile.”

Across the intervening wooded slopes are seen the large buildings of the old Benedictine Abbey of St. Michel, of which the name St. Mihiel is a corruption.

Founded in 709 on a site known to-day as St. Christopher’s Farm, in Vieux-Moutier Wood, it was transferred in 819 to the village of Godinécourt, which then took the name of St. Michel or St. Mihiel. It was closed in 1791.

A romanesque tower, dating from about 1060, dominates the abbey.

Return by the Avenue des Roches to the market; behind the latter, take the Place du Manège, which leads to the temporary bridge across the Meuse.

Cross the bridge and take G.C.D. 1, which passes through the suburb of Chauvoncourt.

Chauvoncourt

Chauvoncourt, occupied by the Germans from the beginning of their advance in September, 1914, was an important bridgehead which the French had an interest in retaking. Its capture and subsequent evacuation (November 16-18) are famous.

In the evening of November 16, French heavy batteries took up their position at Fresnes-au-Mont, on the left bank of the Meuse, five miles from St. Mihiel; but before attacking, the German howitzers on the Paroches position had been destroyed.

The bombardment began at dead of night. Four hundred shells fell on the enemy, causing the Bavarian ammunition dump to explode. At dawn, French infantry, massed in the peninsula of Les Romains, crossed the Meuse on a pontoon bridge, whilst the cavalry on the Fresnes road threatened Chauvoncourt from the west. By ten o’clock the infantry were in sight of the village. The Bavarians advanced by successive rushes—at each of which they fired a salvo—then halted behind a little glen. The fight became a fusilade, and would have continued indefinitely but for the arrival of the French dragoons, who, with lances fixed, charged furiously. The enemy, afraid of being cut off, retreated, followed by the cavalry, who began the siege of the houses. Every window, door and roof sheltered a Bavarian marksman. All day on the 17th the fighting continued in favour of the French, who by night occupied the western part of Chauvoncourt and slept in a French barracks. On the left bank of the Meuse the Germans, two hundred of whom had surrendered, now occupied only a few ruined houses.

But at five o’clock on the morning of the 18th an explosion was heard. At the end of the main street three houses, luckily unoccupied, had been wrecked. Orders were at once given to evacuate the occupied portion of the town, which proved to be a wise precaution, for at eight o’clock the whole south-west portion blew up, over an area of four acres. No soldiers were killed, but civilians, who stayed on in spite of orders to the contrary, were victims of their own imprudence.

Trenches and shelters are to be seen all along the road.

Leaving Chauvoncourt, take to the right G.C. 34, which leads to Paroches.

The village of Paroches is an absolute ruin. The 14th century church, with the exception of part of the belfry, has been almost entirely destroyed (photo opposite).

At the end of the village, on the right, near the Calvary and skirting the wall of the last house, there is a military cemetery. Take, on the left, the narrow road to Fort Paroches. Around the fort are numerous defence works and the graves of French soldiers.

Paroches Fort, built to protect the approaches to Spada Pass, which Troyon Fort defended on the north, is an old masonry fort. Visit the shelters, inner works in concrete.

From the summit there is a fine sweeping view (panorama above) over the battlefield, the Valley of the Meuse, St. Mihiel, the “Camp-des-Romains” Fort (p. 65), Versel Wood and Spada Pass.

Return to St. Mihiel by the same road as far as the temporary bridge over the Meuse and the Place du Manège.

From the Place du Manège, take, on the right, the Rue du Saulcy, which leads to the Place des Halles.

To the right, on reaching the “Place,” is the Rue du Pont, which leads to the ruined bridge. Turn to the left, cross the “Place,” and take the Rue Notre-Dame on the right.

At No. 1 of this street is a 15th century house with a polygonal turret. Opposite at No. 2 is a 14th-15th century house, known locally as the “Maison du Roi.”

Follow the Rue des Carmes, which is a continuation of the Rue Notre-Dame, then the Place des Regrets to the Place du Collège.

On the left stands the Church of St. Michel.

This 17th century church is recognisable by its old Romanesque tower, which forms a vestibule in front of the building. It has three naves with side chapels divided into five bays by fluted columns.

Note the fine organ (photo, p. 68), the pipes of which were removed by the Germans. In the Chapel of the Baptismal Fonts is a stone Cupid holding skulls.

The Church of St. Michel contains one of the finest of Ligier Richier’s works, known as “The Swoon,” or “The Fainting Virgin.” It stands to the right of the choir in a chapel with a door.

In the Middle Ages it was customary to represent the Virgin standing in contemplation of the wounds of her Divine Son, as described in the famous chant, Stabat Mater Dolorosa. In the 15th century, on the contrary, the Virgin was generally represented as described in the Gospel of Nicodemus. In Richier’s group we see the Virgin, supported by St. John, fainting at the foot of the Cross. The extreme simplicity of the work renders it most pathetic.

This work is only a fragment of a much larger group which comprised a large Crucifix, and on either side of the Virgin, St. Longin, Mary Magdalene and four angels, each holding a chalice to catch the Saviour’s blood. The work was in painted walnut, as had been the custom from the Middle Ages, but the worm-eaten wood gradually crumbled away. In 1720 the Benedictines managed to save the crucifix and the group of “The Swoon.” The crucifix is supposed to have been burnt during the Revolution (1792). Now all that remains is a moulding of Christ’s head.

Leaving the Church, skirt the front of the adjoining Collège, and pass under the arch of the Palais-de-Justice, thus reaching the Place des Moines. In this square is the fine façade of the old abbey, restored in the 17th and 18th centuries, the buildings of which have been transformed into the Hôtel de la Division, Palais-de-Justice and prison. Above the latter is the famous monastic library containing 13,000 volumes and valuable manuscripts.

Besides the Hôtel de la Division is the chevet of St. Michel Church, looking on to the square of that name. By turning to the left in the latter, the tourist comes back to the Place du Collège, which cross to take the Commercy road (N. 64).

On leaving St. Mihiel, N. 64 climbs up a steep slope. A mile from the town, on the left, is a concrete blockhouse at the corner of the Commercy road and that leading to Fort Camp-des-Romains. Take the latter to the fort.

Fort of the Camp-des-Romains

This is one of the two forts which protect St. Mihiel. Standing on the end of a narrow peninsula formed by a loop in the Meuse, it dominates the town from a height of 450 feet above the valley. (The hill itself is 1,200 feet high.) It owes its name to the remains of Roman entrenchments, still existing when the fort was built.

When the German Army of Metz occupied St. Mihiel on September 24, 1914, and crossed the Meuse, the Fort of the Camp-des-Romains remained isolated, without troops in the plain to defend it, and absolutely dependent on its own guns. The Germans left it alone for the time being, confident of being able to take it whenever they wished. The 16th Corps hastened to the rescue, but stopped in front of St. Mihiel. The Germans finally dug themselves in and were able, from a position near the town, to begin the bombardment of the fort with the aid of Austrian heavy guns.

The guns were very quickly placed in position, and in a few days they silenced those of the French fort, the turrets and bastions of which were destroyed. In the end the heroic garrison were smoked out by the enemy, who had reached the base of the fort. When the surviving defenders, half suffocated, were able to leave the ruins, the Germans presented arms as a tribute of admiration for their valour, and permitted the captured officers to retain their swords.

All this sector, with a few slight changes, was to remain in the hands of the Germans until September, 1918.

In spite of the terrific gunfire to which it was subjected, the fort was not completely destroyed. In the moats and on the bastions are numerous concrete blockhouses built by the Germans. Near the entrance is the grave of Captain of Artillery Cordebard, killed in 1914.

From the fort there is a fine view on all sides over the valley of the Meuse and the Forest of Apremont.

Return to N. 64 which descends in a long zig-zag to the Meuse, which it crosses.

The road passes through Sampigny—considerably battered—where President Poincaré’s country house was completely ruined by the German bombardments.

It next crosses the railway before entering Vadonville and again on leaving that village.

Lerouville, then Commercy, are soon reached. The night should be spent at the latter (see information on the fly-leaf inside cover).

Commercy is of no particular interest from a picturesque or artistic point of view, but its “Madeleine” cakes enjoy a world-wide reputation.

Plan of Commercy
Arbitrary Signs
A.—Old Château, now a Barracks.	4.—Rue des Capucins.
C.—Barracks.	5.—Road to Nancy.
H.—Hôtel-de-Ville.	6.—Rue Levée-de-Breuil.
O.—Octrois.	7.—Road to Bar-le-Duc.
P.—Sous-Préfecture.	8.—Rue Carnot.
T.—Theatre.	9.—Rue de Lisle.
	10.—Road to Verdun.
1.—Place de l’Hôtel-de-Ville.	11.—Rue du Four.
2.—Rue du Pont-des-Religieuses.	12.—Rue de l’Eglise.
3.—Road to Metz.	13.—Rue de la Gare.