As soon as they were driven out of Soissons in September 1914, the
enemy proceeded to bombard the city. During the latter part of
September, the cannonade was incessant, the fire being directed
successively on all the different quarters and public buildings,
including the hospital filled with wounded.
[Illustration: MASS IN THE CATHEDRAL 1917.]
After a short lull, the bombardment continued with great violence
throughout January 1915.
On January 8, the Palais-de-Justice was set on fire, and on the 9th,
the Cathedral was struck by 42 shells. On January 14, the shelling
lasted all day, and until the end of February, the firing continued
with the same intensity and almost without pause. The Cathedral was
systematically aimed at, as is proved by the note book belonging to the
Kommandant of the “Ringkanonenbatterie” posted north-east of Soissons
on Hill 132, which fell into the Allies’ hands.
[Illustration: IN THE CENTRE OF THE TOWN.]
On January 31, he wrote: “The battery fired nineteen rounds of
percussion and fuze shells at the Cathedral. The tower and nave were
hit several times, and the beginning of a fire was noticed in the
nave. So far, we have not been able to do much damage to the tower
...” On February 2, a battery fired twenty-nine rounds of shrapnel at
the Cathedral, and in particular at the tower, sixteen of which hit
the mark. On February 25, twenty-one shells were fired at the same
target. As for the town itself, another 200 rounds were fired into it
on February 28. The bombardment slackened later, but began again at
intervals, without any apparent reason and with varying intensity.
It was continued until the middle of March 1917, when the German
withdrawal from the Somme to the Aisne freed Soissons, which could now
only be reached by the long-range guns. However aeroplanes frequently
dropped incendiary bombs on the city.
[Illustration: TRENCH IN THE BOULEVARD JEANNE-D’ARC.]
LIFE IN SOISSONS FROM 1914 TO 1917
A thirty-months’ Siege.
From September 1914 to March 1917, while the Germans remained at the
gates of the city, the latter was veritably besieged. Notwithstanding
the increasing destruction caused by the shells, the civil population
continued bravely to “carry on”. Part of the population refused to
leave the city, while here and there, on the walls that were left
standing, printed notices announced the fact that the house was still
occupied. Then followed the names of the courageous inmates. During the
bombardments, the people took shelter in the cellars, only to resume
their ordinary daily occupations as soon as the firing ceased. The
public services continued to work normally. Many shops were kept open,
and an hotel was available for the travellers who arrived by the night
omnibus that linked up the city with Vierzy, the nearest point on the
railway.
In parts of the city, it was only possible to get about by making use
of the communication trenches which ran along the side of the roads.
One such trench ran the whole length of the Boulevard Jeanne-d’Arc
(_photo above_), while others crossed the Town-Hall gardens
(_See p. _40) and the streets near the Aisne.
Moreover, getting about was restricted to certain quarters of the city
as, just beyond the centre, the defensive works (barricades, trenches,
etc.) began.
_These works are described in the second Itinerary (_p. _52–64) which
takes the tourist from the centre of the town to the first line
trenches of the 1915–1917 front (Vauxrot, Saint-Paul and Saint-Médard),
via the Mail, Saint-Waast suburb, etc._
[Illustration: THE OLD FIRST FRENCH LINE.
_The Distillery see p. _56.]
[Illustration: SOISSONS
POPULATION · 14,458 inhabitants. ALTITUDE 180 feet.
SCALE
0 50 100 200 300 400