of the mayors of Provins. It was there that Guillaume Pentecôte was
murdered by the workmen of the town (_see p. 129_). Further remains of
the city wall are encountered, which descend the slope of the hill to
the right before rising to the east in order to enclose the lower town.
[Illustration: THE EXECUTIONER'S HOUSE]
The steep path skirting the wall is called the "Chemin du Bourreau"
because the executioners of Provins lived here. Their house still
exists and may be seen at the foot of the slope, on the wall. Its last
inhabitant was Charlemagne Sanson, who, together with his brother the
executioner of Paris, guillotined King Louis XVI. in 1793. The opposite
photograph of the Executioner's House was taken from the foot of the
hill.
_Tourists after descending as far as the "Maison die Bourreau" should
remount the same steep path, then gain Cæsar's Tower by the path
leading to it._
=Cæsar's Tower= (historical monument)
[Illustration: CÆSAR'S TOWER]
This superb keep was built in the twelfth century on the site of a
Roman fort. The lower battlemented portion was added in the fifteenth
century by the English to serve for the installation of their
artillery. The pyramidical roof was added in the sixteenth century. The
entrance is on the left in the old city-wall, at the top of a little
stone staircase. The guardian shows visitors the rooms, the prisons,
and the bells which ring for the services in Saint-Quiriace. From the
summit a splendid view is obtained.
[Illustration: CÆSAR'S TOWER SEEN FROM ST.-QUIRIACE]
=Saint-Quiriace Church= (historical monument)
[Illustration: ST.-QUIRIACE SEEN FROM CÆSAR'S TOWER]
A pagan temple dedicated to the goddess Isis existed in early times
on the site of this church. It gave place in the third century to a
wooden chapel, which in its turn was succeeded by the present building,
erected in 1160 by Count Henri-le-Libéral.
Saint-Quiriace, a converted Jew, who became Bishop of Jerusalem in
the fourth century, indicated to Saint Helena, mother of the Emperor
Constantine, the spot where the three crosses of Calvary had been
hidden. He suffered martyrdom in 363, and the basilica which crowns the
upper town was built to receive the saint's skull.
[Illustration: THE CHOIR OF ST.-QUIRIACE SEEN FROM THE TRANSEPT]
[Illustration: THE AMBULATORY, ST.-QUIRIACE]
The original tower which rose above the centre of the transept,
was burned in the seventeenth century. It has been replaced by a
vast zinc-covered cupola, which, while giving the church a quaint
appearance, harmonises little with its style of architecture.
Saint-Quiriace is full of historical memories. King Philippe-Auguste
here stood godfather to Count Thibaut-le-Grand (1201); Jeanne d'Arc and
Charles VII. heard Mass in it (1429); and Louis XI., Francois I. and
Louis XIV. came to take part in "_Te Deum_."
[Illustration: ENTRANCE-GATE, ST.-QUIRIACE]
If the church had been finished it would be extremely large.
Unfortunately, in the thirteenth century, the construction of the nave
was interrupted at the second triforium, a fact which explains the very
marked disproportion existing between the choir and the transept on one
hand and the nave on the other.
The fabric of the choir is very imposing. It contains an elegant
blind-storey gallery extending into the north and south transepts (view
on p. 143), and is surrounded by an ambulatory (view above), terminated
at the east end by three square chapels.
The greater part of the church furnishings was destroyed at the
Revolution; but the fine Louis XV. gate of the principal doorway still
exists (view opposite), as does the wood-panelling at the end of the
church on the left (photograph below).
[Illustration: WOOD-PANELLING, SAINT-QUIRIACE]
[Illustration: HOUSE IN THE ROMAN STYLE]
_On leaving Saint-Quiriace, take on the right the Rue des Beaux-Arts
leading into the Rue du Palais._
_Take a few steps to the left in_ order to glance at a house in the
+Roman style+, dating from the tenth century (photograph opposite).
_The tourist will then retrace his steps in the direction of the_
+College+ installed in the ancient palace of the Counts of Champagne;
_then descend the Rue du Collège_, in which, on the right, are the
ruins of +St. Peter's Church+, built in the thirteenth century and
destroyed during the Revolution.
_At the head of the flight of steps leading to the lower town_, beside
St. Peter's, was the "Hôtel des Monnaies" (the Mint), which was founded
by Charlemagne. It was there that the "sous Provinois," so well known
in the Middle Ages, were struck (see p. 129).
_Descend St. Peter's steps, and the Rue des Petits-Lions, which lead
to the Rue des Capucins._ On entering the latter, one perceives the
old "Hôtel de la Croix d'Or," dating from the thirteenth century
(photograph below); _whilst a little to the right, on the opposite
side of the street, is the_ "Hôtel Vauluisant," also of the thirteenth
century. Its front, pierced by four fine mullioned windows with trefoil
tracery, may be seen in the photograph below and in that on p. 146.
_Retracing our steps we rejoin the Rue St. Thibaut by way of the Rue
Christophe Opoix, a continuation of the Rue des Capucins. Here motors
coming directly from the Place du Châtel by the Rue Saint-Thibaut may
wait._
[Illustration: HÔTEL DE LA CROIX D'OR]
[Illustration: WINDOWS OF THE HÔTEL VAULUISANT]
[Illustration: HÔTEL VAULUISANT]
_Before leaving, take a few steps up the Rue Saint-Thibaut_ to glance
at the "+Hôtel-Dieu+," the former palace of the Countesses of Blois and
of Champagne.
In the vestibule (view below), on the left is a Renaissance reredos in
stone. The donatrice (the wife of a bailiff of Provins) is represented
in the central panel kneeling to the Virgin.
The vaulted hall, which follows, is very large, and beneath is a crypt
of the same dimensions.
_This brief visit to Provins and its curiosities being over, regain
the hotel for dinner and bed by taking the Rue du Val, the Place de
l'Hôtel de Ville, and the Rue de la Cordonnerie. Turn to the right
at Saint-Ayoul into the Rue Edmond-Nocard continued by the Rue
Victor-Arnoul where stands the hotel._
[Illustration: VESTIBULE OF THE HÔTEL-DIEU]
_Next morning in leaving Provins make for the Place Saint-Ayoul, and
turn to the right into the Rue Abailard which skirts the church. Here
take the Rue Courloison on the left. After crossing the Courloison
Bridge, turn to the left into D. 4, which climbs in zig-zags the slope
of the hill to the north of Provins. We entered the town by this same
road._
[Illustration: REREDOS HÔTEL-DIEU]
_During the morning we shall visit the field of operations of the Fifth
French Army and arrive at Sézanne for lunch._
VISIT TO THE FIELD OF OPERATIONS
OF THE
FIFTH & NINTH FRENCH ARMIES
FROM
PROVINS TO CHÂLONS-SUR-MARNE
=FROM PROVINS TO SÉZANNE= (80 km.)
(See map inserted between pp. 116-117)
+Via Voulton, Augers, Montceaux, Courgiveaux, Esternay, Champguyon,
Charleville, and La Villeneuve.+
[Illustration: VOULTON CHURCH]
_At the top of the zig-zag hill at the exit of Provins is a fork in the
road. Turn to the right; then take, on the left, the road not lined
with trees_ (G. C. 71) _going to =Voulton= (9 km.)._
On the right of the road, in the village, is the church (historical
monument) which dates from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The
interior is worth a visit as the photographs opposite indicate. If
the door of the church is locked, ask the "curé" for the key. (The
"presbytère" (rectory) is the house with a little garden before it,
lying to the left front of the church.)
When the battle of the Marne began on the morning of September 6 the
18th Corps was at Voulton and to the east of this village.
[Illustration: NAVE OF VOULTON CHURCH]
_After Voulton, cross through =Rupéreux=, when =Augers= may be seen in_
the distance, with its much damaged +CHURCH+ (photograph p. 148). The
heights which formed the principal German position shut in the horizon.
The task of the left of the 18th French Corps was to push back the
advance-guards of the Third German Corps between Voulton and Augers.
On the evening of the 6th, the French camped round Augers.
[Illustration: CAPITAL IN VOULTON CHURCH]
Arriving in the village, pay a visit to the church, which is to
the right of the road. Augers was bombarded in turn by the French
and by the Germans, each believing the other to be in the village,
whereas they were merely in the neighbourhood. The church suffered
particularly, as may well be realised by passing through the breach in
the wall shown in the photograph below. The interior presents a scene
of desolation.
_Returning to the road after visiting the church, turn to the right,
then immediately afterwards to the left, and take the "Chêmin vicinal"
leading to the main road from Courtacon to Sézanne (D. 8) in which turn
to the right._
The tourist now finds himself on the principal German position during
September 5 and 6. After a preparation by the artillery, the French
troops left the shelter furnished by the undulations of the plateau,
and attacked and carried the road on September 7. Following up the
pursuit of the retreating Germans, they reached La Ferté-Gaucher on the
same day, and crossed the Grand Morin, thus gaining more than 10 km.
_2 km. after the cross-roads at Augers, the road leaves on its left the
Village of Sancy._
Sancy was not bombarded, the fighting taking place some distance in
advance of the locality; but its inhabitants were obliged to submit to
the law of the conqueror during two days.
[Illustration: AUGURS CHURCH]
The following is the account given by the "curé" of Sancy before the
Enquiry Commission:--
"On Sunday, September 6, about 9 p.m., the Germans were carrying off
the remaining bottles of wine from my cellar, and I was about to sit
down to supper, when a non-commissioned officer announced to me and
to my guests that we were to 'Hurry to the Place'. We were put into
a sheep-fold to sleep. At 5 a.m. thirty of us were led as far as the
barn at Perrelez (_4 km. north of Sancy_). We were given a little
water and finally, to most of us, a small quantity of soup was doled
out. The barn had been turned into a German ambulance. A doctor spoke
a few words to the wounded who immediately loaded four rifles and two
revolvers. A French hussar, wounded in the arm and a prisoner, said
to me: 'Give me absolution, Sir; I am going to be shot. Afterwards it
will be your turn.' I did as he wished, then unbuttoning my cassock, I
placed myself against the wall between the mayor and my parishioner
Frederic Gillet. But two French mounted soldiers arriving at this
instant saved our lives, for the Germans surrendered to them."
[Illustration: MONTCEAUX CHURCH AND FARM]
_Without entering Sancy, continue to follow D. 8 which leads to
=Montceaux=. Turn to the left and go up the village as far as the
church (23 km.)._
Montceaux, on account of its dominating position, had been organised as
a defensive position by the Germans. The French artillery bombarded the
whole village vigorously and especially the large farm whose entrance
is visible at the end of the street in the above photograph. The
Germans had established a heavy battery there, directing its fire from
the top of the church tower. The church therefore received numerous
projectiles, whose effects may be seen in the photograph below, which
represents the chapel in the apse. The right of the 18th French Corps
attacked the village on September 6, on the south and on the west,
and carried it after a violent combat which lasted from 4 p.m. until
nightfall.
[Illustration: INTERIOR OF MONTCEAUX CHURCH]
_We retrace our steps and turn to the left into_ D. 8 _in the
direction of Courgivaux_. On the right of the main road, the Germans,
holding the heights where stands the hamlet of =Les Châtaigniers=,
offered a desperate resistance to the efforts of the Sixth Division
of the Third French Corps commanded by General Pétain, afterwards
Commander-in-Chief. On September 6 this division succeeded in taking
the hamlet, but was not able to advance beyond it, in spite of the
fact that the 18th Corps held Montceaux. On the following morning,
the Germans counter-attacked unsuccessfully, and in the afternoon the
French (whose 123rd Regiment had particularly distinguished itself at
Montceaux) hurled their adversaries back on to the farther side of the
Grand Morin.
D. 8 _becomes_ G. C. 46 _on entering the Department of the Marne_.
_Before arriving at =Courgivaux=, pass over a level-crossing, then turn
to the right by the drinking-pond, and ascend the village, bearing
to the left towards the cemetery (29 km.)._ The latter occupies a
dominating position and played an important part in the actions
engaged in by the Fifth Division, commanded by General Mangin, for the
possession of Courgivaux.
[Illustration: FARM AT COURGIVAUX]
The German advanced defences around Escardes (about 2½ km. along this
road) were carried after a stiff fight in which the two colonels of the
Ninth Brigade were wounded. The Germans fell back on the line formed
by the cemetery of Courgivaux and the farm of Bel-Air visible in the
photograph above, and about 300 yards west towards the village.
After a bombardment by "75's," the troops of the Third Corps, leaving
the woods, crossed the open ground at a run, and after several
fruitless attempts dislodged the Germans from the cemetery, then from
the farm, and finally from the village. The French held these positions
in spite of a counter-attack at night, and on the 7th the Germans were
in retreat towards the north.
[Illustration: COURTYARD OF ESTERNAY CASTLE FARM]
_After having visited in the cemetery_ the graves of several officers
of the 39th, 74th and 129th Regiments, who fell here, _we retrace our
steps and turn to the right into the_ G. C. 46 _in the direction of
Esternay. A long climb leads to Retourneloup where_ G. C. 46 _rejoins_
N. 34 _coming from La Ferté-Gaucher_.
We are now entering the theatre of operations of the First French
Corps. =Retourneloup= was bombarded, as a German battery had been
established there to hold the road to the Esternay hollow. This battery
was hammered by the French artillery. The "curé" of Esternay, who had
been made prisoner at the very beginning of the German occupation, was
led to Retourneloup, and passed an anxious time during the battles of
the 6th and 7th. Each time that the French attacked--and they attacked
ten times during the day of the 6th, the "curé" was placed at the head
of the German column which advanced to resist them. He was also roughly
handled and given nothing to eat, besides being frequently threatened
with being placed against a wall and shot. The Germans took him with
them in the retreat and continued to put him in an exposed position
in all rearguard actions. They finally set him at liberty about ten
kilometres from Esternay.
[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO THE ESTERNAY CASTLE]
_A zig-zag descent leads down to =Esternay=, in the hollow. Go straight
on without entering, and gain the opposite slope. After crossing the
railway line, take the road on the left leading to the castle (36
km.)._
[Illustration: ESTERNAY CASTLE]
This last is preceded by a farm which still bears traces of the
bombardment which it suffered (_view p. 150_).
The castle, which belonged to Marshal Fabert, is now the property of
the Marquis de la Roche-Lambert. The opposite view gives a good idea of
its picturesqueness. It was occupied by a German staff, and its park
defensively organised. The castle suffered less than the farm.
_We retrace our steps over the 300 yards separating the entrance to
the castle from N. 34, which we cross in order to take the opposite
"Chêmin vicinal" leading down to =Châtillon-sur-Morin=. Pass over a
level-crossing in order to enter the village_, which was completely
destroyed by the bombardment and by the fires lighted by the Germans
before evacuation.
_Turn to the left in the village to_ arrive at the little church (_38½
km., view below_), which by a curious chance alone remained untouched
in the midst of ruins. The above view was taken from the church tower.
[Illustration: BURNT HOUSES AT CHÂTILLON]
Châtillon formed the advanced position of the defences of Esternay.
The troops of the First Division had the honour of being chosen to
attack, and fierce was the fighting in the burning streets of the
village. The 84th Infantry, many of whose officers and men are buried
in the churchyard, gave a brilliant example of stubborn courage. On the
evening of the 6th, Châtillon was in the hands of the French, who were,
however, for that day unable to advance further towards Esternay, being
held up by the defence works on N. 34 (_see panorama on p. 152_).
[Illustration: CHÂTILLON CHURCH]
_Return to the main road from Esternay to Sézanne_ (N. 34), stopping at
the last houses of Châtillon, the spot from whence the above photograph
was taken. The position which the French troops in possession of
Châtillon had to carry was formed by the plateau seen on the horizon,
along which passes D. 8 at the foot of Esternay castle.
[Illustration:
Esternay Castle
PANORAMA OF THE ESTERNAY POSITIONS]
This frontal attack presented many difficulties, for even if the French
arrived as far as the railway line which runs along the bottom of the
valley, and were able to take cover under the embankment, they would be
mown down when they attempted to scale the bare slopes. The woods which
appear on the right in the above view afforded shelter to the troops
up to the main road, but when they attempted to advance into the open
they were met by a murderous fire. Being unable to force the frontal
defences, the commandant of the First Corps ordered the Second Division
to make a considerable detour to the east, under cover of the woods, in
order to take the positions on Esternay Plateau in the flank. On the
evening of the 6th, a first attack failed, but next morning the Second
Division carried the position which covered the German flank, and
combining its efforts with those of the First Division on the front,
entered Esternay about 10 o'clock in the morning.
[Illustration:
Châtillon Church
Spot from whence the above panorama was taken
Railway line
PANORAMA OF THE CHÂTILLON POSITIONS]
_Once more on the_ N. 34, _turn to the right_. The slope served as a
protection for the Germans, who dug many individual shelters there. One
of these may be seen in the foreground of the preceding photograph. We
begin to realise the difficulties which the French had to surmount when
we remember that after the battle, on the front of a single battalion,
11 officers and 4 non-commissioned officers lay dead, killed while
leading their men.
[Illustration: COMMON GRAVE AT ESTERNAY]
_Leaving behind, on the left, the park which adjoins the road_, we
perceive on the right the great common grave of Esternay (view above),
where lie buried the heroes of the 73rd who fell during the attack. The
turning movement mentioned on page 152 led across the road at about 3
km. from this spot, at the other extremity of the wood. The village of
La Noue, to the north of the road, was carried, and the Second Division
then turned back towards Esternay.
(_Sézanne is only 10 km. from this point by_ N. 34, _but the tour
indicated hereafter, which leads across part of the line where the
direct attack on this town was broken, makes a circuit of 34 km. The
remainder of the line will be explored to-morrow._)
We retrace our steps. A little wood fringes the road on the right. The
German machine-guns were installed there, and cut down the French who
attempted to leave their shelter on the other side of the road. About
100 yards further on the wood gives place to a field, on the edge of
which, at about 20 yards from the road, in the midst of the trees, is
the grave of an unknown French soldier--a pathetic sight. A little
further on, in the field, are to be seen the isolated graves of two
German officers, one of them of the family of the Chief of the General
Staff, Von Moltke (view below). Between these graves and the border of
the castle park many Germans lie buried. The fighting was very violent
here in the trenches which the enemy had dug at right angles to the
road. Outflanked on the north by the turning movement we have spoken
of, the castle and the farm, as well as the park, were carried at the
point of the bayonet. From this moment, Esternay, situated in the
hollow, could offer no serious resistance, and the French entered it
without difficulty.
_Re-cross the railway line and take the first road on the right,
leading into Esternay and to the Place de l'Église (48 km.)._ The
church was transformed into an ambulance station by the Germans.
The following evidence given by the deputy-mayor and other witnesses
before the Official Enquiry Commission recalls painful incidents of the
occupation by the enemy.
[Illustration: GRAVES OF GERMAN OFFICERS]
"On September 6 the Germans pillaged nine-tenths of the houses in the
town. This pillage was organised, objects of all kinds, linen and other
belongings, being placed on carts."
Another witness declared: "About 3 o'clock in the afternoon,
thirty-five or forty Germans came out of the church shouting, and
leading with them M. Laurenceau, aged 52 years. The latter on arriving
at the road made a movement as if to escape and was immediately felled
to the ground. Then, although he lay quite still, he received three
bullets."
[Illustration: FARM SET ON FIRE AT CHAMPGUYON]
A third witness declared: "On the night of September 6 I was with my
two daughters and Mme. Lhomme in hiding under the stairs of the cellar
of Mme. Macé, a widow. Groups of German soldiers kept passing round
the house, and some had even come into the cellar without discovering
us. Between 11 p.m. and midnight, one of these bands having found
women's clothes in a cupboard, came towards our hiding-place. As they
had seen us, Mme. Macé exclaimed: 'Do you wish to kill old women?' To
which they replied: 'No, no harm to grandmother,' and pushed her on one
side. They next tried to push me aside, crying 'Fraulein all naked,'
but could not move me. One of them then shouldered his rifle. I raised
my arm to strike up the muzzle, but he was too quick for me, and,
taking advantage of the space thus disclosed between the young girls
and myself, lowered his arm and fired. Mme. Lhomme was wounded in the
left arm by a ball which then shattered the left arm of my daughter
Marcelle, aged 27 years. She died between 4 and 5 o'clock on the
afternoon of September 7."
_In the Place de l'Église, turn to the right, then immediately
afterwards to the left towards Champguyon. The road_ (G.C. 48) _shortly
afterwards traverses a level-crossing and passes alongside the
cemetery_ which contains the remains of many French soldiers. This road
was the one followed by the Germans when they fell back on Montmirail,
before the French.
_Traverse the long street of =Champguyon= (53 km.)_ which suffered much
from the bombardment, but more from the fire started by the enemy. The
view above was taken in the courtyard of a farm, which stands on the
left of the road, a little this side of the church. The view below
shows a ruined house, being one of a group about 1 km. further on.
Several of the inhabitants were murdered. The widow of one, Mme.
Louvet, thus related the death of her husband:
[Illustration: BURNT HOUSES, CHAMPGUYON]
"About 5 p.m. on September 6, my husband, whom the Germans were
dragging along and striking with sticks, called to me, exclaiming: 'My
wife, my poor wife.' I ran and kissed him through our garden gate, but
was roughly repulsed by his captors, and fell. My poor husband was in
a piteous state, blood streaming from his ears. He begged for mercy
and asked: 'What harm have I done you?' He also cried out: 'Colonel,
colonel.' I could not help him, for the Germans who were torturing
him were from ten to fifteen in number, and kept their rifles pointed
at my throat. They bore off their victim to the end of the village,
doubtless to put an end to him. The next evening about 5 p.m., I found
the unfortunate Louvet. His head was horribly smashed, one eye was
out of its socket, and one of his wrists was broken. He was almost
unrecognisable."