counter-attacks followed each other during four days. The thickets were
the scene of fierce hand-to-hand struggles. In the rare clearings the
combatants sheltered themselves in hastily-dug trenches. This stubborn
resistance exasperated the Germans; and after the battle witnesses
found a company of Algerian sharp-shooters whose brains had been beaten
out by blows from the butt-end of rifles. This fact is vouched for by
the Inquiry Commission. Other corpses belonging to the same regiment
had been placed in a ring round a fire which had burnt all the heads.
The battle continued until the French, after having silenced the German
guns at Le Thoult and Corfélix (see p. 157), finally reached Corfélix
and the Morin. Advancing along the valley (seen in the views at the
foot of p. 167, and at the top of p. 168), they debouched on the flank
of the enemy's troops deeply engaged in the interior of the Plateau of
Sézanne.
The manœuvre of September 9 was decisive. Attacked on flank and
front, and driven from the woods, the Germans re-crossed the Morin;
while their rearguards fought desperate covering engagements, of
which the chapel and its little cemetery (seen in the view above),
the machine-gun trench (seen in the photograph at the top of p. 167),
and the neighbourhood of the station of Talus-Saint-Prix were, in
particular, witnesses. The retreat however continued briskly, and on
September 10 the Tenth Corps, which had performed the outflanking
movement, was able, setting forth from the Champaubert-Saint-Prix
front, to sweep the whole of the north of the marshes.
[Illustration: GRAVES AT SOIZY.]
_Follow the zig-zags which_ N. 51 _makes to climb the slope and
continue towards =Soizy-aux-Bois= (45 km.)._ On this road, and in
the woods which border it, the 42nd Division met with a repulse at
the hands of the German troops who, on the 7th, took Soizy and even
pushed on to Chapton (we passed through this village before arriving
at Sézanne). On the 8th, the 162nd Line Regiment counter-attacked and
carried Soizy at the point of the bayonet; and on the 9th, as we have
seen above, the Germans were driven back across the Morin.
Soizy still shows the ruins of houses destroyed by bombardment or fire.
_After glancing at them return to the entrance to the village and take
(on the left looking towards Soizy) G. C. 44 in the direction of Oyes._
[Illustration:
Botrait Woods.
Crête du Poirier.
North bank of Marshes.
I. +PANORAMA OF THE "CRÊTE DU POIRIER" AND BOTRAIT WOODS+]
Almost immediately after, on the left, below the level of the road, may
be seen two large graves, where the French soldiers who fell during the
combats at Soizy were buried (view p. 169). The Germans were buried to
the right of these graves.
_Cross through the woods of Saint-Gond._ Sign-posts indicate that
military graves exist in the thickets, and recall the hand-to-hand
struggles which took place here during the fluctuations of the battle
round Soizy.
_Descend again towards the marshes_ between the "Crête du Poirier" on
the left and the heights on Montgivroux on the right. Before arriving
at Oyes there appears on the left a chalky road with a quarry on its
right, leading to the top of a hill.
[Illustration:
Courjeonnet
Petit Morin
Petit Morin
Coizard
Toulon-la-Montagne
II. +PANORAMA OF THE MARSHES AND THEIR NORTH BANK+]
[Illustration:
Broussy-le-Grand
Mont-Août
Reuves
Oyes
III. +PANORAMA OF THE MARSHES AND THEIR SOUTH BANK+]
_Follow this road_, on the left of which are remains of trenches. _150
yards from its commencement may be seen an interesting view, of which
the photographs on pp. 170-171 give fragments._
The summit on which we now stand is connected by a little valley
with the summit of the Poirier seen on panorama I. These two heights
constituted on the north the advanced line of defence of the heights
of Mondement. Panorama IV. shows the position of Mondement which will
be visited in due course. The castle and the church may be perceived.
The road in the foreground, in the centre of this panorama, is the one
which we took to climb the hill.
[Illustration:
Allemant Woods
Mondement Castle
Mondement Church
IV. +PANORAMA OF MONDEMENT+]
[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO THE PRIORY OF SAINT-GOND]
The line of the Poirier was the object of furious combats. The
"tirailleurs" of the Moroccan Division had dug trenches there in order
to protect themselves against the withering fire of heavy and light
artillery which the Germans directed from the north of the marshes.
When the Germans had succeeded in crossing the Morin by the bridge
at Saint-Prix, they penetrated into Botrait woods (panorama I.) and
attacked the Poirier. They drove the sharp-shooters from the summit,
and then from the southern slopes where the latter had made a stand.
On September 8 a bayonet charge brought the Poirier again into the
possession of the sharp-shooters, but the German artillery rendered the
position untenable, and they were obliged to evacuate it and fall back
on the heights of Mondement-Montgivroux. At the same time Blondlat's
Brigade which held Oyes and Reuves (panorama III.), was thrown back on
the Allemant Woods by superior forces which had managed to cross the
marshes.
The position of Mondement had thus lost all advanced protection and
so fell on the following day, but the same evening it was retaken
(_see pp. 176-178_), and from this moment the battle was lost for
the Germans. The Tenth Corps, by means of its outflanking movement
described on p. 169, obliged them to re-cross the Morin at Saint-Prix
(below Botrait Woods, panorama I.). The flank of the marshes was thus
turned. During the night of the 9th-10th, the German troops hurriedly
regained the northern edge by the causeways running from Oyes, Reuves,
and Broussy (panorama III.).
_Rejoin_ G. C. 44 _and turn to the left towards Oyes (50 km.)._ The
village still bears traces of the bombardment during its heroic defence
by Blondlat's Brigade. _Turn to the right, thus leaving the church
on the left, and, passing through the village, turn to the left to
regain the marshes_, in the middle of which stands the old =Priory of
Saint-Gond=. The entrance, seen in the photograph above, is on the
right of the road (51 km.).
[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE PRIORY OF SAINT-GOND]
Saint-Gond, who gave his name to the marshes, was a seventh century
hermit. Charmed by the solitude of the spot, he there founded a little
monastery. Destroyed during the barbaric invasions, then rebuilt,
it became an abbey and later a priory, after which its decline was
rapid. All that remains to-day consists of the entrance (view above),
and in the interior, a door (seen on the opposite view behind the
Abbé Millard). The Abbé Millard who occupied the priory is an elderly
ecclesiastic who divides his time between studies and rural tasks. In
the photographs on this page he is seen in the simple apparel which he
prefers. He is a distinguished historian and member of several learned
societies.
[Illustration: REUVES CHURCH AFTER THE BOMBARDMENT]
The Abbé Millard, who was recovering from a long illness, reluctantly
left his hermitage a little before the arrival of the Germans. The
sharp-shooters had established on the road opposite his house a
barricade flanked by machine-guns behind which they tried to stem the
German advance; but the latter surmounted this obstacle and advanced on
Oyes.
_Leaving the priory, we come across the road which runs from
Villevenard, on the right of the marshes, to Oyes and Reuves, on the
left._ This was the road taken by the Germans who attacked Oyes and
Reuves for three days. They suffered heavy losses from the fire of the
French artillery which swept Villevenard and the causeways, but came
resolutely on and carried the two villages on September 8, in spite of
the heroic defence of Blondlat's Brigade.
_At the cross-roads turn to the right towards =Reuves= (53 km.) and
traverse its length._ It suffered terribly. The views on this page show
the state of the church after the bombardment.
_Turn to the right at the end of the village, leaving on the left the
road which continues to follow the edge of the marshes in the direction
of Broussy._ This village fell at the same time as Oyes and Reuves,
having been attacked by the German troops coming down from Joches and
Coizard. _Immediately on leaving the village, take, on the left_, G. C.
45 _and make towards =Mondement=._
[Illustration: REUVES CHURCH AFTER THE BOMBARDMENT]
We are following the last stage of the German advance. On the morning
of September 9, the troops which had taken Oyes and Reuves, after
having been reinforced during the night, assailed the Heights of
Mondement and wrenched from the grasp of the few remaining Zouaves and
sharp-shooters the castle, the church and the village.
_The road passes before the castle_ (56 km.) whose fame since the war
has become worldwide.
[Illustration: THE CASTLE, NORTH FRONT]
On September 6, 1914, the owners, Mme. Jacob and one of her sons, were
still at Mondement. The bombardment by the German big guns on the north
of the marshes began on the morning of the 7th. The inhabitants of the
castle, together with the "curé" of Reuves, who had come to join them,
passed many anxious hours. The cellar, in which they had taken shelter,
almost fell in on them. It was useless to think of seeking refuge in
the neighbourhood of the castle, for the shells fell like hail. Their
motor-car had been destroyed (as may be seen in the photograph at the
foot of p. 178) and the only horse in the stable had been killed.
[Illustration: A CORNER OF THE CASTLE PARK]
There was nothing left for it but, at night, to set out on foot along
the road to Broyes, in spite of the feeble state of M. Jacob, who was
suffering from heart-disease.
They were picked up fortunately by a motor-car sent by General
Humbert, but M. Jacob died a few days afterwards, as a result of the
shock and of the fatigues which he had experienced.
[Illustration: THE MARSHES SEEN FROM A WINDOW IN THE NORTH-EAST TOWER]
On the 7th, General Humbert established his headquarters in the castle,
which made a splendid observation post. He followed the course of the
battle through his field-glasses from the foot of the towers.
[Illustration: NORTHWESTERN ANGLE OF THE CASTLE]
When the shells fell too thickly on the castle, he gained the little
church near at hand (from which the panorama on pp. 182-183 is taken),
and came back to the castle when the Germans began to direct their
fire on the church-tower. During these comings and goings, a shell
fell among his escort and killed several horsemen. As the bombardment
continued to increase in violence, the headquarters were transported to
the "Castle des Pucelles" at Broyes, which we have already seen (_p.
159_).
_The road goes round the castle._ The opposite photograph gives a side
view of the façade. The tower at the end has been cleared of the ivy
which covers it (in the photograph on p. 174), and completely restored.
The ruined roof has been removed, in order to give place to a new one.
In the foreground is a tree which has been felled by a shell. Shells
from the '105's' and '150's' laid low many others, sometimes killing at
the same time the persons who had sought shelter under them.
[Illustration: THE CASTLE, WESTERN FRONT]
[Illustration: PRINCIPAL ENTRANCE]
_Take the Broyes road_ which passes before the principal entrance
(photograph opposite). The two heraldic lions surmounting the pillars
of the gateway are worthy of notice. The roofs of the buildings were
destroyed by shells, and the main-building opposite the gate has a
temporary zinc covering.
[Illustration: GRAVE AT MONDEMENT]
In the field on the other side of the Broyes road is the grave where
the Zouaves and other foot soldiers, who fell during the attack on the
castle, were buried (photograph opposite). After the entrance gate come
the out-buildings, and then the kitchen-garden, whose wall we skirt.
[Illustration: THE CASTLE AS IT APPEARED TO THE ATTACKING TROOPS]
The above view shows the two sides on which the French attacked on the
afternoon of September 9. The trees behind the kitchen-garden are those
of the park. On the right of the horizon, and separated from Mondement
by a hollow, are Allemant Woods.
The castle was taken by the Germans at daybreak on the 9th, and was
immediately put into a state of defence. Loop-holes were made in the
walls, and machine-guns placed on the towers and at prominent windows.
The 77th line Regiment which was reforming at Saint-Loup (see pp.
162-163) was directed in all haste to Mondement to counter-attack.
Colonel Lestoquoi placed a battalion on either side of the Broyes Road
in the woods which come to an end a few hundred yards from the south
side of the kitchen-garden. The Zouaves and sharp-shooters of the
Moroccan Division, also hidden among the trees, were to attack on the
other side, by the principal entrance.
The artillery preparation was entrusted to the guns of the Moroccan
Division, aided by the batteries of the 42nd Division, which had halted
at Broyes before descending into the plain (see pp. 162-163).
[Illustration: BREACH IN THE SOUTHERN WALL OF THE CASTLE]
The attack began at 2.30 p.m. Major de Beaufort's battalion, composed
of Bretons, to whom one of their comrades, a soldier-priest, had just
given the absolution, left the woods, their bugles sounding the charge.
A murderous fire met them from the castle, but could not stop them.
A breach had been made in the wall by one of the French "75's," and
towards this Major de Beaufort rushed, only to fall struck by a ball
in the forehead. Officers and men succeeded him, but as soon as they
appeared in the opening the fire of the machine-guns and rifles, hidden
in the out-buildings (photograph above) was concentrated upon them,
and they succumbed before even reaching the garden. A few, hoisting
themselves on the shoulders of their fellows, gained the summit of the
wall, but an entry in mass, which alone could have ensured success, was
impossible.
[Illustration: THE CASTLE OUTBUILDINGS]
On the other side, the attack of the Zouaves and sharp-shooters had
met with equally great difficulties. Sheltering themselves behind the
trees on the road and the pillars of the railings, they sniped at the
occupants of the castle without being able to advance.
At the end of an hour of costly efforts, orders were given to fall
back, and the troops retired into the woods from which they had set out.
[Illustration: DÉBRIS OF THE CASTLE MOTOR-CAR]
Pieces of artillery were then dragged by the men to within three or
four hundred yards of the castle. The breaches in the wall increased,
the railing collapsed in parts, and the interior of the castle became
untenable. When the French renewed the attack at nightfall, they no
longer met with resistance, for the garrison had fallen back on the
marshes. The retreat had become general on the front of Von Hausen's
and Yon Bulow's armies.
The bombardments devastated the interior of the Castle. The views on
this page show to what a state were reduced the out-buildings from
which came the terrible fire rendering the passage of the breach so
difficult.
[Illustration: VISIT OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC]
On September 6, 1917, the third anniversary of the Battle of the
Marne was celebrated at the castle of Mondement. The President of the
Republic, accompanied by the President of the Council and several
ministers, as well as by Field-Marshal Joffre, General Foch, and
General Pétain, stopped at Mondement on his way from Fère to Sézanne,
after having visited the Plateau of Rochelle near Fère-Champenoise (see
p. 188).
[Illustration: VISIT OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC]
[Illustration: GENERAL FOCH DESCRIBING THE BATTLE OF THE MARNE]
In the photograph at the top of p. 179 we see the group leaving the
castle by the principal entrance. The walls, under their temporary
roof, still show traces of shot and shell. M. Poincaré may be seen
between M. Ribot, President of the Council, and M. Painlevé, War
Minister. Field-Marshal Joffre is behind.
The photograph at the foot of p. 179 was also taken during the official
visit of September 6, 1917. The tower on the left is the one seen on
p. 174 from the exterior. On comparing the two photographs, we realise
that the signs of war are fast disappearing at this point. In the
middle, near the wall, the group formed by M. Poincaré, M. Ribot, M.
Bourgeois, Field-Marshal Joffre and Generals Foch and Pétain, may be
distinguished.
[Illustration: MONDEMENT CEMETERY]
Those who took part in this pilgrimage had the good fortune to hear
an account of the events of September, 1914, from the lips of General
Foch. The above photograph was taken whilst, in quiet but moving terms,
he described the different phases of the desperate battle fought by the
Ninth Army from September 6 to 10. This extempore military lecture took
place at the foot of a walnut-tree which stands in the meadow before
the castle. On pp. 182-183 may be seen the view of the marshes which
appeared to the eyes of the audience.
[Illustration: MONDEMENT CHURCH]
_Opposite the turret seen in the photograph at the foot of p. 175
take a path leading to the church_, which suffered much from the
bombardments, but whose breaches have now been repaired.
In the little graveyard (photograph p. 180) which surrounds it are
buried the officers who fell at Mondement; among them Major de
Beaufort, who commanded the attack, and Dr. Baur, killed by a shell
which at the same time split the tree against which he was leaning.
General Humbert followed the march of events from the foot of the
church, on the side facing the marshes (view above), when the castle
became untenable. It is from this point that the panorama on pp.
182-183 was taken, and which will now be described.
In the foreground of panorama I (pp. 182-183) may be seen the houses of
Mondement, which village was carried by the Germans at the same time as
the castle and church, at daybreak on September 9. The French on their
victorious return the same evening, drove out the remaining occupants,
firing on them as they hastened down the slopes to the Marshes.
On the right may be seen Reuves and the road connecting it with
Mondement. Oyes is visible on panorama II. We can easily follow the
course of the German attack. After having crossed the marshes, the
Germans drove Blondlat's Brigade of the Moroccan Division from these
villages on the 8th. The following day the handful of Zouaves and
sharp-shooters remaining in the castle, church and village, were forced
to retire into the woods near Broyes.
On panorama II, the hill-top from which the panorama on pp. 170-171
was taken may be distinguished, as also the "Crête du Poirier" which
carries it to the left towards Botrait Woods. This advanced line was,
as we have seen, fiercely disputed, the bombardment being terrible. In
his fine work on the Marshes of Saint-Gond, in which he relates the
memoirs of M. Roland, schoolmaster at Villevenard, M. Le Goffie tells
us that the percentage of German shells as compared with the French,
was five to one, and he cites a detail which illustrates the German
character. "The great '150' shells made a noise like a siren, and drew
shrieks of joy from those assembled. 'Oh, Germany,' bleated an old
doctor, lifting his eyes to heaven each time that one of these steel
monsters went bellowing forth."
[Illustration:
Petit Morin
Toulon-la-Montagne
Reuves
Petit Morin
I. +PANORAMA OF THE MARSHES OF SAINT-GOND.+
This portion of
the panorama
fits on to
the right of
panorama II (p.
183).]
[Illustration:
Botrait Woods
Saint-Gond Woods
"Crête du Poirier"
Point from which was taken the panorama of Mondement (p. 171)
Oyes
I. +PANORAMA OF THE MARSHES OF SAINT-GOND.+
This portion of
the panorama fits
on to the left of
panorama I (p.
182).]
When the Germans had taken "Le Poirier," they advanced on the Woods
of Saint-Gond, in whose thickets violent combats took place. A final
effort carried them on September 9 on to the plateau at Montgivroux
(see p. 184), a little to the west of Mondement, which fell likewise
in its turn, under the direct attack from the marshes. This important
success, however, came two days too late. The Tenth Corps was menacing
Mondement on the flank, and the intervention of the 42nd Division
(see p. 14) destroyed the Germans' hope of taking the plateau on
the Broyes-Allemant side. The counter-attack of the 77th (see p.
177-178) precipitated their retreat. Driven from the castle, the
Germans re-crossed in haste during the night of September 9-10 the
great dike of Saint-Gond. They left baggage and numerous wounded
along the causeways. The Germans of 1914 were more fortunate than
the conscripts of 1814, for whom the marshes formed a grave. In the
darkness they escaped the fire which the French batteries at Mondement
and Allemant would have poured on them in daylight. When the Tenth
Corps began its march eastwards on September 10, starting from the
Champaubert-Saint-Prix front, it was able to sweep the north of the
marshes and pick up the laggards and heavy beer-drinkers, to whom the
champagne had rendered bad service.
[Illustration: MONDEMENT FARM]
_After having examined the panorama of the marshes, return to the road
which leads to the church and continue it in the direction of the
farm_, seen in the photograph above. It suffered much from successive
French and German bombardments. As may be observed, the work of
reparation has begun.
The French, when driven from the farm, took shelter in the wood a few
hundred yards away on the other side of the road. It was from the wood
that they began the counter-attack which gave them back the farm, as
well as the castle and the church.
_We retrace our steps to the castle, leaving the road which continues
to follow the edge of the plateau in the direction of Montgivroux, and
rejoins No. 51, below Soizy._ This part of the plateau was carried by
the German attacks coming from the Poirier and the Woods of Saint-Gond
(see p. 170). The "tirailleurs" fought heavy engagements at this point.
_On returning to the castle take the Broyes road_ (G. C. 45) _which
passes before the gates, then pass through the woods_ in which the 77th
and the troops of the Moroccan Division which took Mondement found
shelter, and _so on to =Broyes= and the Castle des Pucelles which we
saw at the beginning of our excursion_.
_Turn to the right into_ G. C. 39 _and cross the village. At the
cross-roads beyond Broyes, turn to the left and return to =Sézanne=,
down a long slope which offer a fine view of the plain and of the
heights surrounding it. At the crossing beyond the cemetery take the
Rue de Broyes. In the middle, turn to the right and regain the hotel
(65 km.) for lunch, by way of the Rue de la Halle and the Place de la
République._
FROM
SÉZANNE TO CHÂLONS-SUR-MARNE
(106 km.)
via +Connantre+, +Fère-Champenoise+, +Connantray+, +Sommesous+,
+Haussimont+, +Vassimont+, +Lenharrée+, +Normée+.
_Return to the Place de la République and descend towards the lower
part of the town by the Rue des Lombards; without crossing the railway
turn to the left along a road planted with trees. This is N. 34, which
traverses the plain in a perfectly straight line, and which is to be
seen in the panorama on pp. 160-163._ On the left, on the horizon the
heights of Sézanne, Broyes, Allemant, and Mont-Chalmont are once more
visible.
_After a run of 10 km. we reach the villages of =Linthes= and
=Linthelles=_, from which the counter-attack of the 42nd Division
started on September 9.
At that time, in the plain stretching to the left of the road, the
French troops, which had been driven from the edge of the marshes and
even from Mont-Août, were falling back southwards. With them, too,
were those who had been pushed back from the line of the Somme on to
Fère-Champenoise, Connantre, and still further beyond. These troops,
although worn out by four days' fighting, and exposed to violent
artillery fire from the north, east, and south, would not give in, and
took every opportunity for rearguard actions.
The coming into the line of the 42nd Division braced up their forces
for the supreme effort asked by Foch.