offensive, the first result of which was the relief of =Connantre=.
_This village may be seen from the road, on the right, before
traversing the level crossing. 100 yards further on is the entrance to
Connantre Castle_, in which the Light Infantrymen took prisoner several
hundred Guards.
[Illustration: GRAVES IN FÈRE STATION]
[Illustration: RUINS OF THE ELECTRIC POWER STATION]
_The road goes straight towards Fère-Champenoise across the
plain, which is dotted here and there with clumps of trees. At
=Fère-Champenoise= (21 km.) turn to the left into the "Grand-Place"
in order to reach the station, which is about 900 yards away_. This
was much damaged by bombardment. _About 300 yards on the right, by
following the railway lines, may be seen_ the grave in the photograph
below.
The fighting around the station was very violent.
_We retrace our steps to the Grand-Place Square, turn to the left
before the town-hall, and, passing it, take the first street on the
right in the direction of Sommesous and Vitry-le-François._ In this
street, on the left, are the ruins of the electric power station (view
above), and on the right a few burnt houses.
[Illustration: PLATEAU OF ROCHELLE SEEN FROM THE ROAD]
Fère-Champenoise fell into the hands of the Germans on September 8
when the heroic defence of the Eleventh Corps had been broken on the
line of the Somme, over which we are about to travel. The reserve of
the guards pillaged as a matter of course, and celebrated noisily
the German victory. Near the town-hall a piano was brought into the
street to accompany the dance of the soldiers, attired in all sorts of
headgear, taken from the window of a neighbouring hatter. Wine flowed,
and the streets were strewn with empty bottles. It was in the midst of
these rejoicings that the order to retreat arrived like a thunderbolt
on September 9. On the 10th, General Foch made Fère his headquarters.
_On leaving the town we come across fan-shaped cross-roads and take
the road farthest to the left. 200 yards along this, take the lane on
the right, following the edge of the hill which dominates the Vaure._
[Illustration: REVIEW ON THE PLATEAU OF ROCHELLE]
_After climbing 2½ km. the summit of the hill is reached._ On the right
of the road stretches the plateau of Rochelle, dotted with clumps of
pine and covered with graves. _Leave the car at the spot indicated in
the photograph at foot of p. 186 and set out on foot towards the centre
of the plateau._
The third anniversary of the victory of the Marne was celebrated on
the plateau on September 7, 1917. In the photograph above may be seen
(from right to left) the President of the Republic, General Pétain
(half hidden by M. Poincaré); M. Ribot, President of the Council; M.
Painlevé, War Minister; M. Chaumet, Marine; M. Bourgeois, Public Works.
Field-Marshal Joffre is in the background.
The tourist who, during the tour of the Ourcq, visited the plateau
of Barcy-Chambry, will experience with even greater intensity the
impression of sadness which is evoked by the calm landscape and the
numerous graves, signs of the fierceness and obstinacy of the battle.
[Illustration: VIEW OF THE PLATEAU OF ROCHELLE]
A remnant of the Eleventh Corps, which had been driven on the 8th from
the woods to the west of Normée (_see p. 194_), made a gallant stand
on the summit and sides of the plateau in the pine thickets and in
improvised trenches which still exist here and there.
One of the most moving incidents was the defence of the standard of
the 32nd. Two hundred men belonging to the 66th and the 32nd Regiments
were hemmed in a little wood near the Vaure, having with them the
standard of the 32nd, whose bearer had been killed. All the officers
were dead or missing, only a few adjutants and sergeants remained.
These asked Sergeant-major Guerre of the 66th, a man of energy and
resource, to take command. The handful of heroes then formed a square
and succeeded in repulsing the attacks of the enemy, until the arrival
of a field-piece rendered the position in the wood untenable. Guerre
divided his remaining troops into small companies, then charged with
the bayonet where the enemy was strongest. A machine-gun soon laid the
brave fellow low. The other companies took advantage of this diversion
to rejoin the French lines. Thirty men in all were able to do so.
Private Malvau and his comrade Bourgoin brought back the standard. They
lost themselves in the German lines, but were put on the right path by
an officer of the guards, suffering from a bad wound which they dressed
for him.
_After visiting the Rochelle plateau we retrace our steps towards Fère
and at the entrance to the village take, on the left_, N. 34 _in the
direction of Sommesous_.
_Pass straight through =Connantray= (33½ km.)_ to arrive, after
traversing _a level-crossing, at =Sommesous= (44½ km.)_.
The station is on the left of the level-crossing. It changed hands
several times during the desperate encounters which took place here.
Graves were dug in the little station garden on the left to receive the
bodies of the soldiers of the 60th (reserve) Division who fell on this
spot.
_Follow_ N. 34 _for about 200 yards in Sommesous, then turn to the left
into_ N. 77. The combats were particularly violent at the junction of
these two roads. _Next, take the second street on the left, seen in
the photograph below, in order to reach the centre of the village._
Sommesous was entirely destroyed by bombardment and by fire, but is
slowly rising again from its ashes.
[Illustration: RUINED HOUSE AT SOMMESOUS]
[Illustration: THE CHURCH AFTER THE BOMBARDMENT]
The church, of which the photographs on this page show the state after
the bombardment, is on the right of the street, towards the end of the
village. It is now being restored.
[Illustration: THE CHURCH AFTER THE BOMBARDMENT]
In going from Sommesous to Écury-le-Repos we traverse the line of the
Somme which the Eleventh Corps and the 60th (reserve) Division defended
so energetically. This line was formed by the river, and by the railway
which follows it at a little distance, along the plateau of the left
bank. On September 6 and 7 this position was held by the French against
furious attacks by Saxons and Guards supported by artillery. On the 8th
the French troops, heavily outnumbered, were obliged to withdraw to
Connantray and Fère-Champenoise.
September 9 witnessed Foch's counter-attack, which reached the Somme on
the 10th and crossed it, on the 11th, in pursuit of the enemy.
[Illustration: VASSIMONT]
Naturally at the bridge-heads of Sommesous, Haussimont, Vassimont,
Lenharrée, Normée, and Ecury some of the most obstinate fighting took
place; thus the ruins there are numerous.
_On leaving Sommesous, the road crosses the railway on the level and
goes towards Haussimont, skirting the Somme, the valley of which lies
to the left. At =Haussimont=, cross the Somme and turn to the right
into G. C. 18 in order to enter and pass through the village._ A few
houses are still in ruins, but many have been rebuilt.
[Illustration: CASTLE OF CHAPELAINE]
[Illustration: ROAD IN HOLLOW, LENHARRÉE]
G. C. 18 _continues between the Somme and the railway towards
=Vassimont= (where we cross the river again). Turn to the left in order
to traverse this locality_, which was much damaged, as may be seen in
the view on p. 190.
_Leaving the village, take the first road on the left and cross the
Somme. 500 yards further on is the hamlet of =Chapelaine=, with its
castle of the same name (photograph p. 190)._ The fighting was intense
at this point.
_Return to_ G. C. 18 _and turn to the left towards =Lenharrée= (54
km.)._ Arriving there, we have on the left (_on the right in the view
above_) the road, which descends to the river. The many graves around
indicate the fierce struggle for the possession of the ford.
[Illustration: GRAVE IN A FARM-YARD, LENHARRÉE]
[Illustration: GRAVES NEAR THE SOMME]
Lenharrée formed a bridgehead on the right bank. The French held it on
September 6 and 7 under a heavy fire, but on the morning of the 8th the
two companies of the 225th, who, by good shooting and frequent bayonet
charges, had held at a respectable distance a much superior German
force, were obliged to withdraw towards Connantray. The Saxons and the
Guards, holding Normée, had managed to advance down the left bank and
thus threatened to take the defenders of Lenharrée in the rear. Of this
small force all the officers and non-commissioned officers were lying
dead or wounded around Captain de Saint-Bon, who himself fell as he
gave the order to retire. "Never mind me," he said to his soldiers, who
wanted to carry him away with them, "Don't be killed trying to save me."
[Illustration: TRENCH NEAR THE SOMME]
[Illustration: RUINS, NORMÉE]
After their withdrawal on September 8 and 9 the French returned to the
neighbourhood of Lenharrée. This they reached on the 10th and entered
the next day. They found in a barn 450 wounded Germans and 150 French.
The terrible struggle had drenched the village with blood and reddened
the waters of the river. "_There are heaps of German dead everywhere_,"
wrote a witness, "_in the streets, in the cellars, in the church, and
in the cemetery. One walked on them without being aware of it. Behind a
hedge ten yards in length I counted twenty-two; a hole in a rock five
to six metres deep was a regular charnel-house._"
Graves in the courtyards of the houses recall the hand-to-hand
fighting. There is one in the large ruined farm seen in the photograph
on p. 191. This farm is on the right after the first group of houses at
the entrance to the village, fifty yards beyond the cross-roads seen in
the view at the top of p. 191.
During the German occupation an old inhabitant, M. Félix, was killed by
blows from the butt-end of the rifles of the German soldiers whom he
tried to prevent from pillaging his house.
_Going through the village, leave the church on the right. We come to
the bridge_ around which are the graves of the men who fell during the
combats on this bitterly disputed spot (photograph p. 192).
_Cross the bridge and turn to the right; 50 yards further on, take, on
the left, the road leading through a cutting to +Lenharrée+ railway
station (800 yards)._ Numerous graves border the railway and the road,
for the struggle, which began at the Somme, continued on the railway
before spreading under German pressure to Fère-Champenoise, Connantray,
and beyond.
[Illustration: LEVEL-CROSSING, NORMÉE]
_Return to_ G. C. 18, _in which turn to the left_. The road commands
the Somme, and here the troops of the eleventh Corps established
trenches along the river bank in order to obstruct the passage. The
_view on p. 192_, taken _about 1 km. beyond Lenharrée_, shows one of
these trenches in which is a German grave.
On the left, the plateau of which G. C. 18 follows the edge, is dotted
throughout with graves, the fighting being particularly desperate here
on the 6th and 7th. Engagements also took place on the plateau on
the opposite bank. The 91st line Regiment, coming up from Lenharrée,
particularly distinguished itself during a night attack on the guards.
[Illustration: OLD TRENCH NEAR THE SOMME AT ÉCURY]
_We arrive at =Normée= (59 km.)_, which suffered much from bombardment
(_see p. 193_). Shells fell so thickly that the village was evacuated
on the 6th, the troops retiring to the railway line and to the woods
around.
_In order to visit this portion of the battlefield, turn to the left
immediately after leaving Normée, into_ G. C. 5, _which goes towards
Fère-Champenoise. 2 km. further on is the level-crossing (view p. 193)_
which became famous after the events of September 6-8.
_Leaving the car at the gate, cross the line on foot._ In a clearing
on the left (view below) may be seen the old French trenches and the
graves which were afterwards made near by. Other trenches are to be
seen in the pine woods which line the road.
The Colonel commanding the 42nd Brigade was killed whilst defending
this level-crossing.
The German attacks, violent enough on the 7th, redoubled in fury on the
8th; the line of defence was pierced and the 35th Brigade, stationed in
the woods adjoining the plateau of Rochelle, previously visited (_see
p. 187_), had to fight under difficult conditions. Certain sections
were surrounded, and only fought their way out with heavy loss, all the
officers being killed. It was under these circumstances that the fine
defence of the standard of the 32nd line Regiment, related on p. 188,
took place.
_Return to_ G. C. 18 _and turn to the left in it towards
=Écury-le-Repos=. 200 yards before arriving at the village_, in a field
on the right of the road overlooking the Somme, is an old trench which
has been used as a grave (view above).
[Illustration: TRENCHES AND GRAVES NEAR THE LEVEL-CROSSING AT NORMÉE]
[Illustration: HOUSES BEING REBUILT AT MORAINS]
_In Écury (67 km.) turn to the left beyond the church, then take the
first street on the right towards Morains-le-Petit._ A few trenches are
to be seen here and there, and graves are still numerous.
=Morains-le-Petit= (70 km.) is rising from its ruins, as the photograph
above shows. _Turn to the right in the village, then to the left on
leaving it, into_ G. C. 9 _in the direction of Bergères-lès-Vertus._ We
are now in the theatre of operations of the 17th Division and of the
52nd (reserve) Division. The task of the troops forming the right wing
of the Ninth Corps was to prevent the marshes from being outflanked on
the east. They held on bravely, but were obliged to retire to Mont-Août
on September 8, their right having been left exposed by the withdrawal
of the Eleventh Corps.
_At 100 yards from Morains_ is the source of the Morin, which at this
point is a tiny rivulet, often dry in the summer. The ditch in which it
flows was used as a trench in the battles of 1914.
The view below, taken on the left of the wood, shows this ditch
bordered by a few shrubs and surrounded by graves.
[Illustration: TRENCH AT THE SOURCE OF THE MORIN]
_The road continues towards Mont-Aimé, which we reach about 5 km.
beyond Morains._ This hill, 750 feet high, appears a veritable mountain
as it rises solitary in the midst of the great Plain of Champagne.
_Leave the car on the road and set out to climb the hill, an easy task.
It is possible to climb direct, or to follow the zig-zag path which
begins at the road._ From the top there is a very fine view of the
marshes and of the whole Plain of Champagne. _The entire journey, up
and down, takes about twenty-five minutes._
_Return to_ G. C. 9 _and continue to =Borgères-lès-Vertus= (78
km.), where we meet with_ N. 53, _where turn to the right towards
Châlons-sur-Marne._
The Germans traversed this road in both directions within six days.
They advanced in all the excitement of a victorious pursuit: they
returned in the gloomy disappointment of defeat.
_The journey to =Châlons= (106 km.) presents no difficulties, it being
merely necessary to follow_ N. 33, _which passes through Chaintrix and
Thibie. We enter Châlons by the Avenue de Paris, then take the Rue du
Faubourg-de-la-Marne on the left. Cross the railway, then the Marne,
and continue straight along the Rue de la Marne. Here cross the canal,
leaving the cathedral on the right. Before arriving at the Place de
Ville turn to the right into the Rue des Lombards, which leads to the
Place de la République, where the hotels will be found._
[Illustration: GRAVES BETWEEN ÉCURY-LE-REPOS AND MORAINS-LE-PETIT]
III
THE PASS OF REVIGNY
CHÂLONS--VITRY--BAR-LE-DUC
CHÂLONS
[Illustration: CHÂLONS IN THE SIXTH CENTURY]
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_).
[Illustration: CHÂLONS-S.-MARNE]
=Cathedral of Saint-Stephen= (historical monument)
(See map opposite)
[Illustration: CATHEDRAL
(_Photo L. L._)]
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.
[Illustration: NORTH TRANSEPT OF THE CATHEDRAL]
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.
[Illustration: APSE AND TRANSEPT OF THE CATHEDRAL]
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.
[Illustration: NAVE OF THE CATHEDRAL]
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)
[Illustration: CREATION OF THE ANIMALS]
[Illustration: CREATION OF MAN]
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.
[Illustration: ADAM AND EVE BEFORE THE TREE]
[Illustration: ADAM AND EVE HIDING THEMSELVES]
=Lights in the first south window= (fifteenth century stained glass)
[Illustration: THE CONDEMNATION]
[Illustration: ADAM AND EVE DRIVEN OUT OF PARADISE]
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.
[Illustration: ADAM BEGINS TO WORK]
[Illustration: CAIN KILLS ABEL]
=Notre-Dame de Vaux= (historical monument)
(See map inserted between pp. 198-199)
[Illustration: NOTRE-DAME]
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.