the church, take on the left_ G. C. 14 _in the direction of =Huiron=._
We are now on the battlefield of the 17th Corps. G. C. 14 formed the
French position at the beginning of the battle; on the 6th the road
was left behind, and the Germans driven back northwards as far as the
railway line going from Sompuis to Huiron. But on the 8th the 17th
Corps was repulsed in its turn, and G. C. 14 became the German line.
The French troops clung to the heights to the south of the road and
particularly to Certine Farm, where General Dupuis was killed. The
fighting was of a desperate character. The Germans, in their fury,
revenged themselves on the wounded; eight badly hurt soldiers of the
88th Infantry Regiment, whom Sub-Lieutenant Baudens had been obliged to
leave behind, were afterwards found with hands tied behind their backs,
their bodies riddled with bullets and bayonet wounds.
On the 9th and 10th the 17th Corps counter-attacked vigorously and,
with the aid of the Goullet Division which had been attached to it,
succeeded on the night of the 10-11th in re-crossing the railway line.
[Illustration: NAVE OF CHURCH HUIRON]
[Illustration: RUINS AT COURDEMANGES]
We reach =Huiron= (53 km.) which was completely destroyed by the fire
kindled by the Germans on September 7, after having taken the village
from the 12th Corps. The interesting twelfth century church, and the
ruins of the abbey buildings backing up to it, have been ravaged by
the flames. The pillars of the nave have crumbled away, and in the
photograph opposite fragments of broken columns may be seen scattered
about. Huiron was only retaken on the night of the 10-11th.
[Illustration: FLOODS AT FOOT OF MONT-MORET]
_400 yards from the church turn to the right into_ G. C. 2; _then after
about 700 yards, turn to the left in order to enter the village of
=Courdemanges=._ This has suffered much from fire and bombardment. On
the right of the street stood the castle, which has been completely
destroyed.
[Illustration: GRAVES NEAR FRIGNICOURT]
Courdemanges, which was occupied on the 6th by the 12th Corps, was
attacked with great violence. It was abandoned at 5 p.m., and retaken
during the night. Continuously shelled by the Germans on the 7th
and 8th, it fell on the latter day into their hands. The 12th Corps
counter-attacked energetically, but succeeded only on the 11th in
re-entering the village.
_After going as far as the church, return again by the same road to_
G. C. 2 _and cross it in order to go straight towards Frignicourt_. On
the right is Mont-Moret which played an important part in the fighting
in this region. The batteries of the 12th Corps were installed there on
September 6. After heavy shelling and infantry attacks, Mont-Moret fell
on the morning of the 8th, but units of the 12th Corps, aided by the
Colonial Corps, counter-attacked with determination, and in the evening
obtained possession of the ridge, capturing a few machine-guns. They
remained there in spite of fierce assaults, which caused heavy losses
to the Germans and gave no result.
_The road crosses the railway_ in a low-lying plain often flooded by
the Marne, as seen in the photograph on p. 216; Mont-Moret can be
distinguished in the background.
100 yards before arriving at Frignicourt, on the right and on the left
of G. C. 14, are the graves depicted in the photos on this page. The
soldiers who lie buried there are those who gallantly defended the
passage of the Marne on September 6. The French troops, overwhelmed by
the fire of the German artillery at Vitry, were obliged to fall back on
Courdemanges and Mont-Moret. The Germans in their turn were violently
shelled by the French guns, but succeeded in holding out in Frignicourt
until the 11th.
[Illustration: GRAVES NEAR FRIGNICOURT]
_After crossing the Marne, enter =Frignicourt= (60 km.)_, whose
ruins are being gradually reconstructed. _Turn to the left to reach
Vitry-le-François_ (plan p. 218). _Passing through the toll-gate, take
the Rue du Passage-Supérieur on the left, then, after crossing the
railway, turn again to the left into the Avenue du Colonel-Moll. Cross
the Boulevard François I, and take the Petite-Rue de Frignicourt on the
left, which leads into the Rue de Frignicourt. Along this main road
turn to the right to reach the hotel (62 km.)._
[Illustration: VITRY-LE-FRANÇOIS]
VITRY-LE-FRANÇOIS
ORIGIN AND CHIEF HISTORICAL FACTS
[Illustration: NOTRE-DAME]
Vitry-le-François dates from the sixteenth century. The town was built
in 1545 by order of Francis I. in order to replace Vitry-en-Perthois,
burned the year before by Charles V. The ruins of old Vitry were
utilised for the construction of the new, which was named after its
founder. This complete rebuilding explains the remarkable regularity of
the town, plans of which were drawn up by an Italian architect, Marino.
Vitry was fortified, but its ramparts were condemned and demolished in
the nineteenth century.
VITRY-LE-FRANÇOIS IN 1914
At the beginning of the war, Vitry was the seat of the French General
Headquarters Staff. On September 5, almost the whole of the population
evacuated the town, together with the civil authorities. Out of a
population of 8,500, barely 500 to 600 persons remained. In the morning
a rearguard action commenced to the north and east of Vitry. About 5
p.m., German shells began to fall in the suburbs, and in the evening
Uhlans entered the town by the Châlons Road. In default of the mayor,
the curé, M. Nottin, and his curate were at once arrested as hostages,
and M. Nottin was directed to find two more. Two patriotic citizens,
M. Paillard and M. Bernat, offered themselves for this onerous duty.
Together with M. Foureur, the schoolmaster, they took upon their
shoulders the charge of maintaining order, ensuring requisitions, the
victualling of the inhabitants, and the treatment of the wounded. MM.
Nottin, Paillard and Foureur, were amongst the first civilians to be
mentioned in dispatches.
Up to September 10 the battle raged round Vitry. The allied and
enemy shells crossed one another over the town: the German batteries
established on the heights to the north replying to the French guns
on Mont-Moret. The wounded came crowding in. On the third day, they
numbered 2,500, of whom 200 were French. The hospital being full the
church was then transformed into one, as well as all the teaching
establishments and the savings bank.
On the evening of the 10th the evacuation by the Germans began. It took
place in an orderly manner. The next evening the French re-entered the
town.
Apart from the gas works, which suffered from the shelling, and a few
burnt houses, the events of September have left few traces at Vitry. A
few houses and shops were pillaged, but, thanks to the influence and
activity of Abbé Nottin and his companions, the town was spared the
horrors which the surrounding villages experienced.
VISIT TO THE TOWN
(See map p. 218)
_Leaving the hotel, follow the Rue de Frignicourt to the Place d'Armes_
in which is the Church of Notre-Dame, shown above. The first stone of
this edifice was laid in 1629. The king gave 300,000 livres (about
£12,000) towards the cost of construction, and numerous families in the
neighbourhood subscribed also. They bought, by means of a heavy burial
duty, the right to be buried in the church itself. The subsoil of
Notre-Dame became on this account a veritable ossuary.
[Illustration: GATEWAY OF BRIDGE]
When the high altar was moved about twenty skulls were unearthed. In
1850, when the present paving was laid, thirty-two mortuary stones were
removed from the nave. The chapels were built by rich parishioners, who
placed their tombs there and dedicated the altar to the patron saint
of their family. The apse was constructed in 1835, and the work of
building finished in 1895.
Notre-Dame recalls Saint-Sulpice in Paris, and its interior is worth
visiting. The first chapel on the left has a fine eighteenth century
railing. In the last chapel, off the nave on the left, the reredos
above the altar should be noted. A bas-relief depicts Saint-Jerome
kneeling beside a lion.
In the south branch of the transept is a fine mortuary stone in black
marble, showing a knight standing with hands joined, his foot on a
greyhound.
The four pillars at the intersection of the choir and of the transept
are decorated with sculpture.
[Illustration: MILLS AND OLD RAMPARTS]
_After having visited the church, take on the opposite side of the
Square the Rue du Pont leading to the monumental gateway_ reproduced
above, which dates from the seventeenth century and formed part of the
old enclosure. _Turn to the right along the side of the Marne by the
Quai des Fontaines as far as the mills. Turn to the right again, take
a few steps from the Place des Moulins alongside the river in order
to obtain the picturesque view of the old ramparts shown in the photo
below. Take the Rue des Moulins, which is continued by the Rue d'Enfer,
and at the barracks turn to the right into the Rue des Minimes, then
into the Rue des Sœurs. In the middle of the latter turn to the left,
in order to glance at the old wooden market-buildings. Pass round them
to the left and regain the Place d'Armes by the street opening on to
the market on the opposite side to that by which we entered. Cross the
"Place," and take the Rue Domine de Verzet which skirts Notre-Dame on
the left. Opposite the town-hall_ (the old monastery of the Récollets,
which dates from the end of the seventeenth century and contains
the Library and Museum), _turn to the right, into the Petite Rue de
l'Hôtel de Ville, then to the left into Boulevard Carnot. Leave this
in the middle of the Place Carnot in order to take the Faubourg de
Saint-Dizier on the left._
VISIT TO THE FIELD OF OPERATIONS
OF THE
FOURTH AND THIRD FRENCH ARMIES
=II.--FROM VITRY-LE-FRANÇOIS TO BAR-LE-DUC= (82 km.)
Via +Vauclerc+, +Écriennes+, +Favresse+, +Étrepy+,
+Heiltz-le-Maurupt+, +Pargny+, +Maurupt+, +Cheminon+,
+Trois-Fontaines+, +Sermaize+, +Vassincourt+.
(See map inserted between pp. 212-213)
_After leaving Vitry by N. 4, crossing the Marne and a level-crossing_,
=Marolles= (3 km.) is reached. In this village an old man of 70 years,
M. Mathieu Coche, was seized by German cavalrymen and led away tied to
a horse, with which he was obliged to keep pace. On arriving in the
neighbourhood of Vitry-en-Perthois (_nearly 30 km. to the north of
Marolles_) the poor old fellow's strength gave out, he fell and was
dragged along by the horse until death ensued. His body was then left
behind, and could not be buried until after the German retreat.
_N. 4 next passes through =Vauclerc= (6 km.)._ On the left of the
road a great number of new roofs are to be seen, although many of the
houses are still in the same state as that in which the shelling and
the fire left them. During the whole of the battle this village was the
objective of the Lejaille Brigade. It was only retaken, by the Colonial
Corps, on September 11.
_About 1,300 yards beyond Vauclerc, where graves border the road on
either side, is, on the right, a road leading to Écriennes. Before
taking it, follow N. 4 for 400 yards further_, in order to see a
burying-place of the Colonials, shown in the photo below. The view
gives an idea of the immense plain, where furious encounters took place
between this crack corps and the troops of the Duke of Wurtemberg.
[Illustration: BURYING-PLACE OF THE COLONIALS ALONG N. 4]
In that part of the plain which lies to the right of the road, beyond
Écriennes, near Matignicourt, there took place in 1891 the famous
review of troops by President Carnot. It was the first important
military demonstration since the war of 1870. It signalised the
resurrection of the national spirit, and because of this fact it
produced a very deep impression both in France and in foreign
countries. Monuments to the memory of President Carnot have been raised
on the field of the review, at Vitry; in the Carnot Square; and at
Châlons in the Place de l'Hôtel-de-Ville.
[Illustration: CHURCH ÉCRIENNES]
_Taking the road leading to_ =Écriennes= (10 km.) we arrive at this
village, which has been completely devastated, as may be seen in
the photos on this page. The church, the upper part of which is of
timber-work, was blown in by shells.
Écriennes was hotly disputed from September 6 to 11. It was taken on
the 6th by the Germans, in spite of an heroic defence by the 21st
Colonials; then retaken only to be lost again by the French on the 8th,
and retaken finally on the 11th.
_After passing in front of the church, turn to the left in order
to rejoin N. 4, along which turn to the right in the direction of
Farémont._ The road is bordered on both sides by graves, for the
fighting here was very violent. On the road and to the south of it the
Colonial Infantry fought doggedly, sometimes gaining, sometimes losing
ground. To the north of N. 4 the Lejaille Brigade tried to push towards
Vauclerc.
* * * * *
We enter =Farémont= (12½ km.), some of the houses of which have been
burned. _On emerging, leave N. 4 and turn to the left in order to
reach_ =Thiéblemont= (13½ km.). This village was also completely
devastated by shells and fire, but the church is still standing.
_This side of the church, turn to the left into G. C. 60 leading to
Favresse._ Graves may be seen along this road. On September 6, that
portion of the Colonial Corps which held Favresse followed G. C. 60 in
the opposite direction, falling back on Farémont, while the Lejaille
Brigade came to take their place at Favresse.
* * * * *
[Illustration: RUINS OF ÉCRIENNES]
=Favresse= (16½ km) was gallantly defended on the 7th; taken and
retaken several times on the 8th, and finally remained in the
possession of the Lejaille Brigade, whose chief was wounded by a
shell-splinter during the afternoon.
* * * * *
The village, which was violently shelled, suffered heavily, but has
been partly rebuilt. The beautiful little church, of which the photos
on this page give a general view, as well as a detailed one of the
Romanesque doorway, bears traces of numerous shells. As at Écriennes,
and in many little country churches in this region, the upper part of
the walls of the nave is of timber work.
[Illustration: DOORWAY OF CHURCH FAVRESSE]
_Turn to the right alongside the church and leaving it on the left,
take G. C. 16 to Haussignémont and Blesmes._
On this ground on September 8 the Eighth German (reserve) Corps tried
to break through between Favresse and Blesmes. At one time this
effort seemed about to be successful, but, reinforcements having been
opportunely sent to Haussignémont, the Lejaille Brigade was able to
hold the position.
[Illustration: CHURCH FAVRESSE]
_In =Haussignémont= (17½ km.), turn to the left near the church, and
continue along G. C. 16 to Blesmes, which is reached after passing over
a level-crossing._
_In the centre of =Blesmes= (20 km.), turn to the left in order to pass
in front of the church._ Numerous houses in the village were destroyed
by shells, and the roof of the church was damaged; but most of this
damage has been repaired.
[Illustration: SORTON FARM]
_On leaving Blesmes, pass over a level-crossing, then under the
railway. At the cross-roads immediately beyond turn to the right, then
at the fork in the road, turn to the right again into G. C. 14 in the
direction of Étrepy._
_Half-way_ thither, on the right, is =Sorton Farm=, which was fiercely
disputed. As may be seen in the photo on p. 223, it was completely
destroyed. The Eighth German (reserve) Corps managed to take it on
September 8, but, on the following day, the troops of the Second French
Corps re-took possession of the ruins and held them. Along the road in
front of the farm are the graves of some of its defenders.
[Illustration: CHURCH AND RUINS, ÉTREPY]
At =Étrepy= (25 km.), _we pass in front of the church (see above)_.
There are numerous ruins in this village, which was set on fire by the
Germans on September 7.
Of the seventy families who remained at Étrepy during the battle,
sixty-three were homeless after the incendiaries had passed by. Two
old people, more than eighty years of age, M. and Mme. Miliat, were
led away almost naked to a distance of 3 km. from the village and
horribly ill-used. In order to quicken their pace, rendered slow by
age, they were struck with the flat of swords. Mme. Miliat died four
days afterwards as a result of this treatment. On leaving the village,
on the right is the entrance to the castle of the Morillot family.
(The son of Count Morillot, a naval lieutenant and commander of the
submarine "Monge," went down with her, after having made the crew put
off in their boats, rather than surrender to the enemy.) The castle,
which is built at the meeting place of the Saulx and the Ornain, and is
surrounded by a moat, dates from the seventeenth century. It was set on
fire by the Germans.
The position of Étrepy is important, being a bridgehead on the waterway
formed by the Saulx, the Ornain, and the canal from the Marne to the
Rhine. The passage was defended on September 6 by the Third Division of
the Second French Corps, but the bridges were forced in the evening,
and at dawn on the 7th the village fell into the hands of the Germans.
It was only retaken on the 11th.
[Illustration: CHURCH, HEILTZ-LE-MAURUPT]
_After crossing in succession the Saulx, the canal, and then the
Ornain, which flows through a frequently flooded plain, we arrive at
=Heiltz-le-Maurupt= (29½ km.) and, after turning to the right, take the
left towards the church._
On September 6, on the arrival of the Duke of Wurtemberg's troops,
the beautiful Romanesque church was devastated by fire, at the same
time as the little town. Before setting fire to the houses, the
Germans pillaged them. The spoils were placed on waggons under the
superintendence of an officer. These removals having been effected,
German soldiers were next seen, two by two, carrying buckets slung
on poles and filled with inflammable liquid, which they threw on the
houses. The result was a huge outburst of fire, in which the church,
the town-hall, the school, and 187 houses out of 210, were destroyed.
[Illustration: NAVE OF CHURCH, HEILTZ-LE-MAURUPT]
The photos opposite show that the roof of the church has disappeared,
exposing the nave. The vaults of the transept and of the apse have
resisted the flames. The Romanesque apse is very interesting; the
vaulting is round-arched, and on the exterior are sixteen blind
windows, also round-arched, separated from each other by small pillars.
The old Romanesque tower was surmounted by a spire about 100 feet high
built in the sixteenth century. It collapsed in the flames. The western
doorway is also in the Romanesque style (photo below). The work of
restoration is in progress, as may be seen in the photo opposite.
[Illustration: APSE OF CHURCH]
The Germans had installed at Heiltz-le-Maurupt an important heavy
battery which, during the whole of the battle, seriously tried the
French troops entrusted with the defence of Pargny, Maurupt, and
Sermaize.
_In order to regain the line of the Ornain and the Saulx, take the
street on the right a little to the east of the church. On reaching the
fork, again take the right, and follow the line of telegraph posts as
far as Pargny._
[Illustration: DOORWAY OF CHURCH]
[Illustration: THE CANAL AT PARGNY (looking westwards)]
[Illustration: THE CANAL AT PARGNY (looking eastwards)]
_The road passes over the Ornain then over the canal from the Marne to
the Rhine, of which the two photographs opposite_ and _below_ give two
views: the first to the west, the second to the east. The struggle was
violent on the banks of the canal. The infantry of the Third Division
was guarding the bridges, which were taken by the Germans on September
6, but the French, entrenched in Pargny (_towards which the road leads
the tourist_), held out during the whole of the day of the 7th in spite
of the terrific shell fire, which completely destroyed the little town.
On the 8th, attacked on the north and east, Pargny fell. The next day,
the valiant troops of the Second Corps re-took it. On the 10th it fell
again into the hands of the Germans, to be definitely retaken by the
French on the 11th.
[Illustration: CHURCH AND RUINS OF PARGNY]
=Pargny= church (33½ km.), in front of which we pass, had its roof
pierced, and the vaulting broken in. The spire was truncated by shells.
_After having passed the church, we reach the principal street, in
which we turn to the left._ The scene is very desolate (_see pp.
226-227_).
[Illustration: RUINS OF PARGNY]
_Having followed the principal street, we take the first turning on the
right towards the level-crossing. Immediately beyond the crossing, we
turn to the right in order to reach =Maurupt= by_ G. C. 61.
[Illustration: INTERIOR OF CHURCH, PARGNY]
Before reaching the village, the +tile-field of Pargny+ comes into
view, as seen in the photograph at the foot of this page. The fighting
here assumed a particularly violent character, as the French, having
lost Pargny, endeavoured to check the German advance on Maurupt. A
large grave contains the remains of the brave fellows of the 72nd Line
Regiment who fell on this part of the battlefield. The tile-field was
for many days an important position of the French artillery which swept
the line of the Saulx and the Ornain from this point.
The supplying of the tiles and bricks necessary for the reconstruction
of the whole region gives occupation to these works, now reorganised.
[Illustration: TILE-FIELD, PARGNY]
Maurupt is separated from the tile-field by a dip in the ground,
clearly visible in the panorama on p. 228. The road, bordered by
telegraph poles, which traverses the region from right to left, is G.
C. 61, which the tourist is following. It is thus easy to realise the
importance of the tile-field as an advanced position. Whilst the French
held it they were able to utilise the valley (out of sight of the enemy
coming up from Pargny) for massing reserves of troops and artillery.
The position once captured, Maurupt became singularly exposed.
In point of fact, Maurupt fell on September 8, the same day as the
tile-field. The German attack came, not only from Pargny, but from
the east; the loss of Sermaize by the right of the Second Corps
having made this flanking movement possible to the enemy. On the
9th, the French threw the Germans back on Pargny, but on the 10th,
the tile-field and the village were lost anew. Violent hand-to-hand
fighting took place in the streets of Maurupt, and in one hour the
ruins were taken and retaken. The Germans were making progress to the
west of Maurupt, however, and the French troops, in order to avoid
being enveloped, were obliged to abandon the position and retire
towards Cheminon. On the 11th Maurupt was definitely regained.
[Illustration: MAURUPT SEEN FROM THE TILE-FIELD]
[Illustration: CHURCH, MAURUPT]
[Illustration: RUINS OF TOWN-HALL, MAURUPT]
G. C. 61 _comes out into =Maurupt= opposite the church (36½ km.);
visible in the photo on p. 228._ This fine Romanesque edifice, restored
in the fifteenth century, is classed as an historical monument.
It has suffered greatly.
[Illustration: GRAVES, MAURUPT]
The spire has been smashed, the tower torn open, the roof and the
barrel-vaulting have given way. The town-hall, near the church, met
with the same fate (view above).
_Turn to the right opposite the church, and then proceed for 800 yards
towards the Hill of Le Montois._
[Illustration: GRAVES, MAURUPT]
Half-way up is to be seen the burial-place reproduced below. Farther
along the road other graves are visible on the left, for at this point
the 128th Line Regiment put up a splendid resistance against superior
German forces.
[Illustration: VIEW OF CHEMINON (looking east)]
These attacks on the west, joined to those on the north and east, led
as we have seen to the fall of Maurupt.
_Return to the village_, which is in course of reconstruction, _and at
the church go straight on, then turn to the right, towards Cheminon,
into_ G. C. 16, _which follows the line of telegraph posts_.
_On arriving in =Cheminon= (43 km.), turn to the left to descend
the principal street, shown in the photo above_. Cheminon did not
experience the German invasion, and, after the desolation of the
villages which we have traversed, this little township gives an
impression of repose, with its picturesque houses sloping down towards
the old thirteenth-sixteenth century church, which is classed as an
historical monument.
_We pass under the market (beware of the depression in the ground),
then turn to the right towards Trois-Fontaines._
_Reaching the fork in the road, go straight on. Pass through =Le Fays=
(47½ km.). 800 yards further on, leaving the road to Saint-Dizier on
the right, turn to the left to enter the village of =Trois-Fontaines=
(49 km.)._ At the end of it the monumental doorway of the old abbey of
Trois-Fontaines is visible, as shown in the photograph on next page.