[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO THE OLD ABBEY]
The Germans did not get as far as Trois-Fontaines, but fighting took
place to the north and to the north-east, in the forest.
This region, where the Fourth and Third French Armies linked up, was
particularly important. At Trois Fontaines, the Germans would have
been 9 km. from Saint-Dizier, from whence they would have been able to
outflank the whole of the Army of Langle de Cary. The Second Corps'
admirable resistance, and the aid given by the flank attack of the
Fifteenth Corps of Sarrail's Army, brought about the German defeat.
The abbey is at the present time the property of the Count of Fontenoy.
_After asking permission to visit, cross the court to the left, in
order to view the ruins of the church which are still standing in the
corner of the park._
The photos on pp. 231, 232 and 233 depict the interior and the exterior.
[Illustration: RUINS OF THE CHURCH]
The abbey was founded in the beginning of the twelfth century by Saint
Bernard.
The major portion of the church dates back, however, a century earlier.
It was sacked during the Revolution, but the ruins now covered with
verdure have an impressive grandeur.
Enter the principal nave by the doorway seen on the left in the view
opposite.
After traversing the body of the church, consisting of the central nave
and two side aisles, we see enormous fragments of the arches strewn on
the ground. As seen in the photographs on p. 232. Nature has resumed
her sway, and tall trees rise from what was the choir and the apse of
the old church.
[Illustration: RUINS OF THE CHURCH]
_By way of the small but charmingly planned park, we arrive at the
abbey buildings proper_ (_see p. 233_), which form the habitation of
the proprietor. They are formed of two wings, built in the eighteenth
century, and united by a charming arched gallery covered with climbing
plants. These buildings were much more extensive before the Revolution,
and several hundred monks devoted themselves in the calm of this remote
forest-valley to a life of contemplation, interrupted only by rural
tasks.
A river traverses the abbey from one end to the other, but the monks
made important works in order to render it subterranean for a portion
of its length. Thus it passes under the buildings and crosses the
centre of the park, flowing through underground arches, so solidly
constructed that the passage of centuries has left no apparent weakness.
[Illustration: EXTERIOR OF THE CHURCH]
[Illustration: RUINS OF THE CHURCH]
At the end of the park, the river comes again to the surface in order
to form part of a skilfully arranged decorative scheme in which water,
trees, and lawns combine to make a harmonious whole.
After this short inroad into the far past, _the tourist takes once more
the road to =Cheminon= (55 km.). In this village, pass under the market
again, then turn to the right into the road_ (visible in the photograph
at the foot of p. 230) _opposite the inn_.
_Cross the river Bruxenelle, then, on reaching the fork, turn to the
left towards Sermaize._ The way lies through woods into which part
of the extreme right of the Second Corps retreated after abandoning
Sermaize. The pursuing Germans began to creep towards Cheminon and
Maurupt, and, as we have seen, succeeded in reaching the latter
village, but Cheminon did not fall into their hands.
[Illustration: OLD ABBEY BUILDINGS]
[Illustration: RUINS OF SERMAIZE]
_Affording a fine view of the Valley of the Saulx, the road enters
=Sermaize= (61 km.)._
The town was occupied on September 6 by the Fourth Division of the
Sixth Corps. Violently attacked on the north and east, and threatened
with being cut off from the rest of the French line by the German
advance from the west, Sermaize, already set on fire by shells, was
evacuated on the 7th by the French troops, who retired towards Maurupt
and Cheminon. The Germans entered the little town and completed the
work of the shells, but first they pillaged the houses. It was proved
to the Enquiry Commission that "German Red-Cross nurses came with
carts, in which they piled up the goods which the soldiers passed
to them from the drapery and millinery establishment of M. Mathieu,
a merchant serving with the colours." 505 houses were completely
destroyed; only forty-four remained standing.
Numerous personal outrages were committed. About fifty hostages were
taken; some, rigged out in cloaks and casques, were obliged thus to
guard the bridges. Here is the declaration of the road-man of the
district, Auguste Brocard: "_My son and I, together with my grandson
aged 5½ years, were led away on September 6 by the Germans, who shut
us into the sugar factory, and kept us there under guard for four
days. When they arrested us, my wife and my daughter-in-law, insane
with fear, ran to drown themselves in the Saulx. I managed to run
after them, and tried three times to rescue the unhappy creatures, but
the Germans forced me away, and left the poor women struggling in the
water. I ought to add that when we were set free four days afterwards,
and went to find the corpses, the French soldiers who helped to bury
them pointed out to us that both my wife and my daughter-in-law had
bullet wounds in the head._"
[Illustration: THE GRAND SQUARE, SERMAIZE]
_On arriving in the town, turn to the right. The street leads to the
central square_, which is adorned by a fountain (see below). The
enormous rubbish heap which the town represented after the battle is
gradually being cleared. The inhabitants have returned, and bravely set
about the rebuilding of their homes. Helped by various organisations,
French and foreign, and above all by bodies of Quakers known as the
"Society of Friends," who have set up numerous wooden houses throughout
the countryside, they are bringing this desolate region back to life.
[Illustration: RUINS AROUND THE GRAND SQUARE]
_Take the Rue Bénard, on the left of the Square_, in order to visit the
church, which is in the lower part of the town, near the Saulx. The
photo below was taken from the right of this street. In the foreground
is the doctor's house, of which only the brass plate remains; in the
background is a temporary shanty run up by the chemist.
[Illustration: RUINS, RUE BÉNARD]
_We reach the Saulx_, on the opposite side of which stands the church,
which was shelled and then burned by the Germans. The Romanesque porch,
which stood out from it, has been destroyed; the nave is open to the
sky; and the spire has collapsed. The Romanesque vaulting of the
transept and of the apse has alone survived.
[Illustration: CHURCH, SERMAIZE]
A fine fifteenth century wooden carving of Christ has been burned, or
perhaps more probably taken away by the Germans.
_Retracing our steps, we take, on the left before arriving at the
Place, the Rue d'Andernay_, from number 35 of which the central
photograph on the following page was taken. _A little further on
we rejoin the road (G. C. 15, which becomes G. C. 1 on leaving the
county), and follow it out of the town. On the right, two kilometres
further, is the_ "Établissement thermal," whose waters are used for
drinking purposes, as well as for baths and shower-baths. _Pass through
=Andernay= (64½ km.)_, where a few houses were burned down. _Cross over
the Saulx, then, without entering Contrisson, turn to the right (66
km.) and follow the railway along the road._
[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE CHURCH]
_Two kilometres further take the level-crossing, and then, leaving
the railway, which breaks off to the right, follow G. C. 20. Continue
straight along G. C. 1._
G. C. 20 follows the Valley of the Saulx, which, gradually narrowing,
stretches southwards. The Germans came up the valley, driving in a
wedge between the Fourth and Third French Armies. During September 9
and 10 the Fifteenth Corps was working astride this valley, trying to
re-establish connection. On the evening of the 10th, the 30th Division
of this Corps took =Mognéville= (_2 km. distant along G. C. 20_), and
practically reached the spot where the tourist is now standing. The
danger of a break through was thus averted.
[Illustration: RUINS, RUE D'ANDERNAY]
G. C. 1 _leads the tourist to_ =Vassincourt= (71 km.), which has been
entirely destroyed by fire and shells. The photo below depicts the
entrance to the village, those of p. 237 the sacked church.
[Illustration: RUINS OF VASSINCOURT]
On the evening of September 6 Vassincourt was the extreme left of
Sarrail's Army. It was attacked furiously by the German troops which
had just carried Revigny, and sought to take possession of the plateau
commanding the valleys of the Saulx and the Ornain, by which they
hoped to push on towards Bar-le-Duc and Saint Dizier. On the 7th, the
46th Line Regiment was clinging to the edge of the village. Colonel
Malleterre, commanding this fine body of men, inspired them with his
own indefatigable energy. On the 8th the 57th Brigade of the Fifteenth
Corps, attacking from Mognéville tried to free the west of Vassincourt,
and to drive back the Germans towards Revigny. Two dashing attempts,
resulting in heavy losses to two Light Infantry Battalions of the 57th
Brigade, failed before the German resistance, supported by a great
superiority of guns. The 46th maintained its positions from Vassincourt
to the Ornain. On the 9th the attack began again at dawn, and by the
evening the burning village was closely surrounded on the east and
to the south by trenches which the French troops had dug hastily. In
the course of this day, Colonel Malleterre, who had taken over the
command of the 19th Brigade and was directing operations, was seriously
wounded. It was only on the 11th that the Plateau of Vassincourt was
completely cleared of the German troops who had entrenched themselves
there.
[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE CHURCH]
_Turn to the left in the middle of the village_, in order to visit the
church, of which the spire has been brought down and the interior laid
waste, _then return to the road_.
[Illustration: EXTERIOR OF THE CHURCH]
_After Vassincourt, G. C. 1 passes through =Mussey= (74 km.)._ Varney
and Fains, further up-stream, constituted with Mussey three passages
which were covered by the Fifth French Corps. The Crown Prince had
given orders to the Thirteenth German Corps to make themselves masters
of the bridges, but the splendid resistance of the French troops did
not allow the enemy to cross this part of the waterway, which, however,
had been crossed further down, at Revigny.
_After leaving Mussey cross over the canal, which the road follows on a
lower level, and pass Varney on the left. At =Fains= (79 km.) the canal
has to be crossed again, turning to the right. Then turn to the left,
along the canal bank. This leads to the high road to Bar-le-Duc G. C.
(D. 4). Follow it, and enter the town by the Boulevard de la Banque,
the Rue d'Entre-deux-Ponts, and the Boulevard de La Rochelle, where the
hotel will be found (82 km.)._
[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE CHURCH]
BAR-LE-DUC
ORIGIN AND CHIEF HISTORICAL FACTS
[Illustration: ENVIRONS OF NOTRE-DAME BRIDGE AFTER AN AIR-RAID]
Bar-le-Duc is of Gallo-Roman origin. The name of Bar is very probably
derived from the bar which the Ornain forms at the spot where the
Notre-Dame Bridge now stands. The few dwellings erected at the edge
of the river were called _Barrivilla_, and occupied the site of the
present "faubourg" of Couchot, where the "Rue des Romains" still
exists. At a later date, and on the opposite bank of the Ornain, rose a
fortified township named _Burgum Barri_, which is to-day the district
traversed by the Rue du Bourg. In the middle of the tenth century
Frederick I., Count of Bar, built a castle on the hill overlooking
the Ornain, to the west, and thus the upper town was created. When
Frederick I. became Duke of Haute-Lorraine the name of the town was
changed into _Barro Ducis_, whence Bar-au-Duc, then Bar-le-Duc.
In the middle ages Bar-le-Duc experienced the restless life of
fortified places. In the twelfth century Henry V., Emperor of Germany,
then, in the fourteenth century, the King of France, Philippe le Bel,
declared their suzerainty over the Counts of Bar. In the fifteenth
century Anne of Beaujeu gave up the district of Bar to the Dukes of
Lorraine. During the seventeenth century Bar changed hands ten times.
The most celebrated siege was that by Turenne in 1652, the lower town
being taken at the end of a fortnight and the upper town succumbing
two days later. In 1670 Louis XIV. caused all the fortifications, with
the exception of the "Tour de l'Horloge," to be razed to the ground.
In 1737 the last hereditary Duke of Lorraine, Francis II., ceded the
province to Stanislas Leczinski, the dethroned King of Poland, on whose
death it was to return to France. When this occurred in 1766 Bar was
definitely incorporated in French territory.
Francis, Duke of Guise, and Marshals Oudinot and Exelmans, were born at
Bar.
The town was occupied from 1870 to 1873 by the Germans. In 1914 the
Crown Prince thought he would be able to enter it without difficulty,
but Sarrail's Army undeceived him very decidedly, and the battle of the
Marne spent itself a few kilometres from the gates of the town. During
the period of trench warfare there were numerous air raids, although
Bar is an unfortified town (photo above).
[Illustration: LÉGENDE
1. PRÉFECTURE
2. HOTEL DE VILLE
3. TRIBUNAL CIVIL
4. ARCHIVES
5. ST ANTOINE
6. TEMPLE PROTEST.
7. SYNAGOGUE
8. THEATRE
9. BANQUE DE FRANCE
10. CAISSE D'ÉPARGNE
11. HALLES
12. GENDARMERIE
13. TOUR DU BEFFROI
14. ANCIEN CHÂTEAU DES DUCS DE BAR
15. HOSPICE CIVIL ET MILITAIRE
16. -- DES VIEILLARDS
17. COUVENT DES DOMINICAINES
18. ANCIEN COLLÈGE GILLES DE TRÈVES
BAR-LE-DUC]
VISIT TO THE TOWN
(See plan p. 239)
[Illustration: LIBERTY BRIDGE AND CHURCH OF NOTRE-DAME]
Lower Town.--See +Notre-Dame Bridge+ and Church of Notre-Dame.
Upper Town.--See +The Castle+; +Gilles-de-Trèves College+; +The
Clock-Tower+ (tour de l'Horloge); +The Esplanade+; +The Place and
Church of Saint Pierre+.
This town is famous for its celebrated red-currant jam; the pips of the
fruit being removed one by one before cooking. Also "Vin gris."
THE LOWER TOWN
Notre-Dame Bridge
This was first built of wood, then towards the middle of the fourteenth
century, of stone. The Chapel to the Virgin on one of the piles has
been in existence since the seventeenth century. It escaped destruction
in the troubled times of the Revolution in consequence, it is said, of
the prudent substitution of the busts of Marat and Robespierre for the
statue of the Virgin.
There is a pretty view of the Ornain from the bridge; but in order to
see the bridge itself in its most picturesque aspect, take a few steps
along the edge of the south bank, whence the photo below was taken.
Notre-Dame
This church may be seen from the bridge. Parts of it date from the
thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries, whilst one front and one tower
belong to the eighteenth. The bas-relief of the façade representing the
Assumption belongs to 1750. In the interior, in the right branch of the
transept, is an interesting fifteenth century bas-relief representing
the Virgin and symbolic figures.
[Illustration: NOTRE-DAME BRIDGE
(_Photo L. L._)]
THE UPPER TOWN
[Illustration: PLACE REGGIO AND THE UPPER TOWN]
The upper town is the most interesting part of Bar-le-Duc.
The two photographs on this page show it as it appears from the lower
town.
Motors can reach it easily _by following the Boulevard de la Rochelle,
then taking, on the right, the Rue Lapique, which passes before the
town-hall and leads to the Avenue du Château_.
_At the top of this avenue after passing, on the left, the Romanesque
entrance to the old ducal castle_ (reached by about twenty steps) _by
turning to the right one can follow on foot the Rue Gilles-de-Trèves
for about one hundred yards, as far as_ the ancient college of the same
name, which is classed as an historical monument. It has an interesting
Renaissance front looking on to the courtyard.
_Return to the Avenue du Château, which is continued on the left by the
Rue du Baile._ It is from there that the photographs on p. 242 were
taken, the one looking towards the lower town, along the castle walls,
the other towards Old Bar.
At the end of the Rue du Baile, on the left is the Clock Tower shown in
the photograph on p. 243.
[Illustration: RUE ROUSSEAU AND THE UPPER TOWN]
_Pedestrians need not follow the above itinerary, but can gain the
Clock Tower directly by taking the Rue d'Entre-deux-Ponts and the Rue
Rousseau, visible in the foreground of the_ photo on p. 241. _The Rue
Rousseau after skirting the Place Reggio_ (see page 241), _crosses the
Canal des Usines. In doing so_, the little Church of Saint-Anthony
may be seen astride the canal. It dates from the fourteenth century.
_Turn next to the left into the Rue Oudinot. After about_ 200 yards,
_take on the left the Rue Saint-Antoine as far as the bridge over the
Canal des Usines_, from whence there is a picturesque view of the old
houses which throng this narrow stream of water. _We retrace our steps
and go beyond the Rue Rousseau in order to take the Rue de l'Horloge
on the left._ This street mounts to the upper town and passes at the
foot of the Clock Tower. One rejoins the latter by means of a stair,
the beginning of which is seen on the left in the photo at the top of
page 243. The fourteenth century Clock Tower is all that remains of the
fortifications of Bar, which, as we have seen on p. 238, were destroyed
by order of Louis XIV. in 1670. From the top of the stair, to the left
of the tower, there is a fine view of the lower town and of the valley.
The photo at the foot of p. 243 was taken from this spot. If one wishes
to climb the tower, the guardian must be consulted. _Turn to the right
on leaving the Clock Tower, in order to reach the Castle Esplanade_,
which is planted with ancient trees. From this point there is a view of
another part of Bar-le-Duc (see photo p. 244).
[Illustration: THE OLD CASTLE]
[Illustration: OLD BAR]
[Illustration: THE CLOCK TOWER]
To the left of the esplanade are the remains of the old ducal castle.
The photo at the foot of p. 244 depicts the Romanesque doorway which
is the oldest part of it. We saw this doorway from the other side when
ascending the Avenue du Château. It was formerly on the level, but in
1871, when the carriage road was made, it was united to the avenue by
steps.
The castle occupied formerly the whole of the plateau. It was built
in 964 by Frederick I., Count of Bar, and altered in succeeding
centuries. All that remains are a few sixteenth century buildings, seen
in the photo at the foot of p. 244, and of which the external view is
reproduced at the top of p. 242. The buildings and the chapel seen
between the Clock Tower and the esplanade belong to an old Dominican
convent built in the nineteenth century.
[Illustration: VIEW OF BAR FROM THE CLOCK TOWER]
_After going round the esplanade, return to the Rue du Baile and follow
it towards Old Bar. Take, on the right of the Place-de-la Fontaine,
Rue des Ducs de Bar_, which has preserved some quaint sixteenth and
seventeenth century houses. _Turn to the left in this street in order
to enter Place Saint-Pierre_, at the extremity of which stands the
church of this name, classed as an historical monument.
The Place has retained its old world aspect. Sixteenth and seventeenth
century houses, of which the most beautiful, No. 21, is a museum, form
a fitting frame to the old church.
[Illustration: BAR SEEN FROM THE ESPLANADE]
_The museum is open to the public on Sundays, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.,
and at any time to strangers to the town (gratuity)._
It contains collections of painting, sculpture, and natural history.
Saint-Pierre is the oldest church in Bar-le-Duc.
It was begun in the fourteenth century; the front, reproduced on p.
245, dates from the sixteenth century, with the exception of the
quadrangular cupola surmounted by a lantern, which crowns the tower.
This portion, which jars with the transitional Gothic of the rest of
the edifice, was added in the seventeenth century. The plans for the
right hand tower were never executed.
[Illustration: THE OLD CASTLE SEEN FROM THE ESPLANADE]
In the interior, in the right branch of the transept, is the
masterpiece of the great Lorraine sculptor of the sixteenth century,
Ligier-Richier, pupil of Michael Angelo. It is the funeral monument
of René of Châlon, Prince of Orange, and is commonly known as "the
Skeleton."
[Illustration: ST. PETER'S CHURCH]
René de Châlon, who was killed in 1544 at the siege of Saint-Dizier, is
said to have expressed the wish to be impersonated on his tomb as he
would be three years after his death. It was in order to conform to his
wish that his widow, Louise of Lorraine, ordered Richier to execute the
strikingly realistic monument seen in the photo below. The "Skeleton"
was carved in stone, then placed in a bath of oil and wax which gave it
the appearance of old ivory.
Opposite the pulpit and suspended from the pillars in the nave, is
a carving of Christ between the two thieves. This crucifixion-group
dates from the sixteenth century and is in walnut wood, but has been
repainted in modern times.
It has sometimes been attributed to Ligier-Richier. In a chapel to
the left of the choir there is kept a sixteenth century bas-relief
representing St.-François d'Assises, patron saint of François Brûlé,
rector of Saint-Pierre, between Saint Peter and Saint Max, Abbot of
Chinon.
In the right aisle there is a beautiful Renaissance chapel and the
baptistry.
_Motors descend again into the lower town by the same road taken in
coming up._
Other secondary places of interest
[Illustration: THE SKELETON]
+Monument des Michaux+, at the corner of Rue Rousseau and Rue du Bourg,
was erected in 1894. The two Michaux were the carriage-builders who
invented the fitting of pedals to bicycles.
+The+ "+Café des Oiseaux+," in the theatre in the Rue Rousseau, the
hall of which is surrounded by glass cases containing more than 50,000
natural history specimens.
+The Rue du Bourg+ is famous for its old Renaissance houses.
+The Public Garden+ lies behind the town-hall.
+The Church of Saint-Jean+ at the end of the Boulevard de la Rochelle
was begun in 1882 in the Romanesque style.
+The "Porte de la Couronne"+ (Place de la Couronne) dates from 1751.
FIELD OF OPERATIONS OF THE THIRD FRENCH ARMY
=III.--TOUR ROUND BAR-LE-DUC= (66 km.)
(See map inserted between pp. 212-213)
+Via Villers-aux-Vents+, +Brabant-le-Roi+, +Revigny+,
+Nettancourt+, +Sommeilles+, +Laheycourt+, +Louppy-le-Château+,
+Louppy-le-Petit+, +Génicourt+, +Vavincourt+
[Illustration: CHURCH, LAIMONT]
_Leave by the Boulevard de la Banque. Cross the Canal des Usines,
then take on the right the road to Revigny or G. C. D. 4, 1,500 yards
further. Cross the railway by a level-crossing and then the Marne-Rhine
Canal._
_The road dips down to the left in order to follow the railway, and
then crosses the Ornain, of which it follows the right bank. We come
to the hamlet of =Venise=, but continue in the direction of =Laimont=
(12 km.)._ Half-way thither, on the right, may be seen the woods which
constituted the ultimate line of resistance of the Fifth Corps during
the violent attacks which it experienced on September 6, and in which
it lost about ten kilometres. Snatched from the Tenth Division of the
Sixth Corps on the night of the 6th, Laimont was only retaken on the
11th by the Fifteenth Corps. As may be seen in the above photo, the
church was damaged by shells. Many houses were destroyed. When they
left Laimont the Germans took away seven hostages, among them the
rector.
_G. C. D. 4 branches off to the left to cross through Laimont, and
passes in front of the church; but instead of following it, leave the
village on the left and continue straight along the road which becomes
G. C. D. 15._