=FRESNES FORT--WITRY-LES-REIMS--BERRU--NOGENT L'ABBESSE--BEINE=
(_See complete Itineraries, p. 121, and map on p. 154._)
[Illustration (Map)]
_This Itinerary will lead the tourist through the region of the_ Forts
to the north-east of Rheims, which formed the rear of the German lines
during the stabilisation period of 1914-1918.
It was this line of forts that, in the German hands, held the French in
check after the first Battle of the Marne. Practically the whole of
these works were but little damaged by the relatively light
bombardments, and have retained traces of the German organisation.
_Leave Rheims by the Avenue de Laon_ (_which begins at_ Les Pomenades,
_opposite Mars Gate_), _and the Rue de Neufchatel (second street on the
right), Sortie No. IX. of the Michelin Tourist Guide (see coloured plan,
pp. 32-33)._
[Illustration: RUINS OF THE CHURCH AT BOURGOGNE]
_Follow in the contrary direction the route described in the preceding
Itinerary (p. 134 to p. 159) as far as the crossing in the
Bermericourt-Bourgogne road, where stood_ Landau Farm, now entirely in
ruins. _At this crossing take G.C. 30 on the right._ German camouflaging
is still visible on the right-hand side of the road.
=Bourgogne--Fresnes=
_The village of_ Bourgogne, entirely in ruins, _is soon reached_.
The village is of very ancient origin. Formerly it was protected by a
belt of moats, now partly filled in, and by earthen ramparts, almost
everywhere levelled. The lines of these moats, planted with rows of
elm-trees, are clearly distinguishable. There is a very extensive view
from this original site.
A portion of the village was burnt by the Germans who, in 1916,
destroyed the belfry of the church with dynamite.
This church (dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul), with its fine
Romanesque tower, was remarkable.
The greater part of it dated from the 12th and 13th centuries. It is now
in ruins (_photo above_).
_Cross straight through the village._ Numerous German signs _are still
to be seen. At the cross-roads just outside the village, follow the
railway, then cross it near the destroyed railway station of Fresnes.
The village of_ Fresnes _is reached shortly afterwards._
_Turn to the right at the first crossing met with._ The church _stands
about 100 yards away, on the left._
Norman in style, the Church of Fresnes comprises a central nave with
aisles and a tower without transept. It dates back to the 12th century,
but was several times extensively altered and restored both in the 18th
century and in recent times.
A small porch of limestone added to the northern aisle, is reached by a
round Norman bay of stone. In the corner of the porch, to the left on
entering, is incrusted a fragment of a small funerary monument of the
16th century.
[Illustration: RUINED CHURCH OF WITRY-LES-REIMS]
This church was almost entirely destroyed.
_After turning to the right at the crossing mentioned above, keep
straight on._
About 2 kilometres from Fresnes the road from that village to
Witry-les-Reims crosses an old Roman causeway, at the side of which,
slightly to the south of Hill 118, the Fort of Fresnes was built in
1878. This fort was blown up by the Germans during their retreat in
1918. Its ruins are impressive. In the moats of the fort are German
trenches and shelters extending right up to the walls of the fort.
_The village of Witry-les-Reims is next reached._ It suffered severely
from the numerous bombardments, which its situation near the first lines
rendered inevitable.
=Witry-les-Reims=
_After crossing the railway (l.c.) at the entrance to the village, keep
straight on._ The ruined church _is on the left, near the entrance to
the village_.
Except for one tower, which dates from the 12th century, the church is
modern. The spire was destroyed by the Germans. The belfry, used by the
enemy as an observation-post, was struck by French shells.
Like many of the villages around Rheims, Witry-les-Reims is of
Gallo-Roman origin. More than two hundred Gallic sepulchres and cinerary
urns have been brought to light. The objects thus discovered, including
a large number of vases, now form the _Bourin_ pre-historic collection.
_After visiting the church keep straight on. At the Mairie_, of which
only the front remains standing, _turn to the right into the Rue
Boucton-Fayreaux. Follow this street to the Place Gambetta (about 200
yards distant), where turn to the left._ The entrance to "Pommern
Tunnel," which connected up the German rear and front lines (_photo, p.
163_), is in this square.
The German inscriptions in the tunnel have been taken down, and the
entrance blocked up, on account of the roof and walls giving way.
[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO "POMMERN TUNNEL" AT WITRY-LES-REIMS]
_Leaving the Place Gambetta, take the Rheims-Rethel road (N. 51) on the
left, then the first street on the right to the_ =Fort of Witry=.
_Just outside the village the road crosses_ the old Roman causeway from
Rheims to Treves, _and a little further on passes to the left of the_
=Fort of Witry=.
The =Fort of Witry= suffered but little from the bombardments.
_The road climbs the northern slopes of the_ Berru Hill, across numerous
German trenches. _At the bottom of a short run-down, opposite the
village of Berru, is a crossing of four ways. The road leading to the
fort is the one straight ahead._
_On the right, among the_ numerous defences, is a German cemetery
containing a monument to the dead, ornamented with somewhat rudimentary
carving and bearing an epitaph dedicated to the memory of the German
soldiers who fell in the battles around Rheims.
_The road continues up the slopes of Berru Hill, to the right of the way
leading to the_ auxiliary battery of the fort of =Vigie de Berru=. _The
top of the hill is soon reached_, on which the fort, known as the "Vigie
de Berru," stands. This fort was little bombarded, and is practically
intact.
=Berru Hill=, on account of its height, its sulphurous and ferruginous
waters, flint quarries, and fertile soil, was inhabited in pre-historic
times. At the summit, a _campignien_ workshop, and farther down, above
the springs which supply the village with water, a neolithic station
have been discovered. Thousands of knives, arrow-heads, scrapers, saws,
and other primitive tools have been unearthed. In the Gallo-Roman times
the village must have been fairly important, judging by the vestiges of
the ancient buildings discovered at the foot of the hill. It was near
Berru that the _Gaulish helmet_, now in the National Museum of St.
Germain, was found. Towards the end of the 16th century (about 1575),
during the Leaguers' struggles around Rheims, the village was fortified,
to protect it from pillaging by the soldiers. The moats and glacis which
surrounded it are still visible to the south, where, covered with trees,
they adjoin the gardens. Subterranean places of refuge, the entrance to
which is no longer known, formerly existed underneath the village.
_From the fort, the road, winds down the opposite slopes of the hill. At
the bottom of the latter, leave on the right the road to the_ =Fort of
Nogent l'Abbesse,= _seen on the high ground to the right._
[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO BEINE VILLAGE BY THE ROAD TO NOGENT
L'ABBESSE]
=Nogent l'Abbesse--Beine--Berru=
(_See Itinerary, p. 160, and summary of the Military Operations, p
154._)
_The village of_ =Nogent l'Abbesse= _is next reached, at the entrance to
which the road divides into three branches. Take the middle one (G.C.
64), which leads to the_ ruined village of =Beine=. _During the run-down
to the village, there is a_ fine view of the Champagne Hills in front
(Mont Cornillet and Mont Haut).
The village of =Beine= was one of the oldest demesnes belonging to the
Abbey of St. Remi-de-Reims. It was made into a _commune_ at the end of
the 12th century.
The church of St. Laurent, situated in the centre of the village, was an
excellent specimen of the transition style of the 12th century (_photo
below_).
[Illustration: RUINS OF THE CHURCH AT BEINE]
_A road leading to Sillery leaves Beine in a south-westerly direction,
but owing to its bad condition it is impossible to use it for returning
to Rheims._ The trenches and shell holes have barely been filled in,
and the temporary bridges over the wider trenches would probably break
down under a fairly heavy car. On the other hand, the huge craters made
by the Germans in the course of their retreat, have only been summarily
repaired and are not practicable for motor-cars. _Tourists should
therefore return to Nogent l'Abbesse by the road they came by._
[Illustration: BERRU CHURCH]
_Enter the village by the main street, which follow as far as_ the
church, whose belfry has been destroyed.
_After the church, take the first street on the right, then the second
road on the left (G.C. 64), which leads to_ =Berru=. _In front of the
village, turn to the left and cross straight through._ The 12th century
Church of St. Martin, which suffered only slightly from the
bombardments, _is in the middle of the village, on the left (photo
above)_.
_On leaving Berru, the tourist comes again to the crossing mentioned on
p. 163. Turn to the right and return to Witry-les-Reims by the road
previously followed._
_At Witry-les-Reims, take N. 51 on the left, passing by the_ ruined
works of Linguet (_photo below_).
_Rheims is reached by the Faubourg Ceres. Keep straight on to the Place
Royale, via the Rue du Faubourg Ceres and the Rue Ceres._
[Illustration: RUINS OF THE LINGUET WORKS]