=LA POMPELLE FORT-SILLERY=
(_See complete Itinerary, p. 121._)
[Illustration (Map)]
_This Itinerary will take the tourist through two regions of entirely
different characters._
_The first part is devoted to visiting the battlefield south-east of
Rheims_, which was the scene of much desperate fighting throughout the
war, but especially in 1918. This region formed the pivot of the French
right wing, and remained firm despite the repeated powerful attacks of
the enemy.
_The second part of the Itinerary leaves the battlefield proper, and
conducts the tourist across_ the most reputed vine-growing centres of
Champagne (Verzenay, Mailly-Champagne and Ludes), through lovely,
picturesque country, which, although it has somewhat suffered from the
bombardments, has nevertheless retained its pre-war aspect.
_Leave Rheims by the Avenue de Chalons, continued by N. 44 (see the plan
of Rheims between pp. 32 and 33, F. 6 and H. 7)._
The Avenue de Chalons was well within the first-line defences.
Two communicating trenches run along the footpaths on either side of the
Avenue.
_Skirt_ Pommery Park, _on the left_, completely ravaged by the
bombardment and the network of trenches which cross it.
_As soon as the last houses of the town have been left behind, the
tourist finds himself_ in the midst of the battlefield.
The sector, known as "=La Butte-de-Tir=," situated on the left, below
Cernay and beyond the railway, was the scene of furious fighting
throughout the German occupation of 1914 to 1918 (_photo below_).
[Illustration: THE "BUTTE-DE-TIR" SECTOR
_Listening-post in front of Cernay village._]
[Illustration: COMMUNICATING TRENCH AT JOUISSANCE FARM (1915)]
_The road crosses the Chalons Railway (l.c.), and goes thence direct to
the_ =Fort of La Pompelle=, passing through an inextricable network of
trenches and barbed wire entanglements. The country hereabouts was
completely ravaged by the terrific bombardments, and recalls the
devastated regions around Verdun, near Vaux and Douaumont (_see the
Michelin Illustrated Guide: Verdun, and the Battles for its
Possession_).
=La Jouissance Farm= is next passed. Nothing remains either of it or of
the road, _which started from this point towards Cernay, on the left_.
[Illustration: LA POMPELLE FORT (1918)]
[Illustration: THE MOATS OF LA POMPELLE FORT (1918)]
The =Fort of La Pompelle=, _which is next reached_, is now a mere heap
of ruins. The road which led to the fort no longer exists. _To visit the
ruins of the fort, tourists will have to follow on foot the narrow-gauge
railway which starts from the road (photo above)_.
Tradition has it that St. Timothy came from Asia to convert Rheims,
suffered martyrdom, together with St. Apollinaris and several
companions, on the hill known as _La Pompelle_, so-called perhaps from
the procession (_pompa_ or _pompella_) which, in the Middle Ages, used
to visit the place of martyrdom of the saints.
This hill, which rises close to the crossing of the
Rheims-St.-Hilaire-le-Grand and Rheims-Chalons Roads, was fortified
after 1870, to flank the position of Berru on the south.
The road from Rheims to Saint-Hilaire-le-Grand (_G.C. 7_), which used to
start from the "Alger Inn," at the cross-roads mentioned above, no
longer exists. Like the inn, it was obliterated by the shelling. A huge
crater now occupies the site of the Alger Inn (_photo below_).
[Illustration: CRATER, WHERE USED TO STAND THE "ALGER INN"]
[Illustration: THE IMMEDIATE VICINITY OF WHAT WAS THE "ALGER INN"
(1918)]
_Continue along N. 44. About 1 kilometre from the fort, at a bend in the
road_, the shattered remnants of trees of an avenue are visible on the
left. Under the first fir-tree of this avenue, about 20 yards from the
national road, is an armoured machine-gun shelter, almost intact.
_Cross the railway (l.c.) near the entirely destroyed station of
Petit-Sillery. After passing a ruined chateau on the left, cross the
bridge over the Vesle. At the fork beyond the bridge, leave N. 44 and
take G.C. 8 on the right to_ =Sillery=.
This village, renowned for its dry wine, is pleasantly situated on the
banks of the Vesle. Throughout the war, it was quite close to the
trenches and was frequently bombarded. In May, 1916, only some fifty of
its inhabitants remained in the village, which subsequently suffered
very severely, especially in 1918.
_Take a turn in the village, then follow N. 44 towards Chalons (see
Itinerary, p. 166)._
[Illustration: THE "PLACE DE LA MAIRIE" AT SILLERY (1918)]
The region of =Sillery-Pompelle= was the scene of much fierce fighting
throughout the war. After the capture of =La Pompelle= and the "=Alger
Inn=" by the French 10th Corps on the night of September 17-18, 1914,
the Germans increased the number of their attacks, with a view to
regaining these important positions.
One of these attacks (that of December 30, 1914) was preceded by the
explosion of a mine at the "Alger Inn," which made a hole 130 feet in
diameter by 55 feet deep (_see photo, p. 169_). After a hand-to-hand
fight, the French drove back the enemy and remained masters of the
crater.
In 1918, during their offensives against Rheims, the Germans attacked
several times in this region. On June 1, between =Pommery Park= (in the
south-eastern outskirts of Rheims) and the north-east of Sillery, they
attacked with eight or nine battalions and fifteen tanks. The garrison
of Fort Pompelle, momentarily encircled, held out until a furious
counter-attack by the French Colonial Infantry relieved it and drove
back the assailants. The German tanks were either captured or destroyed.
On the 18th, after an hour's intense bombardment, the Germans made a
fresh attack and secured a footing in the Northern Cemetery of Rheims
and in the north-eastern outskirts of Sillery, but French
counter-attacks drove them out almost immediately. From July 15 to 17
their attacks on Sillery were likewise repulsed.
_Continue along N. 44 to the_ destroyed Esperance Farm _(about 2
kilometres distant), then turn to the right_. Numerous military works
were made by the French in the embankments of the Aisne-Marne canal
along the left side of the road.
_The road rises towards the "Mountain of Rheims."_ A white tower,
dominating the whole plain, _is seen on the left (photo below)_.
=Verzenay= _is next reached by the Rue de Sillery._
[Illustration: VERZENAY, SEEN FROM THE VERZENAY--MAILLY--CHAMPAGNE
ROAD]
[Illustration: THE OLD MILL AT VERZENAY]
It was at =Verzenay= that, on the evening of September 3, 1914, the
German aeroplane, which had dropped bombs on Rheims the same morning,
was brought down. It has suffered relatively little from the
bombardments.
_To visit the church_, which contains the tomb of Saint-Basle (_chapel
on the right_), _take the Rue Gambetta, then the Rue Thiers_.
_After visiting the church, return to the Rue Thiers, at the end of
which is the Rue de Mailly (G.C. 26)._
_Take the latter, which, on leaving Verzenay, rises fairly stiffly._
_At the top of the hill, on the right, begins the road leading to_
=Verzenay Mill=, which crowns Hill 227 (_see Itinerary, p. 166, and
photo above_).
This mill, whence there is a fine panorama of the plain as far as the
hills of Berru and Moronvilliers, was a military observation-post of the
first order during the siege warfare.
_It belongs to the champagne-wine firm of Heidsieck Monopole, which
allows tourists to visit it, as also their vineyards in the surrounding
country._
_The road dips down to_ Mailly-Champagne, _at the entrance to which
village turn to the right into the Rue Gambetta, then to the left into
the Rue de Ludes (G.C. 26)_. The road, cut out of the hillside, is very
picturesque as far as Ludes. In the forest, on the left of the road, are
numerous "_cendrieres_," or quarries, from which volcanic sulphurous
cinders, used for improving the vines, are extracted. Heaps of these
valuable cinders (grey, white and black) are frequently encountered at
the side of the road.
=Ludes= _is next reached by the Avenue de la Gare_.
The region just passed through, including the villages of Verzenay,
Mailly-Champagne and Ludes, as well as Verzy (_to the east_), and
Rilly-la-Montagne and Villers-Allerand (_to the west_), are the
wine-growing centres of the "Mountain of Rheims" properly so-called, the
black grapes from which produce the best brands of Champagne. The
villages are picturesquely situated at the edge of the forests which
crown the hills, while the vineyards which cover the slopes of the
latter descend to the chalky plain. These vineyards, divided into tiny
plots, the ground of which before the ravages of the phylloxera cost as
much as 93,000 francs per hectare (about 2-1/2 acres), constitute the
principal wealth of the country. Here and there they have suffered from
the war, but this has not prevented the vine-dressers from cultivating
them (often with the help of the soldiers) or from gathering the grapes,
under the continual menace of the German guns.
[Illustration: PUISIEULX. THE CHURCH AND ROAD TO SILLERY]
At =Ludes=, in the _Avenue de la Gare, turn to the right into the Rue de
Cormontreuil, and again to the right, into the Rue de Puisieulx (G.C.
33)_.
_At the crossing, 1 kilometre beyond Ludes, go straight on. After
passing on the right an avenue bordered with trees leading to the_
=Chateau of Romont, Puisieulx= _is reached_.
_At the first crossing, on entering the village, keep straight on, then
turn to the right as far as the_ ruined church, with its curious
loop-holed chevet. _Leave the church on the right and, at the end of the
village, turn to the left._ There are a few graves _on the right of the
road_. _After skirting a large estate, the trees of which were destroyed
by shell-fire, the tourist reaches_ =Sillery=.
[Illustration: RUINED CHURCH OF TAISSY]
_Turn to the left into G.C. 8, at the entrance to the village. On the
right are vestiges_ of a small wood, known as "Zouaves Wood," which was
the scene of many sanguinary fights after its capture by the French in
1914.
_The tourist next reaches_ =Taissy=, whose ruined church _is on the
right, by the side of the Vesle (photo, p. 173)_.
This interesting church is largely Romanesque in style (tower, chevet
and nave). The tabernacle, with altar-piece of carved wood, is Louis
XIII. A fine wrought-iron railing encloses the sanctuary (_photo
below_). The small, sonorous bell of the belfry is, strange to say, 13th
or 14th century.
_Pass straight through Taissy, then follow the tram-lines._
=Cormontreuil= _is entered by the Rue Victor-Hugo._
_From Cormontreuil, the tourist may return to Rheims either by turning
to the right in the village, beyond the tram station (in this case he
will enter Rheims by the Rue de Cormontreuil which leads to the Place
Dieu-Lumiere) or by continuing straight ahead. In the latter case he
will cross the Faubourg Flechambault by the Rue Ledru-Rollin. At the end
of the latter, turn to the right into the Rue Flechambault which, after
crossing the Vesle and the canal, leads to the Church of St. Remi._
[Illustration: THE CHOIR OF TAISSY CHURCH]